I put my prints in the mail today.
And I've had the joy of receiving them yesterday. Menno sent me two splendid prints, both made on Ilford Classic FB paper and selenium toned afterwards.
Two different subjects and both printed truly excellently, with deep darks and bright highlights.
The first print is a view on the Ottawa river, downstream from the Chaudière Dam. The photo was taken this spring and, as Menno also states in his letter, it's a hefty stream with all the molten snow after the winter. It's an impressive stream already like this, but apparently the most had yet to come.
Second print is a photo of the former post office in downtown Ottawa. Perfect straight lines with the Mamiya 50mm shift lens.
It's a well-chosen scene and the light coming from the left-hand side make it extra interesting.
It's difficult to choose a favorite between them and I like both of them a lot. So I'm simply not going to choose...
I hear you on the GAS part, my photographic gear collection has grown quite a bit during the pandemic as well!
The 50mm shift will definitely be worth the extra carry on your upcoming summer trip!
You mention printing a bit smaller this round because of EU post and I know you've sent me two larger prints last year (they were close to 12x16", the mailman had to ring our doorbell because the didn't fit in our mailbox slot
). Unfortunately with regular post that's the smartest thing to do. Not too long ago I found a cardboard-backed photo-exchange envelope fully bent inside my mailbox, because that was the way it would fit most convenient I guess. Luckily they didn't make a hard fold in it so it didn't damage the photo, but still...
I think the prints you've sent me this time are 9,5x12" or close to that, which is the perfect size for our Dutch mailbox slots. It's also about as big as I can print comfortably. Anyway, I still consider them quite large.
My development trays go up to 12x16" and I've modified my enlarger a bit to allow for that much magnification from 35mm, but I struggle a lot with handling any paper bigger than 9,5x12" during the wet stage of the process.
Thanks again for two excellent prints!
