Portrait of an artist

Posted on March 18, 2022 by carlotta

Portrait of an artist

I apologise for my long period of silence. A lot has happened in my life since my last photo of the week in December. The most significant of these is that my mother, Ellen Sinclair Junger, died on Christmas Day, after suffering from dementia for many years.

Ellen was a very talented painter. This is my portrait of her taken in her studio in the early 1980s. Ellen always had a large mirror in her studio. It was an integral part of her painting process as she used it to analyse her compositions in reverse.

This was part of a series of portraits of artists in the Boston area that I took for my high school photography class. That project was the beginning of my interest in photographing people in their work environments, a subject that I continue to focus on 40 years later. You can find a selection of them here and here.

I’ve been busy framing my cyanotype landscapes recently. They will be shown at Tigermoth Coffee Roasters in Lewes in a few weeks. It has been a lovely little project to focus on during this strange limbo time I’ve been in. The show runs from 4-25 April. If you are in the area, please do stop by, and be sure to get a coffee while you are there. It is definitely the best coffee in town.

I have finally set up a shop page on my website. You can check it out here. You will find my books and cards here, as well as a few cyanotypes. I have a large collection of cyanotypes at my studio, many more then are on my website, so get in touch if you would like more information.

Please contact me if you have a workplace, an event, a celebration, a portrait or a building project you would like to have photographed.

Here it is, my 200th photo of the week

Posted on November 25, 2021November 26, 2021 by carlotta

Here it is, my 200th photo of the week

I sent out my very first photo of the week back in the summer of 2015. At the time I could never have imagined all the interesting avenues down which my work would take me.

This week I give you a beautiful stained glass window from Southover Grange that is nearly 450 years old. A few years ago I recorded the renovation of this magnificent Elizabethan manor in the centre of Lewes for its owners, East Sussex County Council. My photographs of the restoration can be found here.

My original digital photograph shows the subtle colours of the ancient stained glass. You can see it here. I find it interesting the way in which printing this image as a cyanotype changes how we read it. In monochrome, the patterns of light have a feeling of solidity and an almost watery sense of depth.

I will be showing this print, along with a selection of other architectural and landscape cyanotypes, next Friday and Saturday at the annual Artists and Makers Christmas Fair in Lewes Town Hall.

Along with original prints, I will be selling my books (sea shore, Lewes Bonfire Portraits and 11 Sun Street, Lewes) and greeting cards of my cyanotypes of both landscapes and local architecture. Please come and say hello if you are in the area.

If you cannot make it to the fair, you can always order prints from me directly and buy any of my books from my website. It is not too late to order for Christmas. All my hand-printed cyanotypes are available to buy. I have many more than are on my website so get in touch if you would like to know more. Information about purchasing my prints and all of my photography books can be found here.

Remember, remember, it’s the 5th of November

Posted on November 5, 2021November 5, 2021 by carlotta

Remember, remember, it’s the 5th of November

So, here we are at the 5th of November again. After last year, when the famous Lewes Bonfire celebrations were cancelled because of covid, this time it is all systems go. I am writing this on the night before and we have been hearing bangers and fireworks all evening long.

For those of you who do not live in Lewes, the town is woken at 6am on the morning of the 5th by the firing of a cannon up by the castle. From there on in, the excitement builds, culminating in the evening Grand Procession through the centre of town.

This is followed by six separate bonfires and extravagant firework displays hosted by each of the town’s bonfire societies. The revelries last long into the night.

I am not even going to try to summarise all that happens in this small town on the 5th of November. Instead of words, I give you a cyanotype: a bonfire in flames topped by an eery burning effigy.

I have a book of 45 of my book of hand-printed cyanotype Bonfire Portraits which is available to buy. You can find out more about it here.

I am still hard at work binding more copies of my latest book sea shore. It is a collection of 29 of my landscape cyanotypes and two poems written by Sara London. If you are interested in buying a copy, you can order directly from my website.

All my hand-printed cyanotypes are available to buy. Information about purchasing my prints and all of my photography books can be found here.

Sailing Ship Moccasin at Long Point Lighthouse

Posted on October 29, 2021 by carlotta

Sailing Ship Moccasin at Long Point Lighthouse

I have recently been back to Cape Cod for family visits and responsibilities. While I was there, we spent the day on this beautiful wooden boat that belongs to my son’s friend. He has lovingly restored it and has sailed it up and down the coast from Maryland to Cape Cod.

We set out with our picnic on a warm October day, heading across the harbour to Long Point, the spit of sand that forms the very tip of Cape Cod.

One of the aims of the sail, apart from having a lovely day out, was to get some good photos of the boat. I had an idea of trying to recreate Edward Hopper’s iconic painting The Long Leg. The problem with this plan was that the direction of the sunlight was wrong (it was in front of us, instead of shining across from the left), the wind was wrong (there was very little of it), and we were at a different lighthouse (the one in the painting is a few miles further along the back shore).

So, instead of The Long Leg version 2, here is Sailing Ship Moccasin at Long Point Lighthouse.

Long Point at low tide is a favourite sunbathing spot for seals. We found around 50 of them basking in the sun as we sailed past. If you take a look here, you can see them in the second photo in the gallery.

With Lewes Bonfire coming up next week, don’t forget that my book of Bonfire Portraits is still available to buy. You can find out more about it here.

I am still hard at work binding more copies of my latest book sea shore. It is a collection of 29 of my landscape cyanotypes and two poems written by Sara London. If you are interested in buying a copy, you can order directly from my website.

All my hand-printed cyanotypes are available to buy. Information about purchasing my prints and all of my photography books can be found here.

In search of the cyanotype zing

Posted on September 17, 2021September 17, 2021 by carlotta

In search of the cyanotype zing

In preparation for my Artwave show I have been playing around with my archive of architecture projects, experimenting with which images work as cyanotypes. As always with this medium, it is not a clear translation from one type of photograph to another. It isn’t even as straight forward as making a picture monochromatic. I have spent the past year and a half pondering the secret ingredient that makes some images fall flat as cyanotypes, and makes others zing and I still can’t always put my finger on it.

This photograph is from my project documenting the construction of the Depot Cinema in Lewes – a project that I loved. You might be surprised to know that this was taken a mere two months before the Depot opened to the public. In this shot, I think it is the drama of the light, the sharp angles, and the silhouetted figure right in the middle, that translate well into the high contrast of a cyanotype.

A large print of this photograph is on display at my Artwave show. I will be showing again this year with artist Kelly Hall. You can find us at venue 91, St Anne’s House, 111 High Street, Lewes, BN7 1XY (across the street from Shelley’s). We will be open the 18, 19, 25 and 26 September, 11am-5pm.

My new book sea shore will be available to buy at my exhibit as well. It is a collection of 29 of my landscape cyanotypes and two poems written by Sara London. I am currently in the process of hand binding this limited first edition. If you are interested in buying a copy, you can pre-order directly from my website.

All my hand-printed cyanotypes are available to buy. Information about purchasing my prints and all of my photography books can be found here.

Please contact me if you have a workplace, an event, a celebration, a portrait or a building project you would like to have photographed.

Bringing New England to Old England

Posted on August 26, 2021August 26, 2021 by carlotta

Bringing New England to Old England

I will be showing this cyanotype of a church that is just a short walk from my home on Cape Cod, in order to bring a touch of New England to my East Sussex Artwave exhibit. Built in 1827, it is a handsome white clapboard Greek Revival building and the oldest church in our tiny town of Truro.

I have been experimenting with ways of printing my cyanotypes at larger sizes than the 30x40cm that most of them have been so far. One method is my multi-panelled prints. This works well for landscapes and organic, textured closeups, but doesn’t feel right for architectural photos.

The enlargement process is complicated by the fact that I need a structure to suspend several ultraviolet lights over my plates while at the same time giving an even exposure. I have finally figured out a way to manage this so that I can print up to 40x60cm.

This photo of the Truro Congregational Church is one of the first prints I made at this larger size. Of course you can’t tell from the scan that it is larger, but take my word for it, it looks great!

As I mentioned last time, I will be launching my new book sea shore at our Artwave show and will be exhibiting landscape images from the book, as well as showing a range of cyanotypes from my architectural documentary projects.

If you are in the Lewes area over the last three weekends in September, I hope you can stop by. I will be exhibiting with the painter Kelly Hall again this year and you can find us at St Anne’s House, 111 High St, Lewes, BN7 1XY. Opening hours are 11-5. You can find information about my new book here, and can contact me if you would like to pre-order one. All my hand-printed cyanotypes are available to buy. Information about purchasing my prints and books can be found here.

Category: photo of the week