My blackberry Anthotype is here!
I thought I’d hit you up with it right away because I am so excited about this print! The blackberry dye turned the paper a beautiful rich purple at first
and it left some great blackberry residue on the paper which I think works well with the photograph.
Now, for the educational portion of this blog post. No yawning! Keep reading, I promise it will be good!
Presenting… The difference between blackberries and black raspberries. As I grew up on a farm, and picked these lovely berries regularly throughout the summer and fall, I thought everyone knew the difference. But that is not the case! I had to brush up on my knowledge too before writing this to make sure I was giving you the right information and not just something from my childhood that I had decided was true.
So, I lived (before we moved in October) near a row of blackberry bushes. Blackberry row was on the driveway to our home and I walked past it every day when I took my dogs to the dog park. Can’t get a more local food than that!
I couldn’t wait until the blackberries became ripe so I could pick them and eat them on my way to the park. Blackberry trait #1: Blackberries come in season later than black raspberries.
When I finally did get to pick them in August/September, I brought a bowl down with me and loaded up!
Blackberry trait #2: When you pick blackberries, the berry is not hollow like a black raspberry, the berry itself has a soft core on the inside of it.
When I got these delicious berries home it was hard not to eat them all and sacrifice some of them in order to make my Anthotype. So I spent some time photographing the blackberries in various configurations before I decided on using the branch for my final choice (which meant I got to eat all of the blackberries in that bowl! Yes!). The berries on their own are not as interesting to me as when the thorns and the texture of the stem and leaves come into play — photographically at least, eating them is a different story.
Blackberry trait #3: Blackberries tend to be shinier and smoother and black raspberries have more of a waxy look to them.
There! Now you can be an expert too and impress all of your friends this summer with your fantastic berry knowledge. To give you a bit of extra knowledge, you are most likely to encounter blackberries in the farmer’s markets and grocery stores. For reasons I am not aware of they are more salable than black raspberries.
I will have the blackberry Anthotype on my website for purchase. First come, first serve as there is only one. I am still giving proceeds from the sale of my Anthotypes to Curry Without Worry — an update on that later.
Happy Spring everyone! And please forgive me if you don’t hear from me in a while. I am 39 weeks pregnant and ready to pop.
Me with my horse Strike
I hear that there isn’t much sleep or functioning in my future, so wish me luck!
