Like other photographers, I have boxes of darkroom equipment that are collecting dust, dreaming of the day that I convert a bathroom or closet. With time in the pandemic, I started going through these boxes, consolidating and tossing things as necessary. I discovered 2 boxes of Ilford photo paper; about 300 sheets. Since it's expired (2016) I don't want to use it when I eventually get a darkroom up and running, but I don't want it to go to waste. The answer was simple - Lumen Prints.
Lumen Prints are similar to cyanotypes, but require photo paper, fix, and longer exposure periods. Examples and tutorials I found online used organic materials - flowers, leaves, rocks, etc. For my first round of attempts and timing I decided to do the same. I went to a local florist wholesale store and purchased flowers and greens that had great textures and shapes.
My first attempts I tried at 10am for an hour, but this was not long enough to get the crisp lines needed for a good exposure. So I set up again and planned on 2-3 hours, but then the wind came. Eventually, I was able to get some solid lumen prints using a variety of flowers, greens, lace, and broken glass chips.
The fixed exposures were then scanned and enhanced using Lightroom.
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