Sunlight Transfers 30-year-old Photo onto Construction Paper

Photographer David Friedman was recently visiting his parents when he came across a photograph of himself taken almost 30 years ago, taped to a piece of construction paper. The paper was originally green, but indirect sunlight had faded the paper into a salmon-like orange color. When Friedman removed the photograph from the paper, he was surprised to find that the image had been burned onto the construction paper!

How wonderful is that? Over all that time hung on the wall, sunlight had bleached the construction paper everywhere it could. But since it couldn’t penetrate the darker areas of the photo, the corresponding parts of the construction paper underneath remained their original color.

Any light-sensitive surface can be used to make a photo, and I’ve seen everything used from leaves to grass. But I don’t remember seeing photos printed on construction paper, even though I know they’re sometimes used to make photograms as an activity for kids. But I did a little googling and found a couple other people who made a print on construction paper using similar methods, although deliberately and not over quite so long a time. [#]

If you have 30-years to spare, here’s a new photographic technique you can try your hand at.

Image credits: Photographs by David Friedman and used with permission