Rather self indulgent but this photo of me was taken by and developed and printed by my Dad. He had a keen interest in photography from his time at Shebbear College, I suspect encouraged by his physics teacher Mr Barfoot, a life long friend. He took many photos of the school and later had his own dark room in Cleave House (Sticklepath). The desk would be cleared after dark, the shutters (internal wood ones) unfolded and secured, and out came all the equipment. All was done in near darkness, only a dim red glow. Much more of a procedure than editing on a laptop today! The chemicals had distinctive smells. The timing had to be just right or the result was too light or too dark. The papers floated in each chemical bath in turn, transferred using tweezers, then had to dry before the resulting print could be handled and enjoyed. Fascinating to a little girl who was occasionally allowed to watch.

Can anyone explain the shadow? I presume added during the initial exposure of the photographic paper for artistic effect?

Coming soon Week 5 (Feb. 1-7): In the Kitchen