Above: the first print, made after a test strip determined an exposure of 11.9 seconds at Grade 0.5. The test strip was based on a starting exposure of six seconds, followed by quarter-stop increments.
The second print added a 1.5 stop burn-in exposure on the window area.
The next programmed step was for a 2-stop burn-in on the lower right area, very localized, to control the brightness of the reflection on the window seat leather.
The final exhibition-density print has an additional Grade 4 filtered exposure of 5 second overlaid. This strengthens the deepest blacks so that when illuminated under gallery lighting, the print appears rich. For printed reproduction, the third stage without this extra hard-grade exposure is better.
The picture was taken in a pub in Andersonstown, Belfast, when Les was visiting to record the divided community during the present period of strained reconciliation.
The basic exposure for this ultra-wide shot taken in Lower Falls Road, Belfast, was 14.1 seconds at G0.5.
The final print has the area the left (as viewed) of the boy's face burned in +1 stop; to the right, +1 stop; and the whole print overlaid as above with 0.5 stops at G4 filtration.
Both shots were taken using Nikon equipment on Fuji Neopan 400 film.