Botanical Specimen

Branch of a Fern

Dog-Fennel, Anthemus Catula

Ptilota plumosa. ß capillaris

Grateloupia filicina

Cystoseira fæniculacea

From the Hatton Fern Album

Created by Max Levin. <br /><br />
This collection brings together botanical images produced in the early years of photography. Methods ranged from photogrammetry, in which specimens are placed directly on treated paper, to techniques akin to etching. The media include cyanotypes and other photosensitive mediums such as photogenic drawings and photoglyphic engravings. Three images are included by William Henry Fox Talbot, the British inventor of photography and a friend of Anna Atkins. Atkins became a pioneer of both photography and botany by applying the cyanotype process to algae and ferns. Light energy from the sun was once key to the growth of these plants. In a sense, light energy continues to be the secret ingredient for preserving them.

Photogenic Plant Drawings, Before and After Anna Atkins