What is a lumen print?
One of the easiest and most popular camera-less alternative printing techniques, lumen printing harnesses the power of the sun to make images.
The earliest records of lumen prints date back to 1834 through the work of English scientist and inventor William Henry Fox Talbot.
Looking for a precise way to record flora found in nature, he came up with the lumen printing process by taking foliage, placing it on sensitized paper and exposing it to sunlight. He called the results of his experiment “photographic drawings.”
In lumen prints, organic materials such as leaves or flowers are placed on a piece of photographic paper which when exposed to the sun will leave a mark. The depth of the shape left on the paper will depend on how long the specimen is exposed in sunlight. To make your artwork more permanent, you can also use chemicals to process the print.
Interested in learning more about lumen prints or trying the technique out yourself? Check out this guide on the Lomography Online Magazine: Expand Your Creative Photographic Skills With Lumen Prints
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What are some easy alternative analogue processes for beginners?
Some of the easiest, most common and beginner-friendly alternative analogue processes to try out are lumen printing, chemigrams, and cyanotypes.
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What is a chemigram?
A chemigram is a camera-less printing technique that produces an image using chemicals and light-sensitive paper.
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What is a cyanotype?
Cyanotype is an alternative analogue process that produces a distinct cyan print. It is one of the most accessible and fun types of alternative image-making techniques to try out at home.
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What is gumoil printing?
Gumoil printing is an alternative photographic process in which gum bichromate and oil painting techniques are combined to create an image.
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What are tintypes?
A tintype, also known as a melanotype or ferrotype, is made by creating a positive on a thin sheet of metal, rather than glass, with a dark lacquer or enamel used for photographic emulsion.
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What are the differences between daguerreotypes, ambrotypes and tintypes?
Daguerreotypes, ambrotypes and tintypes were all photographic processes that built on each other.
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What is Heliography?
Heliography was invented by Nicéphore Niépce around 1822, and used the sun’s rays to create sun pictures.
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What was a daguerreotype?
The daguerreotype was an early photographic process invented by French photography pioneer Louis Daguerre in 1839. It was the first photographic process widely available to the public
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What was a calotype?
A calotype was an early photographic process invented by Henry Fox Talbot in 1841.