The special look of Misrach’s black-and-white desert work, is due to the process of split-toning. Split-toning involves immersing the processed print in a chemical bath of special toner which affects the tonal ranges of the print differently: in the present image the toning is most prominent in the darks and mid-tones, but less present in the highlights. It is a complex technique to do well, but Misrach was a master at it.
Misrach preferred a quality Agfa paper with a very high silver content. When Agfa reduced the silver content in their papers in 1978, this left Misrach without paper that met his high standards, and, for this reason, he ceased printing the project. Consequently, works from this series are rare.
