Impossibly Roman Cyanotypes

A few months ago, I had the good fortune of visiting the Eternal City with a Polaroid camera (loaded with Impossible Project film) in tow. Rome is a city near and dear to my heart, and it was a thrill to revisit some of my favorite hidden corners, as well as the city's iconic monuments. The difference was that this time I could capture them in a whole new way, with a Polaroid camera. I enjoyed taking the original images (See Rome, Instantly), as well as the process of printing them as cyanotypes on watercolor paper.

Same Eternal City, but a whole new way of falling in love with it!

The Spanish Steps and the church of the Santissima Trinità dei Monti

 The Flavian Amphitheater, a.k.a. the Colosseum

 

The view from the top of the Spanish Steps

 

Trajan's Forum, with Palazzo Venezia, the church of Santa Maria di Loreto, and Trajan's Column in the background

 My beloved Piazza del Popolo

Rome

One of my favorite places in Rome is Piazza del Popolo. A vast open space, paved with cobblestones and bordered by an ancient city gate, three churches, numerous sculptures and fountains, and a monumental park descending from the Pincian Hill, it's part outdoor living room and part outdoor museum. And of course it's also a living, breathing Roman square, with scooters, taxis, buses, and cars zipping around its edges. 

The near-twin churches of Santa Maria in Montesanto and Santa Maria dei Miracoli hold particular charm for me... I can't seem to photograph them enough!

Cyanotype on watercolor paper, toned in coffee.

Original image taken with a Polaroid and Impossible Project PX600 film.