A Cyanotype Tribute to Anna Atkins

In celebration of International Women’s Day, I wanted to dedicate a small collection of cyanotype works to the quiet brilliance of Anna Atkins.

Atkins was an illustrator, botanist, and a pioneer of photography. In the mid-1800s, she created what is considered the first book illustrated with photographic images—Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions. Using the cyanotype process, she carefully placed delicate seaweeds and botanicals onto sensitized paper, allowing sunlight to reveal their silhouettes in deep Prussian blue.

Anna Atkins’ work sits beautifully at the intersection of science and art.

Each image was both documentation and a quiet observation of nature. Long before photography became widely accessible, Atkins used this simple yet powerful process to record botanical specimens with remarkable elegance and clarity.

As a botanical cyanotype artist, I often feel a gentle connection to her work.

The process itself is beautifully simple: collecting plants, pressing them, arranging them thoughtfully on paper, and letting sunlight do its work. When the paper is rinsed, and the blue slowly deepens, the botanicals leave a soft imprint of their presence.

It feels almost like preserving a memory.

Over the years, I’ve gathered botanicals from my travels—small fragments of landscapes, gardens, and quiet walks. Some come from nearby paths, while others carry memories from different corners of Europe. Preserving them through cyanotype printing feels like a way of honoring those moments in time.

This small series is a quiet tribute to Anna Atkins and to the women who have shaped the intersection of art, science, and nature.

One botanical at a time, in blue.