(one of the many "Under the Dress" series of photographs I have taken over the years for a proposed photo book. Before the series was completed to my satisfaction, and before I could hook up with a book publisher, someone else beat me to it — either models talk too much, or great minds truly think alike :)

"Omsa, prossimo a nulla"
("Omsa, next to nothing..." — despeckled scanner crop)

Tear sheet (4x5 Ektachrome original) — Omsa pantyhose (Italy)

(smoke and mirrors: printed high contrast through pebbled glass and a #4 screen, masked hose, then copied low con with a #2 diffuser screen).

Before digital image manipulation, photographs had to be manipulated via darkroom techniques and the photographer's skill before being sent to a service bureau for camera ready processing and then going to the printer.

Today, in Adobe Photoshop, the same effect could be duplicated in about 10 minutes. However, no digital manipulation can ever hope to replace a photographer's skill and experience when the image is originally taken.