produced using Black and White film, Fibre Based Silver Gelatin Paper, traditional darkroom craft techniques and a little artistic license added for good measure. Analogue equipment is used throughout except for lightmeters and timers. Even my main cameras are fully manual.
Finished Prints are archivally processed and mounted. This means that a rigid regime of fixing using a two bath process, hypo clearing, washing, toning, usually in Selenium, more hypo clearing and extended washing times to eliminate the maximum possible amounts of residual chemicals from the development, fixing and toning processes.
The Silver in Black and White printing paper is prone to attack from airborne pollutants and natural tarnishing(oxidation) over long periods of time. Selenium toning converts the Silver(Ag) into Silver Selenide which is a far more stable compound than untoned Silver. This can increase the archival properties of Silver Gelatin prints providing the toning is taken to completion. If you have any Silverware in your home you will know how easily it tarnishes. Fortunately, because the image Silver is in suspension within the gelatin layer, it is protected to a large extent from rapid natural tarnishing.
I own 60 year old black and white family photographs which are still in perfect condition and were not toned in Selenium. From this you can gather that Selenium or other archival toning is not absolutely necessary but it will protect and increase the life of a print. Toning also has other benefits such as increased contrast range in the print. This effect is mostly achieved by darkening the blacks a little and often creates a tonally richer appearance to a print. Toning can, and often does, change the colour of print. The colour it gives is dependant on many factors. See my Subjective Toning page for more on this.
All prints are dry mounted onto acid free conservation quality mountboard using using Fusion 4000 dry mount adhesive sheet which is also acid free and makes a very permanent bond between print and mountboard. Should you require prints not to be dry mounted then please ask.