I have been relatively quiet recently, as far as producing finished prints is concerned. I have not been sitting on my hands, but have been learning the Bromoil process, which has been taking a fair amount of my time. I am finally at the point where I am creating Bromoil prints that I am not embarrassed to share, and this is the first of those images.

The Bromoil process starts by creating a print as usual. Actually, after getting the exposure and contrast settings correct, a print is created by exposing one stop more and one grade of contrast less. This results in a dark, muddy image. After drying the print over night, the image is bleached and again dried over night. Finally, ink replaces the values previously held by the silver, resulting in a grainy, ethereal image.

Of great help to me was Gene Laughter, who was gracious with his time to demonstrate to me some of the finer points of this process, as well as offer his insights and experience. I am hoping that some day I will be able to come close to his artistry.

This particular image was taken of my daughter a number of years ago. I always liked the picture and felt that it was one of the better ones I took of her, but the original was rather harsh. The Bromoil process helped remove the harshness of image and replace it with a representation more fitting.