Sonatas VIII-3 (Allegro Giojoso)

The fast sledding starts beyond the tree
If the children lose hats or mittens, St. Francis will guard them for free.
How they slide, one by one, down three gentle hills
They laugh all the way, it’s quite fast, but there aren’t hard spills.
You may glimpse the Rock River there on the right
Where Emily and Miss Jayne once went ice fishing with my wife.
Over and over they slide, again and again
Then left to climb the stairs and return to “Sledding Lane.”
As I look at the snow on the branches and boughs
Thinking of the sledders on cardboard boxes now
When I was a child we rode sleds from stores
But even today, all the riders are eager for more!
I think, “How untouched the frozen lane is now”
How the pristine frosting coats each branch, each bristle and bough.

The photo was taken in January of 2020 with a Pentax 67 medium format SLR equipped with a 105 mm f/2.4 SMC Pentax 67 lens on Ilford FP5+ film. The negative was enlarged optically with a Beseler 23CIIXL enlarger and a 100 mm f/5.6 Schneider Componon-S lens on Ilford Multigrade FB Classic Double Weight Fiber Base silver gelatin photo paper. Processing was done archivally using Kodak chemistry, with a final toning with Kodak Rapid Selenium Toner, treated with hypo clearing agent, and washed in an archival washer.

All aspects of this print were handled in an authentic, pre-digital manner. Archival processing will ensure the maximum life span for this print.

This print (1/25) on 8” x 10” paper is available for purchase, mounted or unmounted. Please contact me if interested. Thank You.