As a former professional black & white photo printer, I can say that black marks on a print are where white light is getting through the negative, and white is where light is being blocked. It looks like there were some slashes in the negative's emulsion, and the white part on the "4" and that squiggly white line below the other black slash is where bits of the emulsion is still attached to the neg, just not where it should be.
This is a strange little photo. Not because of the woman sitting in the foreground, but because of the tripods in the background. Lights, camera, action?
I've mentioned this before. When I first started The New Found Photography it wasn't about sharing my collection of old snapshots. It was just a way of being able to go through the photos without having to dig out boxes and looking at the actual pictures. Anyway, some of those early boxes didn't get organized all that well, a problem I'm trying to solve far too late in the process. I don't think I've ever posted this photo, but where I found it, I'm not sure this is a first appearance. She does have a stern expression on her face.
