Photograph by Edwin Smith

Bodnant, Wales, 1960

Startling (startled?) statuary in the National Trust gardens at Bodnant, Wales. It is images like this that make Edwin's records of the United Kingdom's architectural heritage so distinctive.

This picture was the most difficult of all Edwin's negatives that I was asked to print. Try as I may, I was unable to achieve quite the tonal quality he had produced in the original guide print. The entire front of the statue was considerably underexposed; the negative had been overdeveloped, leaving the white flowers and sky dense and difficult to retain detail in. A complex printing mask was required. I suspect that Edwin used some after-treatment to obtain his original print; possibly ferricyanide bleaching of certain areas. I did not resort to this, but only managed to achieve one print I was reasonably happy with.