Anna Atkins Cyanotypes

English botanical artist, collector and photographer Anna Atkins was the first person to illustrate a book with photographic images. Her nineteenth-century cyanotypes used light exposure and a simple chemical process to create impressively detailed blueprints of botanical specimens. View full story

Video: Susanna Brown, curator of Photographs at the V&A, discusses striking blue nature studies by Anna Atkins, one of the world's first female photographers.