Caroline Beaumont Photography

All my prints are made in my darkroom in Marston. Lith printing is a time-consuming, soggy and unpredictably process. Instead of using normal paper developer, to do a lith print one uses heavily diluted lith film developer. This results in wonderful tones and textures in the final print that are quite different from and much more varied than those in a standard monochrome print.

Depending on the time paper is exposed to light, and then how long it's left in the lith developer, the image may be delicate, pastel and ghostly, fiercely dark, gritty and intense, or endless variations in between. Because of this, two lith prints from the same negative will never be identical, and may be startlingly different.

Lith printing yields particularly beautiful results with negatives taken on infrared film. Foliage appears white and luminous tones in the image are quite different from a 'normal' print: blue sky will appear black, creating a surreal impression of night during the day.

Some prints are selenium toned after the lith print has been thoroughly washed. On a normal print selenium gives excellent longevity as well as increased contrast and a purplish hue to shadow tones. It is used to help monochrome prints 'sparkle' and last a lifetime. Used on lith prints its effect is magical, adding to the already varied tones pale pinks and blues up to purply blacks and rich browns.