During my time in college, I had the pleasure of taking Alternative Photography where I learned how to make vandykes, cyanotypes and gum bichromate prints. My favorite process was the vandyke process. I loved everything about it, experimenting with paper and choosing the images I wanted to print. I recently found a bunch of scans in my external hard drive and wanted to share my favorite prints with you. #TBT
When I made these, I wanted to make prints of photos that my family already has, but are in very poor condition or very small, so I could make bigger prints. The first two prints are of my parents, my mother was 14 and my father was 17. Then a portrait of my maternal grandfather, who I never met, a portrait of my maternal grandmother, and the last two prints are of my father's mother, my grandmother. These portraits are probably six of my favorite photographs of them.
I have always been told that I look a lot like my mother when I was younger, same skin tone, same nose, and same gaze, but it wasn't until I saw this photo of my father that I realized that I have the same smile that my dad has and that we both close our eyes when we smile. My maternal grandfather's print is from a photograph that had only one copy, so I wanted to make my mother a print after the only copy that existed of that photograph was stolen from her by my aunt. The portrait I chose to make of my maternal grandmother is a portrait that all my aunts love so I wanted to make a print of it. My favorite photograph of my paternal grandmother is her wedding portrait. She looks so beautiful, I love everything about it.
I hope you like them as much as I do.
Made in 2013
