Postcard Exchange #26 Comments and Feedback

George Nova Scotia · Jul 12, 2012

Rince and all, first thanks for your comments, all very much appreciated. Yes it is sad that Kodak no longer makes that film, I might just try some of the newer IR films if I can round up a filter or two.

It always nice to hear that cards have arrived, and for that matter great to hear they have been sent as well.

How's everyone doing? Negative selected? printing underway? Or just waiting for a trip to the post office?

Signup for the next round starts in September! If you're new and want to join in just check the Info and FAQ threads or send me a PM with any questions. Where else can you receive such a variety from all over the world?

George

kraker · Jul 13, 2012

George Nova Scotia said:
How's everyone doing?

I'm fine, thanks!

But as to the Postcard Exchange... After I printed my cards for round 25, I kind-of promised to myself to be early in the next round, for a change. Well, it is safe to say by now that I broke my promise. No negative selected yet; it might even be that the picture still has to be taken.

Received some very nice prints already, I will sit down and comment on those... some day.

Rest assured, I will print, send and comment, I just haven't done it yet.

Rob Skeoch · Jul 13, 2012

Just received the "Breakaways" from Nige. Looks like a very interesting area of the world.

I haven't started printing yet, but have shot and processed the film.

-rob

Mike Wilde · Jul 15, 2012

Finally, my cards are in the post. I made a commitment to myself to print one of the images with color, doing my own ra-4 printing. I wanted to calibrate a big roll of Fuji Crystal Archive that I bought, that has been sitting in the freezer for more than 8 months untouched.

So I got caught up on a whole whack of backloged film (about 16 rolls, and 20 sheets of 4x5) needing processing, contact printed all the c-41 filer pages onto a well understood old Kodak Supra RA-4 paper and not too old chemistry.

I then paused to get set up for the 5" Fuji stuff, cutting 7" sections from the spool. I also decided to made up a new blix; the old tank solution was on the verge of sulfating and silvering out. Discovered the 'part A' had actually sulfered out when it came time to mik more. So I proceeded to mix my own Part A from Amm thio , sulfite, and hydroxide from a formula I had squirrelled away on this issue a few years ago, knowing that this day would come.

Made up a new batch of developer replenisher, filtered the cruddies from the working developer, and add the replenisher, which was behind schedule due to a big batch of contact prints.

Then fire the roller processor up this am, and find all sorts of gremlins in the control board operation. Shake most of them out, and feed a blank page through, and yuck - get green with random green globs. Try Kodak paper -green too, not as bad. Feed it a clean out sheet, and lots of specks come out adhered to it, so that was definitely needed - I guess the blix and developer crudies were quite stuck in some rollers.

Pull all rollers to check chem temps. Yikes - tank 1 - a water pre bath for the way I run it - was over 50C, when I had poured in at about 30C to start an hour before. So pour in cold water, and feed a blank sheet, get clean white out - yes back in business of a sort.

So I wound out the prints in a rushed batch before tank 1 takes off to a boil again. The prints are now done and mailed, so now I can tear the machine apart and fingure out why the control circuits are driving the heater on tank 1 all the time.

Prints done near the end had blue/purple creeping into the borders as tank 1 heated. Now you know the long sorry story why I put them out the way that they are.

rince · Jul 16, 2012

Today I received 'NYC, Empire State from Brooklyn Bride' by Jim. It is for sure a view I have not seen before. I like the clouds and the sky in this print.
It really is awesome to open up the mailbox and not only find bills and invoices in there Looking forward to the rest of the cards.

Mike Wilde · Jul 16, 2012

DRPSilver – Textures – I enjoy the sharp/ unsharp texture of the foam in the waves that form the background to the image.
It is likely a lucky combination of speed of the waves and the shutter speed used.
The foreground placement of the rusting and crumbling elements shows a very nice viewpoint to reveal, and you knowingly pointed out the textures of this scene.

George NS – IR Truro Reservoir - A very nice image of tranquil waters with the textbook IR look of the foliage. I like the black lurking shadows of the foreshore on the far side.

Nige – Breakaways - a nice shot of the Outback. The cloudless sky, brings back memories of my time spent travelling the outback on holidays while working in Brizzie.
Excellent timing/ use of light and shadows to show the contours of the hills so well.

Moose on the Loose – Hiroshima lantern parade - Wow – that must be a spectacle to witness in person. The image sure packs a lot of emotional punch.
Superb framing, and good control of contrast in what is undoubtedly a challenging lighting situation.

Piu58 – Simmer Haus – Great rendering of the textures of wood, and a great example of good use of negative space in the center of a successful image.
A nice companion bit of background text to explain the uniqueness of the image contents.

Steve Hawkins – Dogwood Flower – A very nice still life composition. Great full blacks set off the delicate texture in the petals.
Super depth of field for what is a challenging macro type shot.

piu58 · Jul 17, 2012

Yesterday I received Jims card of the Empire State. My wife an me enjoyed the card. We like the fine chosen position, the builind between a gap of nearer houseses. Thank you, Jim.

mooseontheloose · Jul 17, 2012

Two cards arrived early this morning:

BoxBrownie's "The Inglewood Terror". I love these old abandoned cars one finds in the countryside, and this one is unlike many of the others I've seen.

Rince's German Cathedral organ. A really gorgeous instrument and I think it's a great print -- lots of nice detail and contrast!

mooseontheloose · Jul 18, 2012

And two more! (I'm not used to two deliveries a day!)

George Richards' "Truro Reservoir", taken on one of my favorite films. I love the way HIE renders water and reflections and this is a great example of it!

Also Jim O's Empire State Building: I like the way you've chosen to frame it here, it makes for an interesting viewpoint of an iconic building. Interestingly, I think it also works as a very graphic image upside-down! (which is how I first viewed it).

Rob Skeoch · Jul 18, 2012

This week I received....

Empire State from Brooklyn Bridge... very nice, Thank you.
Abandoned Car... wow those Pentax ME Super's just keep on clicking.

rst · Jul 19, 2012

Hey,

I printed my postcards long time ago and then when I finally wanted to send them off I did not like them anymore. So they went into the trash - no pinhole from my this time.

Yesterday I printed again and I will have some time over the weekend to write them. They will go to the postoffice on Monday.

So far I received cards from

Oxleyroad - I always like to get cards from infrared film because I have not done this myself but do find it very interesting to see how things render in the infrared spectrum of light.

J Rollinger - A nice street photograph of Michigan Avenue and I think one can walk around in the image. Like it.

George Nova Scotia - What a calm image and ... infrared. Thanks!

drpsilver - An image I might have taken myself if I were there. I like the lowered contrast in the unsharp background compared to the high contrast of the foreground. Like it, but what is it?

mooseontheloose - What a moving image!

Mike Wilde - Another threepack. And another paper surprise. I do not know where you get your hands on all those old papers ... l like all three images.

Cheers
Ruediger

piu58 · Jul 19, 2012

I received Mike Wilde's three cards pack today. It is interesting to feel the surface of these old papers and to see how a fne image one can still get from them.

kraker · Jul 19, 2012

Sorry I haven't been very active in this thread to date. Here's an update of cards received so far:

piu58, simmer house. Lovely detail of the structure. I like the shadows, the structure of the wood, and the print as a whole. And the short history lesson, of course.
J Rollinger, lovely cityscape shot of Michigan Avenue. Lots of things going on, lots of things to see.
mooseontheloose, absolutely a beautiful shot and print of a great structure. Stunning.
Oxleyroad, the back garden. I'd say your first foray into using IR film is a success!
drpsilver, corrosion happens, lovely contrasty print, nice structures.
George Nova Scotia, Truro Reservoir. Tranquility is what comes to mind. A calming scene with a nice IR effect.
JimO, Empire State from Brooklyn Bridge. Only the former landmark stands out. But then again, it *really* stands out, that's the special thing about this shot.
BoxBrownie, abandoned car, clearly abandoned more than a few days ago. At least the steering wheel is on the right (as in: correct and as in: opposed to the left) side.

Great postcards so far.
I'm still in the process of selecting a negative (maybe it even turns out that the shot still has to be taken), so I would strongly, strongly advise not to hold your breath while waiting for my cards, I'm sorry to say.

rst · Jul 20, 2012

Hah! Now that Jacco reports about a postcard from NYC sent by JimO I did remember to have a postcard showing Statue of Liberty for round 25 and a double check showed that JimO was not on my list for round 25, so although Jim claims on his card that it is for round 25 it is the postcard for round 26.

So here we go, I received another card some time back

JimO - One of the rare color ones and a nice panoramic image, I like composition, format and color. Thanks!

Cheers
Ruediger

drpsilver · Jul 20, 2012

20 July 2012

Two cards arrived this week. The card from rince is well done. Only when you get up close do you see that it is not "tack sharp". You did a fine job printing this. The other card is form BoxBrownie, subjects like this are filled with possible images. Except for the age of the car it could have been found at many of the ghost towns in California. The perspective you took makes the car "pop of the paper".

rince said:
Number four is Textures, shoreline Park . This is another gripping image to me. I so love the story telling character of the image and how my mind starts spinning stories around this corroder thing (to me it looks like part of a ship)
I love how you combined so many different textures. The sand, the stones, the corroded metal, the water and while not clearly visible, the breeze coming from the water. I can almost taste the salty air and feel the sand and the stones underneath my feet and between my toes. Thank you very much for this lovely image. I really think you did an awesome job in interpreting those textures through your print. I hope one day I will be able to actually print tones so well, because to me you just hit the sweet-spot when it comes to the tones you printed, not to dark, not to light and in the right contrast. Awesome!

Dennis, thank you for such a kind and gracious analysis of my print. I am very happy that you enjoy the image so much.

rst said:
drpsilver - I like the lowered contrast in the unsharp background compared to the high contrast of the foreground. Like it, but what is it?

Ruediger, it is what is left of a overflow pipe for a small levee on the San Francisco Bay. Unfortunately almost 90% of the natural wetlands were drained for development in the early/mid 1900's.

I am off on vacation to Switzerland (visiting my wife's relatives), Italy (91st birthday reunion for another set of relatives from UK), and Minneapolis (to visit a very sick friend). Will be back in a month, just in time for sign-up for Round #27!

Regards,
Darwin

bluejeh · Jul 21, 2012

Round 26 from the two bluejehs

We are printing this weekend, should have our postcards in the mail before we leave on vacation mid-week (hopefully). Thanks.

mooseontheloose · Jul 23, 2012

I love the starting the week off with postcards in the mailbox:

Mike Wilde's hat-trick of cards arrived. It's always interesting to see what these old papers can do, and I particularly like the texture of the Indiatone. Can only imagine what it would have been like when it was fresh!

I also received TJ's classic shot of Luang Prabang, a place I've always wanted to go, but somehow never made it. It's really a shame as there really is no excuse while I'm living in Asia!

bluejeh · Jul 24, 2012

Round 26 from the two bluejehs

Hey folks, our postcards are in the mail! It was a 3 day marathon, but its done! Looking forward to the next round too!

Black Dog · Jul 25, 2012

Thanks to all for your cards-they're much appreciated!

Oxleyroad · Jul 27, 2012

10/30

It is two weeks since my last posting here and five more postcards are in. So in order they arrived...

George Nova Scotia "Truro Reservoir" - Taken with a Miranda Sensomat, I was given an early 1957 Miranda T(ii) just last Christmas and have found the camera still good at all but the slowest of shutter speeds. Another IR film image but this one from HIE a film I never got to use. This image has been the talk of the bunch so far with visitors to our home asking "Why are the leaves and grasses so white?"

JimO "NVC, Empire State from Brooklyn Bridge" - Interesting way to draw the viewer into the Empire State, certainly a view I have never seen before.

rince "Organ in German Cathederal" - You have captured all of the detail of the organ. If this is what you can produce by working in a makeshift darkroom, then I have to really lift my game using what I call my permenant darkroom. Great work Dennis.

Molli Two cards received what a surprise and completely handwritten. The gold Argenta superpress paper what a special paper and the image of the mask goes so well with it. The second card of a photographer on the rocks also a another special image that I can almost feel that I am there. Curious to know what your paper developer is.

A thank-you to everyone who has commented encouragingly on my first foray into IR. I just have to get out and use a bit more of this film and experiment.

I also got a card from round 25 from TJ. I commented in that thread.

jvo · Jul 27, 2012

trip to the post office...

steve brown - abandoned car, with the steering wheel on the "wrong" side, (down under for you),!!! nicely done!
George Richards - Truro Reservoir - mid summer here in florida , i could jump in! would love to float 'round the bend!
Dennis/rince - Organ in German Cathedral -MAJESTIC!
mike wilde - his 3 images - such wonderful images, stories, and use of technology.

I continue to enjoy them all... and learn! I must write more about the images I send!

this exchange is great, thank you folks!

George Nova Scotia · Jul 27, 2012

To answer the question for Oxleyroad "Why are the leaves and grasses so white?" -- "because they are warm and alive!" IIRC one of the original uses for IR films was to check on crop and forest health. Living plants would reflect more IR than dead or sick plants.

Now to the small stack of cards on my desk:

"Breakaways" from Nige. Desolate is a good description. Totally unlike anything I've come across in real life, very nice of you to visit there for me.
"Organ in the German Cathedral" from rince. This card arrived the day after "breakaways" and what a contrast. From the barren rock on one side of the world to the magnificence of the pipe organ on the other side of the world. Dennis all I can say is well taken and well printed. Thank you.
"NYC, Empire State" from JimO. A sky scape as much as a city scape. Yes my eye is drawn to the icon the Empire State building but then it drifts back to those wonderful clouds. I like clouds like that, softly drifting by.
"The Inglewood Terror" from BoxBrownie. I'm sure that car has a story or two to tell, great "roll cage and windscreen" and as if the car didn't have enough dings the post office added their own wrinkles!
Mike Wilde's threesome. I just love the old papers, I may have to see what I can dig out of my box of goodies. All great images, I like the refinery shot the best. Somehow with the water and treatment on the Ansco Indiatone it just doesn't seem like "smelly" old refinery.

Thanks all keep up the great work, it makes the trip to the mailbox worthwhile!

George

Oxleyroad · Jul 27, 2012

George, in the 70's where I grew up in regional Victoria Australia it was a nice warm dry climate with access to plenty of water, ideal for citrus and grapes. However there was usually an aerial visit by the police drug squg annually looking for tall green herbs with a distinct 5 fingered leaf. These herbs produced a vivid white foliage on the IR film whereas the broad beans, and other nitrogen rich vegetation grown between the rows of trees and vines did not produce such a contrast.

As kids you knew when the visit was about to come as we'd have dust storms due to the number of farmers ploughing in their nitrogen rich crops early...

pstake · Jul 28, 2012

Postcards sent!

As usual, I waited until the last minute, but the remainder of my postcards are in the mail today!

Thanks to everyone from whom I've received a postcard so far (and I see at least one more in today's mail).

They've been a lot of fun to look at.

Cheers,
Phil

piu58 · Jul 28, 2012

Today I recevied the two wonderful cards from Mrs. and Mr. Higam - bluejeh(2). My wif enjoyed the cards two. We both tried to see how pebbles turned into holes and vice versa at Judth's card. Interesting! Ed's card shows a quiet scene at Simon Fraser university. Wonderful.

Postcard Exchange #26 Comments and Feedback

George Nova Scotia

kraker

Rob Skeoch

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Mike Wilde

rince

Mike Wilde

piu58

mooseontheloose

mooseontheloose

Rob Skeoch

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rst

piu58

kraker

rst

drpsilver

bluejeh

mooseontheloose

bluejeh

Black Dog

Oxleyroad

jvo

George Nova Scotia

Oxleyroad

pstake

piu58

Postcard Exchange #26 Comments and Feedback

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