Journal
The Vision Picturale journal gathers our guides to alternative printing: cyanotype, Aquaprint — our dichromate-free gum —, bromoil, carbon and resinotype, explained from the studio.
Glossary →Essential guides
Alternative Photographic Processes: The Complete Guide
Cyanotype, gum bichromate, bromoil, carbon, resinotype… Discover the 9 most-practiced alternative processes, their distinctive looks, and how to choose yours.
How to Choose the Right Paper for Cyanotype and Alternative Printing
Weight, sizing, acidity: the complete guide to choosing the right watercolor or art paper for your cyanotypes and gum bichromate prints.
The Photogram: Making a Photograph Without a Camera
Lay a leaf on sensitized paper and wait for the sun: an image with no camera, no lens. The principle, choosing objects, and the contact pitfalls.
The Anthotype: Making a Photograph with Plant Juice and Sunlight
No chemistry, no fixer: plant juice, a positive, and the sun. Principle, plants, exposure times and the limits of the only fully non-toxic photographic process.
Cyanotype and Aquaprint Troubleshooting: Diagnose and Fix Failed Prints
Pale prints, images that wash away, veiled highlights, gum layers that won't hold: symptom, cause and fix — backed by documented process parameters.
Cyanotype or Aquaprint: Which Process Should You Start With?
Cyanotype at €39 or Aquaprint at €69-79? Difficulty, look, time, budget and safety compared to help you choose your first alternative printing kit.
Cyanotype: Handling Precautions and Safety Information
VP cyanotype is formulated without bichromate, but its solutions must be handled with the protection and instructions indicated on each product.
The Digital Negative: The Guide for Every Contact Printing Process
Negative size, transparency film, inversion, mirroring, linearization curve: the complete guide to digital negatives for contact printing processes.
Gum Bichromate: The Pictorialist Process, Without the Dichromate
Gum bichromate, the Pictorialists' signature process — at the cost of dichromate, a CMR carcinogen. Its history, and Aquaprint: the same gum, minus the toxic salt.
Bromoil: The Pictorialists’ Hand-Inked Oil Print, Without the Bichromate
Bromoil, the Pictorialists’ hand-inked oil print — at the cost of a bichromate salt. Its history, and the Vision Picturale bromoil, without it.
Carbon Printing: Photography’s Most Permanent Black, Without the Dichromate
Carbon printing: photography’s deepest, most permanent blacks, once made with dichromate. The Vision Picturale carbon process, without that CMR carcinogen.
Resinotype: The Glazed Finish of Pigment Printing, Without Bichromate
Resinotype seals pigment inside a resin: a glazed print, somewhere between photograph and enamel. The Vision Picturale version, without bichromate or solvents.
TutorialChoosing a UV Exposure Unit for Alternative Photography
Sunlight, DIY UV box, fluorescent tube or professional unit: how to choose the right UV source for cyanotype, gum printing and other alt processes.
Gum Bichromate: Making Your First Print — Without Bichromate, With Aquaprint
Traditional gum bichromate relies on potassium bichromate. Aquaprint reformulates it: the same painterly result in a formulation without bichromate.
How to Make Your First Cyanotype at Home
Discover the simple steps to make your first Prussian-blue alternative photographic print — no darkroom, no expensive equipment.