Postcard Exchange Round 60 Comments and Feedback

[Daniela]

Another day, another postcard!

Received @drpsilver 's "Tiger beetle tracks". Love love love that even though there's no context to show proportions, you can tell that the delicate prints belong to a tiny being. Lovely composition. Thank you, Darwin!

 

[Don_ih]

I too received Tiger Beetle Tracks from @drpsilver - but I was thinking that with no context, it was impossible to determine just how big that beetle was. I guess that proves my eyesight is not as keen as @Daniela's.

 

[mshchem]

I'm glad to hear that the postcard found its way and was delivered across the ocean! And of course I'm glad you like it.

I received your card yesterday. Great photo and great print. I absolutely love Foma papers. What toner did you use? I have a pack of Fomabrom I need to try. I use a lot of Fomatone.

 

[Ajven]

I received your card yesterday. Great photo and great print. I absolutely love Foma papers. What toner did you use? I have a pack of Fomabrom I need to try. I use a lot of Fomatone.

Well done. This is the second from five cards that was delivered!

For the positive part of the process, I exclusively use materials from Foma. Fomaspeed papers (RC) for normal enlargements and previews, and Fomabrom (baryta paper) for extra occasions. Fomatol LQN developer, Fomafix fixer and Fomatoner Sepia was used for toning. Because Foma Bohemia is a Czech company, all materials are quickly available to me in all possible formats and packages. I hope it stays like this in the future.

I'm glad you like the print.

 

[mfohl]

I received jvo 's "hah-rumph", a portrait of a rather imperious fellow. Lawyer? Banker? Star Wars character? Great catch, and very nicely printed. Thanks James!

 

[mshchem]

I dropped my cards off at the post office today, 18 international, 10 domestic. The fellow who runs our small post office is the nicest person in the entire system, he recognized me when I came in today. What a marvelous system, mail.

 

[Don_ih]

Two cards arrived yesterday. From @Michael Howard, the intimidating Ghost Rider who is undoubtedly wondering how he's to sit on that incredibly uncomfortable seat. It's an interesting photo, because it looks like that could be a statue or just someone under a sheet.... Then, from @Todd Barlow, Niagara Escarpment Rock Face, a nice study of tone and texture and the geometry of geology. Very nice!

 

[Michael Howard]

As a note, Ghost Rider and Ghost Last Supper, my photos this round, are from an art installation in the middle of the desert near Death Valley. The artist had models with sheets stand while he "plastered" them. So the statues are hollow. The artist is Albert Szukalski, from Belgium. This was created, along with the Lego Venus (you must google her!), in 1984. It's pretty surreal.

 

[Daniela]

Two postcards today!

@Michael Howard 's "Ghost rider". Very cool and haunting image with that sculpture and dark sky. Thanks for the explanation, Michael!

@jvo 's awesome portrait...that look... You deserved it! (I had to look up the dilemma you mention)

 

[Rob Skeoch]

Ghost Rider by Michael Howard has so much contrast. How did you get the sky so dark? Nice feel to the photo for sure.
Niagara Escarpment Rock Face by Todd Barlow bring back great memories as I live near the escarpment and have shot along it so many times. I love those rocks and was shooting some last weekend at Hilton Falls.
Tiger Beetle Tracks by Darwin DRPSILVER has such great lighting on it, and you can make out every grain of sand because of it. Great photo!
Strange by MFOHL is really nice and so sharp for a pinhole. Nice squared up composition.
Lunch by Tel uses such a nice soft light and reminds me of all the times I've stopped for coffee while out shooting. Nice picture.
The Joyride by Ajven, I love it, what a great photo. Great memories of a great day I'm sure.... and that Fomabrom paper feels fantastic. I'll have to get some of that. I had a Pentax ME Super for a while back in the day. Also the twin, the MX.
The Wind Farm by negativefunk Andrea Castelli has a great mood to it, and yes, as you mentioned the fog adds so much to the photo. Nice

 

[Todd Barlow]

PCX#60 gems received as of Nov 3:

Nov 3 - Tel - Lunch - This is my second PCX and like the first I find motivation from images of others. Opportunities for shots are everywhere, why am I not taking my camera everywhere, thanks!
Nov 3 - JVO - hah-rumphf - Great shot! Especially the slight head tilt that adds to the whole dismissiveness!
Nov 3 - Michael Howard - Ghost Last Supper - The contrast difference between the figures and the hill side really grows on me every time I return to the photo, nicely done.
Oct 27 - mfohl - Why so serious? - Well seen! - why are the wipers up, why is the oil filter gasket on the ground, why is only the passenger side sun shade down, why....
Oct 25 - negativefunk - I was going elsewhere - Beautiful image with the fog!
Oct 20 - Don Heisz - Bean leaf - Love the detail of the photo but also the story on how it was made.

 

[negativefunk]

I have received a few in the last few days
"White Van" by @Don_ih - despite the negative being a bit thin you managed to pull everything out of it. Thanks for the image and the backstory. I like the mood you set with the last phrase of the description.
"Frank Gehry Grey" by @Rrrgcy is a very interesting print. I like the result you decided to go for. Curiously, for me it does not evoke solidity but rather it points to the immaterial, so to say. Thank you.
@mfohl 's "strange" is a very well seen pinhole image. It indeed works just fine.
@Tel 's "Lunch" is a well balanced still life of an everyday moment. I like the tone you chose for of the print.

Happy mines are getting delivered and recognised despite the mishap!

 

[Ajven]

Today I received:

"Why so serious?" by @mfohl - I can't add much more than Todd Barlow wrote about the shot. I can't add much more than Todd Barlow wrote about the shot. The racing stripes on the hood look a bit like clown face painting and lead the eye to the question written on the windshield.
"Clunker and Tools" by @mfohl - Mark added a bonus for me because we both participate also to BPX43. That's a great picture. A distinctive "X" created by a cross tire wrench that shines in the reflection of the sun placed on the rusty body of an old car. It was a luck that the scrapyard was not locked and this picture could be shot.
"Ghost Rider" by @Michael Howard - scary image - I'm glad last week was Halloween and I didn't get the picture until today I like the tones - they fit the atmosphere perfectly.
"Tiger Beetle Tracks" by @drpsilver - the tracks in ascending diagonal and end at shadow edge looks great. When I opened the mailbox today and saw the postcard for the first time, my first thought was: "that's a film grain"! Hey, it is sand! Great picture with texture and mysterious tracks.

Thanks a lot!

 

[mfohl]

Today I received mshchem's "Man in Tree". A nice shot of a very cool tree. Or what's left of it. I'm trying to decide where the "man" is, but I think I see his shadow on the right side of the tree. Would be a very large tree if that was the case ... Thanks Mike, good shot!

 

[Don_ih]

Received Hah-rumphf from @jvo - a stunning portrait exhibiting an excess of attitude. It's not every day one finds someone so dignified - very lucky!

I also received "Scotts Valley" from @AnselMortensen -- on actual Kodak postcard paper. Now that hasn't been made in a while. The print is very nice - and I've seen those plants around here, at times. They're very cool-looking.

Thanks!

 

[Daniela]

Received @Todd Barlow 's "Niagara Escarpment Rock Face" today. Lovely abstract that takes on new life as you turn the postcard around. Thank you, Todd!

 

[mshchem]

Today I received mshchem's "Man in Tree". A nice shot of a very cool tree. Or what's left of it. I'm trying to decide where the "man" is, but I think I see his shadow on the right side of the tree. Would be a very large tree if that was the case ... Thanks Mike, good

My cards were mailed out this morning.
So far, I have received :

krnow's "Gunnera Leaf"... a beautiful varnished cyanotype on handmade paper.

Don _ih's "Shell"...excellent image, nice to see that he's a darkroom experimenter like me.

drpsilver's "Tiger Beetle Tracks"...I really appreciate the graphic qualities of this intimate landscape.

mfohl's "Grain Elevator Pattern"...another excellent image with strong graphic qualities.

Tel's "On Bleecker St."...I really like the composition and feel...the quality of the window light is outstanding!

Today I received a beautiful print of a foggy Spanish windmill/generator from a mysterious incognito photographer.

Hi Ansel, I appreciate your Kodabromide postcards. My friends, in the day, was Kodak's last great customer for this stuff

Cleaned out the last of this bought 10,000's of cards

 

[AnselMortensen]

Thanks, mschem!
I'm glad I joined the PCX, it gives me an opportunity to use them... and to free them from their Yellow Box 'cage'.

 

[AnselMortensen]

My cards were mailed out this morning.
So far, I have received :

krnow's "Gunnera Leaf"... a beautiful varnished cyanotype on handmade paper.

Don _ih's "Shell"...excellent image, nice to see that he's a darkroom experimenter like me.

drpsilver's "Tiger Beetle Tracks"...I really appreciate the graphic qualities of this intimate landscape.

mfohl's "Grain Elevator Pattern"...another excellent image with strong graphic qualities.

Tel's "On Bleecker St."...I really like the composition and feel...the quality of the window light is outstanding!

Today I received a beautiful print of a foggy Spanish windmill/generator from a mysterious incognito photographer.

Latest update:
I have received 3 more cards:

JVO's "hah-rumphf"...an excellent, aptly-titled portrait of a rather taciturn amphibian.

Michael Howard's "Ghost Rider", a moody sculpture study that (appropriately) arrived on Halloween.

mshchem's "Man In Tree", an interesting dappled-light abstraction that keeps the eye moving within the frame. A challenging lighting situation, well-captured.

 

[mfohl]

I also received Todd Barlow's Niagara Rock Escapement. A classic black and white study, really nice tones. Thanks Todd!

 

[Daniela]

What a week! Received @mshchem 's "Man in tree" today. Love how interesting and varied the lighting is. Thank you, Mike!

 

[mshchem]

What a week! Received @mshchem 's "Man in tree" today. Love how interesting and varied the lighting is. Thank you, Mike!

Wow, Daniela, I received your card today as well! "An Overthinker's Dream", amazing composition, the lines are mesmerizing! Depth is deceiving for sure. It took me several minutes to figure it out. Great Job, thanks!

 

[Don_ih]

I also received @mshchem 's card - really great contrast and good tones (a winning combination) of a pretty creepy-looking tree. Very nice!

 

[Daniela]

Wow, Daniela, I received your card today as well! "An Overthinker's Dream", amazing composition, the lines are mesmerizing! Depth is deceiving for sure. It took me several minutes to figure it out. Great Job, thanks!

Yay! Thank you!

 

[Ajven]

Opening the mailbox yesterday revealed:

- "Niagara Escarpment Rock Face" by @Todd Barlow - abstract photo of a stone wall taken using sunny 16 rule (and the exposition hits the spot!). Nicely printed with full range of tones
- "hah-rumphf" by @jvo - nice portrait from the amphibian kingdom

Thank you all!