Solo Swimmer in a Fern Garden – Pool Ladies Photo Shoot – Unique Cyanotype by Michael Joseph

Solo Swimmer in Ferns – Pool Ladies

Unique Cyanotype from an Original Negative by Michael Joseph

Original Photograph: London, 1987
Hand-printed in the Dordogne by Justine Joseph, June 2026

Image: 25 × 19 cm
Presented in an elegant off-white conservation mount.

Created from one of Michael Joseph’s original negatives from his celebrated Pool Ladies series, this unique cyanotype transforms a solitary swimmer into an almost dreamlike apparition.

Deep Prussian blues envelop the figure in an aquatic glow, while delicate fern photograms seem to drift around her, as though water and vegetation have merged into a single landscape. The cyanotype process allows sunlight, chemistry and chance to enter into dialogue with the original negative, creating an image where photography, nature and abstraction converge.

The botanical elements used during exposure are far more than decorative embellishments. They become a second language of light, leaving their fragile silhouettes on the sensitised paper and transforming this swimming pool scene into an almost timeless composition.

Like every cyanotype in this collection, each print is entirely unique. The tonal variations, rich textures, botanical impressions and natural unpredictability of the process ensure that no two works can ever be the same.

This artwork is the result of a collaboration between Michael Joseph’s photographic vision and Justine Joseph’s handcrafted printing process, reinterpreting the family archive through one of photography’s oldest techniques, enriched here by the delicate intervention of natural fern fronds.

A distinctive work for collectors of alternative photographic processes, botanical art and contemporary fine art photography.

Before completing your purchase, be sure to explore the rest of the Michael Joseph Revisitations – Cyanotypes collection.

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