The Anna Atkins Tribute Journal – Get Inspired!
The Anna Atkins Tribute Journal 2023 is the brainchild of Malin Fabbri. This journal is based on her personal approach to making room for art and creative projects while resolving competing demands on her time.
By Christopher Osborne.
The 2024 version of the Anna Atkins Tribute Journal. Photograph courtesy of Malin Fabbri.
The Anna Atkins Tribute Journal 2023 is the brainchild of Malin Fabbri. Malin is the driving force behind alternativephotography.com, the go-to source of information for anyone interested in alternative photographic techniques.
For those of you who are not familiar with Anna Atkins, she was a British botanist and photographer who used Sir John Hershel’s newly invented cyanotype process to make prints of flowers and leaves from her garden. Her book “Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions” is believed to be the first book illustrated with photographic images, and was first published in 1843.
Start the year by filling in your long-term goals: things you dream about doing that may seem a little far off, or things you are working to achieve in a few years.
As well as editing alternativephotography.com, Malin also works as a designer, so she understands the difficulties that part-time artists face in finding a balance between the competing demand of work, life, well-being and artistic practice. This journal is based on her personal approach to making room for art and creative projects while resolving competing demands on her time.
The journal is spiral bound for ease of use and contains 60 beautiful contemporary images in the style of Anna Atkins. The cyanotypes within the book are so strong and inspirational that they make the journal a worthwhile purchase in its own right.
Making a plan for the year will bring you closer to your dreams and goals. Think of steps you can take to get you there. For the sections Work, Life & Home, and Wellbeing &Health, you can plan what you want or need to do in these areas during the month as well.
The images were selected from an open call of members of alternativephotography.com and were selected by a panel that reads like the who’s who of alternative photography. It consisted of Christina Z. Anderson, Christopher James, Annette Golaz, Rolf Sachsse and Malin Fabbri.
The portfolio of images is spread throughout the journal, to inspire. Let’s face it. We all have those moments where we find ourselves wondering what to do next.
The idea of a journal aimed at helping people like me who need to balance work, family and photography is very appealing. The journal begins with a section to plan your long-term goals. This is broken down into four categories, namely art, work, life & home and well-being & health. Completing this section is harder than one might first think, but then it is designed to challenge you to consider both your priorities and what is realistically achievable.
Plot the steps out on the Project timeline to see if it is realistic to fit them in during the year. This way, you can see if one month becomes too “crowded” and the plan seems unrealistic to achieve.
The next section is a yearly planning chart which allows you to create a high-level graphical plan for the year.
Each month begins with a section that allows you to sketch out your objectives for the month ahead. This is followed by a spread for the week and includes a section for you to jot down your focus for the week.
It’s easy to “drown” in day-to-day tasks, and the big picture can become fuzzy. Each weekly spread has a Focus-box where you specify what you want to achieve right now.
There is also a “Word of intention” to how you want to approach this. It could be “With curiosity”or “With the intention to experiment” or a similar mindset.
At the end of the month, the journal has a section for reflection. Pausing for a moment to think about what worked well, and what did not may be a useful exercise before planning the following month.
The journal is offered in three versions. The first starts the week on a Monday, and the second starts the week on a Sunday. It can also be ordered in a generic version without dates shown. It can be purchased either through Lulu.com and will be available on Amazon shortly. The price is USD 34.00, and if you get it on Lulu, the paper quality is slightly better.
Links
You can preview the Anna Atkins Tribute Journal here https://www.alternativephotography.com/journals/
There is also an Anna Atkins Tribute Calendar (wall calendar) that can be viewed at: https://www.alternativephotography.com/calendars/
World Anthotype Day – anthtoype is another process invented around the same time – is on the 19th of August 2023 (the 3rd Saturday in August). You can find details about participating at: https://www.alternativephotography.com/world-anthotype-day/
World Cyanotype Day is on the 30th of September 2023 which is the last Saturday in September. You can find details on how the alternativephotography.com community will support the event at: https://www.alternativephotography.com/world-cyanotype-day/
SilvergainClassics published a book review on last year’s submissions to World Anthotype Day, together with an interview with Malin Fabbri in Issue 17, and this can be purchased here https://shop.silvergrainclassics.com/magazines/silvergrainclassics-17
Images © Malin Fabbri 2023.
You might also be interested in Phil Burgess’ work on experimental photography. See https://silvergrainclassics.com/en/2021/11/phil-burgess-experimental-photography/
You can find an index to the entire collection of SilvergrainClassics magazines here https://silvergrainclassics.com/en/magazine/index-of-articles/