Frosty morning

Having just done some work quite similar to this, may I suggest you consider using potassium ferricyanide bleach on the highlights here. There's a great deal of potential "pop" in this photograph which will be brought to life in this way. The inherent contrast of the sunlit trees and foreground grass can be far more dramatic than you've uncovered in your printing thus far. There's a lot of potential drama here!

Thanks. I agree the image above is a long way from my vision of the final print, Im sure I can get the ice crystals on the trees to shine through the dark background. I've not tried bleaching before, any hints a tips? (I'll be printing on Seagull FB, the last few sheets I've got left)

Mark, using bleach is pretty simple. Put your wet print on an easel of some sort (I use a plastic cutting board) above your sink. Keep a hose with running water in your non dominant hand and a brush or q-tip wet with a medium yellow solution of potassium ferricyanide bleach (mix the dry powder with water till you get a medium tint) in the other. Keep the water running on the print just below where you are applying the bleach so the run off doesn't bleach unwanted parts of your pic. Bleach carefully and stop just before you think you should...it's easy to overdo and then the print is ruined. Use fixer in between applications to activate the bleach. When you're happy with the results, wash as usual. Further advice (and everything I've just written) can be gleaned from the writings of Bruce Barnbaum in various magazines and in his book. He writes so well of this that I've had simply no problems with the procedure.

Thanks. Now that the nights are dark, it's an ideal time to experiment.