Shadows on paper

A shadowgram is a cameraless, photogragraphic image of shadow. In the Shadows on Paper series, I’m using the cyanotype process with UV light from the sun. Images were made throughout the day under sunny (mostly!) skies. Images made in the morning or late afternoon have longer, softer shadows. Images made at midday have sharper, tighter shadows. Depending on the intensity of sun (time of day), exposures were anywhere from 45 seconds to three minutes. Images with plants were impacted by wind and I would hold my breath and hope for stillness. Sunlight filtering through tall oak trees created an additional layer of softness in some images.

Making the Shadows on Paper series had spurts of intensity and things moved at a quicker pace. To start, I used a blank sheet of uncoated paper to set my compositions. I’d lay the paper on the deck, positioning subjects over and around it. As the sun moved through the sky though, the compositions would change. I didn’t have to rush, but I couldn’t dilly-dally either. Once I had a composition I liked, I’d go into the mudroom to get a piece of coated paper from my opaque bag. For the most part, I was lucky with cloudless days. But occasionally I would have some clouds pass through. I would squint at the sky through my hand, waiting for the clouds to pass, hoping the wind wouldn’t also pick up. I did cuss a little on a particularly less-than-sunny day, but overall, I’m accepting of nature’s participation in the work. The really intense part was the few seconds it took to get my coated paper into position for the exposure. It was easy enough when I didn’t have anything in direct contact with the paper. I’d simply rush out of the mudroom door onto the deck and lay the paper directly on top of my blank template paper. If I had an object in direct contact with the paper, it was a little trickier. I didn’t have time to arrange things just-so. The exposure time started immediately once the paper was in the sunlight and I could only take 1 or 2 seconds to make adjustments once it was laying flat. I often had to accept a slight variation of my original layout. After the image was exposed, I’d quickly pick it up and curl it in on itself to prevent any more UV light from hitting it, then I’d rush down the deck stairs, place the paper on the sidewalk and use the garden hose to rinse it. Those few minutes are when the intensity is high. Throw in near 100-degree temps, trying not to drip sweat on the paper and hoping I won’t fall down the steps in my sweaty Crocs while rushing to the hose. But then the sigh of relief, the moment of joy, when the water has rinsed the excess chemicals away and I see the image start to come alive. The shadow on the deck that I can’t catch in my hands; that moment in time is recorded on paper.  That’s the magic.

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