This negative is a nightmare. I developed it in D-19. I don't know what I was thinking because the scene had a such a huge brightness range. This is a lithium Ziatype with sodium tungstate added that I hoped would give a bit of extra highlight separation.
I think comment number two above, ''a certain erotic frisson'' is the reaction I was hoping for, and hence, the context might be playful eroticism. My one time studio mate, Jenny, mentioned one day that she still had her Catholic school uniform, so she posed for me. There is a second pose similar to this that is going to be harder to print, but that's next. Also there was a third pose with an even more frustrating negative. That one I printed hybrid and it can be seen in the hybrid gallery in DPUG, same silly screen name. I have learned not to be too concerned with how people view my pictures in regard to social standards and what is accepted current art scene. I go where my personality takes me.You should see the ones I don't post!
Doug, I think it's an interesting picture, actually. Her expression is hard to figure out. Regarding the printing - I think the important highlights are too dark, and while the highlights above her are nicely controlled with your darkroom wizardry, I don't think you need detail in that area; it's much more needed in her blouse, raising the mid-tones a little bit closer to highlights. But I'm nitpicking. It's a beautiful effort.
Thomas, you may be right. Something is a bit off in the scale of the print. The D-19 left the lower values, zones II, III and IV, too thin. If I print for black they all merge. If I up the contrast, the shadows separate better but then the highlights wash out. I will continue to play around with this image. The print does have a better presence than this scan, but it still needs work.