Postcard Exchange #26 Comments and Feedback

rst · Jul 30, 2012

What Uwe said, I also received cards from the bluejehs. Thanks!

One thing I noticed on Eds card, it is printed with a white border, and then there is kind of a second shifted border, slightly rotated, as if the card got some other exposure which was enough to produce a light gray. Did you flash the paper?

Cheers
Ruediger

mooseontheloose · Jul 30, 2012

Received Molli's "On the surface of things", an interesting shot on really interesting paper! When I first got it I wondered what kind of toning you must of done, until I read the back and realized it was the paper itself. Very cool!

I also received cards from bluejeh and bluejeh2: a nice calm shot from Ed and an interesting detail of the Hornby Island Rocks from Judith. Thanks!

piu58 · Jul 31, 2012

Yesterday I found TJs card in my letter box. An interessting shot of monks in Laos. I very like the ilford baryta postcard paper.

George Nova Scotia · Aug 1, 2012

My how time flies, it's August, the official "breather" month. That's when some of us sit back and enjoy all the lovely cards, and when some of us start to panic. (Also when the Post Offices of the world take a breather and finally deliver our cards.) Fear not. Official panic time doesn't start until the last week of September - the last few days to sign up for round 27.

I cleaned out the mail box yesterday and found two lovely cards from the west coast, thank you Judith & Ed - Bluejeh & Bluejeh(2). I finally read the instructions correctly and know I'm not which way is up on "Hornby Island Rocks" but I like it. Then there is the "Simon Fraser Univ Pool". Do they realize there is a big rock sticking out of the pool? Must be a real tough lane for that swimmer! Both great cards, even upside down and sideways they work.

So again for all those still deciding what to print or just now slaving away in a hot darkroom - remember official PANIC time is 55 days away, but we'd really like to hear from you, just drop us a card!

George

anikin · Aug 1, 2012

Well, my cards have just been delivered to the post office. Sorry for being a bit late. I have received a lot of beautiful postcards. Thanks everyone for sending them out! I am at a crunch at work, but if I ever get a breather, I will go through them and post my impressions.

kraker · Aug 5, 2012

More cards received since my last update:

bluejeh sent a very nice study of rocks, even though I can't get the slow rotation trick working.
bluejeh2, in contrast, has sent a shot full of straight lines, also very nice. Lovely lighting, looks like early morning.
rst has given his Zero2000 some rest and went to the park with a Zeiss Ikon. A great shot, and... I think I've said it before, really love the paper you use.
Mike Wilde was again generous enough to send not one, not two, but three photos in an envelope. Image one is my favourite (but I like all three images, rest assured). It's great to see how this paper still performs, but also how it makes a negative from 201x look like a print from some 50-odd years ago.

I've printed my postcards today. At last. They need to be addressed and I need to invest some money in stamps; I will let you know when they go out, but the biggest hurdle has now been taken . I've chosen to print just one negative, for which I apologise beforehand to the bluejehs. Before choosing the final negative and print (and this might be interesting to Mike Wilde), I tried printing a negative onto some old (don't know how old) Agfa Brovira paper. Fogging however was pretty bad, so that specific experiment has to wait for some other time. For this round, it's fresh stock Ilford Postcard paper.

mooseontheloose · Aug 6, 2012

Two more cards arrived today:

Rudiger's "A Walk in the Park" -- I like that the subject of the title is out of focus. You can almost hear the wind rustling through the leaves!

Phil's Capital Building -- you're right, the fountain is less than impressive, but the tower is nothing to sneeze at!

Thanks guys!

Mike Wilde · Aug 7, 2012

I'm now back from a weeks worth - 110km - of a backcountry canoeing vacation to find a nice bunch of postcards mixed in amonst the junk fliers in my backlogged post box contents:

Black Dog – An RA-4 colour print showing that yes, the UK does see a touch of snow from time to time. It can first strike you and an ‘unframed’ image, but further study puts more and more content into your head. Nice and sharp, for sure, and not to much contrast in a situation that can be prone to such a problem

Box Brownie Abandon car – Ah, someone’s old ‘roo shooter rig. Nice composition. A good hint of background to give the scene a location. It does not pull too much attention away from all of the details of this modified before its death car.

Bluejeh – The rock with pebble shaped holes – A neat abstract taken from a natural unmodified scene. I quite like it from just about any orientation. The unbalanced edge approach would normally be criticized, but there is so much strangeness in the image that your eye is not drawn to it.

Bluejeh (2) Suburban Post-Modernist reflecting pool landscape. Nice framing. And a good range of tones as well. Nice reflections in the pool, and tonality in the overhead clouds as well.

Jim O The Empire State Building surrounded by negative space. Good definition of tones in the clouds, and in the window details in the otherwise dark foreground elevate this print above what might be called a successful grab shot. The foreground is not presented as a total silhouette, which considerably strengthens the image to me. I have a strange purple swipe of a stain at one end of my print , which is one of the neat artifacts of travelling though the postal system, I presume.

rst – A walk in the park- At first glance I thought this might be a good pinhole, but a closer examination of the fine detail in the foreground leaves dissuaded me of the pinhole thought quickly.

I like the way that the sharp foreground deliberately frames the interesting, but slightly out of focus background content in this image. The matt paper used to present this image works well with the subject content.

Mike Wilde · Aug 8, 2012

Molli's card arrived last night. Excellent mask like image of some sort of old gold hued paper.

Well suited to times here - we just finished the big Caribean carnival parade we call Caribana.

I had a batch of old Kentmere from late 50's early 60's, like yours. Mine was a matt silvery finish.
Alas it was fogged very badly, and grey on grey just did not work, so it was binned.

jvo · Aug 9, 2012

rec'd!!!!

walk in the park from rudiger - i'd love to take a snooze on the grass!!!

man in the street from johannes - nice shadow, printing and details in whites & blacks! i'm jealous.

hornby island rocks from judith higham - uh, pebbles - no, rocks - no, pebbles - no... great seeing

simon frazer university from ed higham - nice seeing, compostion and reflection, very interesting

on the surface of things from molli - wonderful subject, nicely printed - and attractive.

thanks to each of you... i'm lovin it! (did i steal that?)

rst · Aug 10, 2012

Thanks for the kind comments.

In the meantime I received some more cards:

labcoat - a nice print of ... cows. And the one in the front looks like cows are slow thinkers.

JimO - NYC Empire State from Brooklyn Bridge. I like that framing of that huge building looking so small in this image.

anikin - Frozen Trio. Somehow to me it seems that I ended up in an infrared postcard exchange. And I like that.

rst - sent an image I could have taken.

htimsdj - sent a nice study of line and pattern from Cleveland Museum of Art. Very nice card, but I could not find htimsdj (who invented this name) on my list and it turns out ... this is a later comer from round 24. Too lazy to look up that other thread, so I leave that comment here.

Cheers
Ruediger

mooseontheloose · Aug 10, 2012

Two more cards arrived today:

labcoat's tourist couple's self-portrait. How many of us have done this exact thing? I like the fact that the background has nothing to do with what they are taking a picture of (not that it would show up anyway!)

anikin's Frozen Trio. I love getting infrared shots in the exchange, and am glad to see a successful example with the Auro IR820. I definitely need to play with that film more!

kraker · Aug 20, 2012

inbox & outbox

Received labcoat's tourist self-portrait photo. Guilty as charged, yes, we also take one or two pictures this way when on holiday. It's a great photo, an observation of daily life in this day and age. Really, a great shot. Thanks.

And... the outbox is empty. My postcards went in the mail today. Pfew. Time and time again, I dream of being early "this time 'round", but I don't seem to manage, somehow. Maybe next time...?!

mooseontheloose · Aug 24, 2012

Kraker -- your card arrived today. It really makes me laugh -- I just love (curious) sheep! The black one at the back of the herd is particularly good. And of course, it's a striking photograph as well -- the fence in the foreground, the brooding sky -- great composition and printing! Thanks!

MattKing · Aug 26, 2012

I have been delinquent in not commenting on the fine postcards in this round. My apologies.

Since my last comment I have received cards from 13 participants in this round. The following are their APUG names, the card titles (or my best guess on titles) and my comments:

anikin - Frozen Trio - whimsical use of IR imagery
bluejeh - Hornby Island Rocks - well seen, and fun too!
bluejeh2 - Simon Fraser University Pool - beautifully geometric
BoxBrownie - The Inglewood Terror - the subject made me smile
drpsilver - Textures, Shoreline Park - intriguing vignette - printed well to emphasize the textures
George Nova Scotia - Truro Reservoir - another nice use of IR - in this case a historical one
JimO - Empire State from Brooklyn Bridge - great choice of viewpoint
kraker - Counting Sheep - moody and fun - at the same time!
labcoat - Pedestrian at the Crossing - interesting shapes and beautifully dramatic tones
Mike Wilde - Lake Ontarios Shore, Church of the Silver Ball and Toronto Skyline - Three more interesting prints from Mike on oldish paper. I think Im most fond of the colour print - Toronto Skyline
mooseontheloose - Miyajima Torii at Night, Hiroshima - atmospheric and sobering - and printed to suit
Oxleyroad - The Back Garden - full of interesting detail, and makes nice, subtle use of the near IR sensitivity of the film
rst - A Walk in the Park - nice use of selective focus

So far I have received cards from 15 people - with 9 to come.

Thanks all for participating.

MattKing · Aug 26, 2012

And I have also been incredibly slow in getting my cards done!

But at last they are on their way.

The cards destined for Canadian addresses are in the hands of Canada Post. And the cards destined for US and international addresses are in the hands of the United States Postal Service.

I experimented a bit this time with toning, including trying quick, partial bleaching with subsequent partial sepia and selenium toning. As a result, no two cards are alike, and some cards exhibit some uneven changes of tone.

Made it easier to ensure Judy and Ed (bluejeh and bluejeh2) don't get bored with the mail .

Thanks all for your patience - hope you like the results.

kraker · Aug 28, 2012

Rachelle and Matt, thanks for commenting. It's always interesting to see my card described by others, it actually makes me look at it in a different way, see it from another perspective.

rst · Aug 28, 2012

Today another card arrived:

kraker sent What are you looking at? which I like very much. Well seen and nicely printed. So far this is my favorite for this round. Thanks!

Cheers
Ruediger

piu58 · Aug 29, 2012

I received three more cards.
- Johannes' (labcouts) street shot. I really love thsi composition. The harsh light was managed very well. A very fine photo!
- Anikin's Frozen trio. A slightly magic scene, very interesting.
- Jacco#s (kraker's) "What are you looking at?" A great application of a super wide lens. I love the vastness of the meadow and the wide sky.

drpsilver · Aug 29, 2012

29 Aug 2012

I came home from my trip to Europe to find a large box of mail with contained many nice postcards.

In no particular order ...
The card from kraker is very nice. It is magical and mysterious at the same time.
George Nova Scotia's card is a wonderful use of IR. Well done.
I like how JimO has used contrast and clouds to focus the viewer on a single building which directs the eye back to the sky. Nice composition.
I found the card from anikin quite funny. The IR film added to the humorous effect. It is comforting to see HIE effects without HIE. Well done.
The card from labcoat prompts several questions from the viewer. What is h looking at? What is so interesting? ...
Nice print of the capitol building in Lincoln, NE from pstake.
A very unique and lovely print from Molli. The paper really adds to the elegance of the face and mask. (Your handwriting is very nice, and fits with the image very well.)
The photo from rst uses a soft background to add depth to the print. I like how the leaves focus/frame the person walking in the park. Nicely done. I really like the paper you used to make this postcard.
Three very different photos came from Mike Wilde. I like the juxtaposition between the rocks in the lake and chemical plant in the background (Image 1).
Two very different cards from bluejah and bluejeh2. I am still working on seeing the holes to pebbles in the card from bluejeh. I like the use of reflection in the card from bluejeh2.

Thanks to all for a wonderful round of great images.

Regards,
Darwin

George Nova Scotia · Aug 30, 2012

Sorting thru the bills on my desk I have received a few more cards from this round and one from round 24!

From rst "A Walk in the Park" Brings back good memories from a time when I could walk all day in the park. I realy love the way the light treats the leaves and branches in the foreground.

From Molli "One the Surface of Things" Once I figured which way was up it all made sense. I think the image fits the paper very nicely. "Interesting" paper seems to be a bit of a side theme here and I like it. I remember buying some pink, yellow and green dayglow paper in the 70's had to order it all the way from New York, great fun.

From pstake "Capital Building" Printed a little crooked with fuzzy edges but on KODAK post card paper no less. Nice!

From labcoat Strathclyde Loch I like the details and motion, but I have to say gulls are one of my least favorite creatures.

Anikin sent along "Frozen Trio" and given the ferns growing in the piano they have been frozen a little too long. Nice use of IR, the figures fit right in with the cotton candy foliage.

In the mail today from kraker "What are you looking at?" Yes indeed, wonder what you did to get them facing the same way? Great shot and timing.

If I count correctly that's 19 from this round, which means a few people must be entering panic mode. Sign-up for the next round starts in a couple days!

George Nova Scotia · Aug 31, 2012

Matt King's toning experiment "Canopy" arrived to round off the month of August. Yes the toning is a bit uneven, it adds an "antique" feel to the scene. I do like the scene and the light in the distance.

Thanks all, I hope there are still a few cards on the way.

ozphoto · Aug 31, 2012

I too have been tardy with my postcards - apologies to all, work seems to have got in the way (again!). I'm hoping to get them finished over the weekend, and posted by the end of the week.

George Nova Scotia · Aug 31, 2012

Thanks for the update Nanette, I'm not sure about this "work" thing, but yes sometimes life does get in the way. I think there are still 11 cards missing from my pile, many regulars. I hope everyone is okay.

BTW if any of mine have gone astray I think I still have a few left over I could resend, just drop me a PM.

hoffy · Aug 31, 2012

Another Tardy confession here. Mine are printed, just need to be addressed and stamped. Hope to get them out during the week.

Postcard Exchange #26 Comments and Feedback

rst

mooseontheloose

piu58

George Nova Scotia

anikin

kraker

mooseontheloose

Mike Wilde

Mike Wilde

jvo

rst

mooseontheloose

kraker

mooseontheloose

MattKing

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MattKing

Moderator

kraker

rst

piu58

drpsilver

George Nova Scotia

George Nova Scotia

ozphoto

George Nova Scotia

hoffy

Postcard Exchange #26 Comments and Feedback

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