Famous Botanical Photographers from the past use a variety of techniques not in common use today
- such as cyanotope photograms, photogravures and radiographs
You can see notable contemporary botanical photographers listed on Alternative Art Media

Famous British Botanical Photographers
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Anna Atkins (1799-1871)
Born in 1799 in Kent, ​Atkins was an English botanist who developed cameraless photography as a medium for recording images of plants.  She knew both the pioneer photographer William Henry Fox Talbot, and Sir John Herschel who invented the cyanotype printing method. The very striking cyan blue colour is caused by a mix of ammonium ion citrate and potassium ferricyanide - in a process developed by the astronomer and scientist Sir John Herschel. The images produced are now commonly known as "blueprints".

​You can see images of her work online in Wikipedia.  

Her book British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions was one of the first uses of light-sensitive materials to illustrate a book. It focused on ferns and seaweeds. It was published in three volumes and only 17 known copies of the set are known to exist, in various states of completeness. 

Organisations owning copies of her work include The New York Public Library and the The J. Paul Getty Museum.

EXHIBITION: 
  • Featured in New Realities  | Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (June 17 2017 to September 17 2017)
BOOKS
Picture
Cystoseira granulata. Cyanotype photogram by Anna Atkins from Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions (1843)
Picture
A cyanotype photogram of Woodland horsetail (Equisetum sylvaticum) made by Anna Atkins and Anne Dixon in 1853, from their book Cyanotypes of British and Foreign Ferns
REFERENCES for images:
Anna Atkins - Biography and Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions
by Lisa Shea
This Kindle e-book (File Size: 4,265 KB) contains:
  • information about Anna Atkins
  • information about how cyanotypes are made.
  • full-sized images from the twelve-part booklet series on Photographs of British Algae.
Charles Jones (1866-1959)
Jones was a trained gardener who worked at several private estates between the years 1894 and 1910. He was a gardener at Ote Hall in Sussex, and was mentioned in a Gardener’s Chronicle article of 1905 for his skill with herbaceous borders and his “delight in his well-trained fruit trees”. 

He also photographed what he produced. He created a series of gelatin silver prints of vegetables, fruits, and flowers. Unusually he photographed them in isolation against a neutral backdrop so that the images highlight the distinctive features of the subject matter.  Born a year later than Blossfeldt, he worked in a similar way but with more of a focus on the horticultural detail rather than an abstract aesthetic. 

Jones remained completely unknown as a photographer in his lifetime. It seems that his interest was not shared with anyone outside his immediate family. He died a near recluse in Lincolnshire in 1959.

Some 500 of his photographs were discovered by Sean Sexton, a collector, in Bermondsey Market in 1981 and their value recognised. He was only identified as the photographer when the photographs were displayed on the BBC and his granddaughter identified them - and promptly wrote to the producer. 

Sean Sexton created a monograph about the images in 1998 and Jones subsequently enjoyed wider attention as a photographer rather than a puzzle. Since then his work has been exhibited by the Howard Greenberg Gallery (10 November, 2006 – 6 January 2007)
Picture
Broad beans by Charles Jones
REFERENCE:
The Plant Kingdoms of Charles Jones
by Sean Sexton and Robert Flynn Johnson
This second revised edition of a book first published in 1998 contains more than 100 photographic 'portraits' of vegetables, fruits and flowers by Charles Jones.

​Hardcover: 128 pages
Publisher: Thames and Hudson Ltd
​Original publication: 1998
Revised edition: 25 Aug. 2016

BUY THIS BOOK
With Cunningham and Blossfeldt the plants aren’t conveyed as individuals but as specimens, examples of form: clean-lined and curvy, often cropped into abstraction.
​
Charles Jones, however, seems to have been aiming for something weirder and, to my mind, a little more interesting: looking at many of his images you have the unavoidable impression that they are portraits of vegetables. You see the flecks of dirt hanging off them, the rumpled edges of the photographic backdrop, the scuff marks on the floor as he has moved and repositioned them. There’s poignancy in such details, as well as a gentle absurdity.
Charles Jones and his vegetable portraiture

Famous German Botanical Photographers​
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Karl Blossfeldt (1865-1932) 
Photographed plants in close-up.  Trained as a sculptor but was also very interested in plants and a keen amateur botanist and used photography as a teaching tool to demonstrate the differences in botanical forms.

He developed cameras which allowed him to photograph both plants and the texture of their surfaces in unprecedented magnified detail (x 30)

He first published black and white photogravure images in Urformen der Kunst (1929) - which translates as Artforms in Nature - after an exhibition of his work at Berlin's Gallery Nierendorf.  

In total he produced some 6,000 photographs.

His images are unique in the portrayal of plants although a number of people have sought to emulate him.  He focuses in particular on the form and structure of plants.
REFERENCES: These are sites where you can see his work
The Hayward Touring Exhibition of Karl Blossfeldt - Art Forms in Nature  can be seen in 2016 at the following venues
'the plant must be valued as a totally artistic and architectural structure'
Picture
Karl Blossfeldt: Adiantum pedatum (1928) (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Karl Blossfeldt. The Complete Published Work

This is a small fat book of the most incredible photographs of plants. Once seen never forgotten.

This was originally published as Urformen der Kunst (Art Forms in Nature) in 1928 and has since been reproduced a number of times as a monograph.

Taschen's impeccable production standards means the reproductions are excellent - and I own a copy!
Hardcover: 544 pages
14 x 19.5 cm
Publisher: TASCHEN Gmbh; Mul edition
​Publication date: 25 Feb. 2014

Rated an average of 5 out of 5 stars by 4 reviewers (UK) and 5 reviewers (USA)
Karl Blossfeldt Masterworks
Foreword and Botanical Notes by Hansjörg Küster
Edited by Ann Wilde

For those who like their photographs larger - this is a new edition of plant portrait photographs by one of the great pioneers of botanical photography, 
Hardcover: 160 pages
36.50 x 23.50 cm
70 Illustrations (mono)
Publisher: Thames and Hudson Ltd;
NEW Date: 01 edition (2 Mar. 2017)

Famous American Botanical Photographers
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Imogen Cunningham (1883 – 1976)
After 1920 she became increasingly interested in botanical photography and rendering plants in macro shots and sharp focus. 

Between 1923 and 1925 she carried out an in-depth study of the Magnolia flower. One of her most notable works is Magnolia Blossom (1925)

Her photographs continue to be available as Estate Stamped 
Platinum / Palladium  Print

EXHIBITIONS

There is an exhibition of her work - Imogen Cunningham in Focus - which includes her botanicals, at the Museum of Fine Art in Boston
Dates: September 3, 2016 – June 18, 2017
Venue: Herb Ritts Gallery (Gallery 169), MFA, Boston

Previous exhibitions of her Botanicals include:
  • 1983 "The Plant Forms of Imogen Cunningham," San Diego Museum of Natural History
  • 1985 "Imogen Cunningham Plants," Photo Gallery International. Tokyo, Japan.
  • 2001 "Imogen Cunningham: Her Children and Her Flowers," John Stevenson Gallery. New York
  • 2011  "Botanicals: The Photography of Imogen Cunningham," Oceanside Museum of Art. Oceanside/San Diego, California
Picture
Succulent (1920) by Imogen Cunningham
REFERENCE:
Imogen Cunningham: Flora

This is a collection of black and white photographs of plants and flora spanning some 55 years of her career as a photographer. Her fascination with plants endured throughout her career.

It includes 40 duotone and eight colour plates of works exhibited in San Francisco in 

Richard Lorenz contributes a bio and critical essay about her place within the pantheon of the premiere photographers of the natural world in the 20th century
Paperback: 160 pages
Publisher: Bulfinch
Publication date: May 1, 2001

Caution! The consensus is that the images are really great but the production values for the paperback print run could have been better. Look for second hand hardback books which won't hurt your pocket.

Radiographs
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Dr. Dain L. Tasker (1872 - 1964) - Dr Tasker's records of flowers made using the X-Ray process - radiographs - stemmed from his knowledge of x-Rays and his developing interest in photography. He recorded record numerous varieties of flowers with the x-ray process.  The images he generated as a result are some of the most striking and unique in the history of making records of flowers. They render subtle tones and describe the internal structure of the plant and flower extremely well.

REFERENCE:
  • You can see more images of his work in this article A Radiologist’s X-Ray Photographs of Flowers from the 1930s. 
  • His work is also in numerous public art collections in the USA. ​An exhibition of his work was held in 2016 at the Joseph Bellow Gallery (January 9 – February 19, 2016)
  • ​​A limited edition monograph (hardcover 48 pages) of Tasker’s work, Dr. Dain L. Tasker was published in 2000 by Stinehour Press. ​
Picture
Tulip, 1931, by Dr Dain L. Tasker (radiograph - vintage gelatin silver print, 11.5 x 9 inches) - Image courtesy of Joseph Bellows Gallery