ALONG THE EDGE OF BRAMA ISLAND © 2014

Lake Kissimmee, Central Florida

Photographic Story Clyde and I had joined filmmaker Elam Stoltzfus for a few days while he was filming his documentary on the Kissimmee River Basin. We were privileged to visit the private island of Brama in Lake Kissimmee. We had a wonderful day there hiking around and enjoying the beauty, but the real beauty was along the edge of the island where the texture of the grass met the smooth water of the lake that met the forever-view of the sky. Reviving a Technique Hand-painted black and white photography is a way for me to express myself more specifically, to make my work more personal. I like to take an image and then add color that might not be entirely true to the original scene, but helps me elicit an ambiance, or a fleeting feeling, that I want to capture. I also delight in the idea that I‘ve revived a photographic technique that once was popular, but now is nearly forgotten. -Niki Butcher The Art of Hand Painting Black and White Photographs Niki prints her images on fiber-base black and white mat surface paper in the darkroom, then using Q-tips and cotton balls, she applies a thin coat of oil paint over the surface allowing the image to gently be seen through the oil paint. Archival Print Making Niki’s open edition gicleé artwork is printed on Sunset Bright Velvet Rag matte finish paper using eight archival inks. A state-of-the-art Epson Stylus Pro printer creates deep, rich dark values that hold subtle detail in the shadows as well as bright vivid colors that are truly tropical.