A reverie revisited ("Reverie no. 2")

The image was originally printed too dark and I think it may gain some

greater ethereal quality in this light rendition. It is more like what I saw this

sunny afternoon when I perceived this little girl (daughter of a friend) lost in

her thoughts. Your critique is welcomed.

a reverie is an apt title Arthur, indeed it is what it feels like to me, your dream featuring a lovely angel delivers a lyrical charm seldom seen in a photograph!
The processing works beautifully but for the nagging detail of the harsh black almond slits for eyes, an artifice often used in horror flicks and hardly compatible here ;-)... This is a detail that can/should be reprocessed (the picture demands it), but for now it is the one thing that jars me from the reverie.

Thank you for your very considered comments, Carlos, as an accomplished recorder of human activity. The subject was in her own world and did not mind my presence.

I agree about the eyes, they need to be lighter to improve the result. My revision (Reverie no. 2) of the original was just a an overall lightening of the tonality of a digital copy made of my darkroom print, for electronic posting on this site. My abilities with image editing is limited so I have not succeeded in  lightening the eyes via Photoshop, but I intend to reprint the negative again in the darkroom while dodging her eyes to render them lighter.  The film was infrared (Konica 750) which contributed to the lighter vegetation but also blocked the light of her eyes. 

Because the image is symbolic and somewhat universal in message I would like to offer it for sale when I reopen my little summer gallery. However, given that my attempts to contact the girl or her mother for permission and to sell the image were unsuccessful (address unfound) I wonder whether this is possible. Do you or anyone have any thoughts about that?

Arthur, I understand your concern, but if Reverie was mine I would only refrain from exhibiting if the image was in some fashion unflattering, or worse derogatory of subject, but since it showcases an expression of delightful innocence I would not be in the least concerned --- the narrative is there for anyone to see and only an absolute cantankerous boob would deny the intent of the artist --- keep in mind, however, cantankerous boobs have a large constituency. Good luck!