Paula McIntosh is a photographer and cyanotype artist.
Her cyanotypes are created from original photographs and printed by hand.

At first glance, these works read as photographs.
Then something shifts.

There is a depth and softness that pulls you in and makes you want to look closer. Not a painting. Not a traditional photographic print. The question comes up naturally…‘How was this made?’

Paula McIntosh works in cyanotype because it allows images to be simplified in a different way. Much like black and white photography, reducing an image to blue and white changes how it’s read. Details fall away. What remains often feels quieter and more focused, allowing the image to tell a different kind of story.

Blue plays a big role in that experience. It is a color that belongs almost anywhere, like water, sky, or a favorite pair of blue jeans. It complements a space while still telling its own story. In cyanotype, blue has depth and softness at the same time. It never feels loud, but it doesn’t disappear either.

Each cyanotype begins as one of Paula’s original photographs and is printed by hand. Small variations in tone, edge, and texture are part of the process, giving every piece its own character. No two prints are exactly the same.

Cyanotype itself has a long history. The process dates back to the 1800s and was used by pioneers such as Anna Atkins, who took a new photographic method and did something meaningful with it. That spirit of curiosity and experimentation still feels relevant today.

Charleston quietly influences the work as well. The grand trees, the water, the historic architecture, the layers of the city all find their way into how Paula sees and photographs the world.

These are pieces meant to be lived with. Paula hopes they invite people to pause, look a little longer, and bring their own stories to what they see.