This 19th-century antique barn located at 449 Luce Hill Rd. in Stowe, Vermont, stands majestically on a slight rise along the two-lane country road just outside the busy ski-resort town. I took the photo unaware of how popular the barn is among amateur photographers.

That morning, about 8 am on an August day in 2021, I digitally captured a shot of the barn still shrouded in a quickly evaporating mist. Right then, I knew I had an iconic Vermont image.

Every photo of this barn I have seen online emphasizes its distinctive red color, often framed in autumn foliage. I wanted to develop this frame differently.

So back at the studio, I worked on the shot in Photoshop to get just the right evocative black and white mood. Next, I printed a high-resolution negative using Piezography® inks on overhead projection film. Then, I prepared sheets of fine printmaking paper with platinum/palladium sensitizer using the Malde-Ware platinum/palladium technique.

This technique is tricky to get right. Temperature, humidity, and a dozen other variables must be perfect to yield a good print. Finally, I exposed, cleared, and washed the image in a carefully timed sequence of chelating agents to remove all traces of iron from the paper to prevent yellowing.

A 2-inch white matte surrounds the 8x12 inch image. Black satin-finished wood completes the picture.

Protecting the photo is UV filtering non-glare acrylic. All museum-grade matting and framing materials used are acid-free.