Postcard Exchange Round 12 Comments and Results

[randyman]

#4 Waller TX, No1. Good composition and the texture is striking. Again I would like to know what equipment did you use camera ,film, film developer paper developer?

Got the most amazing postcard of several different kinds of texture by Randall Murrow or randyman. I am assuming you took this in Texas somewhere.

Randall Murrow's Waller TX looks slightly warmtone to me. Did you tone it, or which developer did you use?

Been away from the forum for a few days. Thank for the nice comments.
@Greg: Pentax 645, Tri-X, developed in Sprint chemistry used by my school lab.

@Kate: yes, Waller TX is about an hour's drive or so outside of Houston. Spent the better part of this Labor Day with my partner and a friend shooting in the town and the surrounding countryside. Nice to get out of the city for a change.

@Pete: no toning, paper is the pearl Ilford postcard stock. I noticed the warm color myself, as it differed significantly from a previous printing on neutral tone Ilford 8x10. Developed in Sprint's QuickSilver developer.

 

[MattKing]

If anyone wants to send a postcard with a note of support to Kodak, write to:

Mary Jane Hellyar
President Film Products Group
Eastman Kodak Company
343 State Street
Rochester, New York 14650

Hopefully, people will take this opportunity to be supportive of Kodak and demonstrate to her that there is a market for traditional film products. Here's her bio: http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=2710&pq-locale=en_US&gpcid=0900688a8023249d

All mine are in the mail. I asked Mary Jane to sign up for an APUG membership too. Cross our fingers.

Regards, Art.

I sent my cards out today, including one to Ms. Hellyar.

As I said on the included note, it was a somewhat bittersweet experience.

The shot was photographed on Kodak Plus-X film and developed in Kodak HC110 developer. The prints were developed in Kodak Polymax T developer, and subsequently toned in Kodak Sepia II developer. And the paper? That was the bittersweet part. I just about used up the last batch of Kodak paper I had - in this case Polymax RC III. Thus bringing to an end 40+ years of using almost exclusively (until just very recently) Kodak Black and White photographic paper.

I am a little sad, but not desolate. I have a fair amount of Ilford paper that I've purchased recently, Kentmere interests me, and I see some of the new Seagull around to. I just wish the change was due to a desire to experiment, rather than a necessity.

I hope everyone who receives one of my postcards enjoys them.

Matt

 

[Pete H]

My cards have gone out today, also including ones to Ms Hellyar and Simon Galley. I like and use many Ilford products (film, chemistry and paper) but these days unfortunately few of Kodak's surviving products interest me. I wish it were otherwise ...

I didn't put the technical details on the card. If you are interested, I sent out 3 different shots all from the same roll of Acros, shot with a Contax G2 & 28mm f/2.8 Biogon, exposures around 1/1000 s at f/4. I suspect that it was developed in DD-X (wouldn't swear to that) and the prints were developed in Agfa Neutol WA.

 

[BWKate]

I received Mark Fisher'spostcard today. Poor little piggy. Like you said all good pigs go to heaven. Great series, Mark. Enjoyed it very much.
I'm off to the darkroom tonight if I'm not too tired to print my postcards in one go.

 

[Pete H]

Received Mick Fagan's well-executed high key portrait and Klinger's ring of standing stones.

Thanks!
Pete H

 

[rst]

Hey,

my cards went on their way yesterday. The lady in the post office is no longer surprised if I show up every once in a while with a huge pile of postcards. I hope you will enjoy it.

So far I received around 13 cards and will comment on them as soon as I have a bit more time. All great cards.

Thanks and ciao
-- Ruediger

 

[gr82bart]

Hi Folks,

My parents have received 11 fantastic postcards. Both were fine photographers in their own day and were the ones that got me into this mess in the first place. They are loving the images and the cards and think this postcard exchange is wonderful.

OK, so ...

• Selective focus tree from George in Greece. I like the matte finish.
• Amusing army of crabs from Ian.
• Mark sent out an image of one of my fav animals - a pig. This is also the second image of a pig I've gotten this month in exchanges.
• Tim managed to catch a local kid wheeling about on a bike.
• I really like the image that Randall from TX sent.
• The flamingo Nicolas sent is very peculiar - where are the legs?!?
• I always like images that Greg sends. Lots of 'stuff' in the images.
• Peter, I'll be visiting soon and want to see more of Florida's sights.
• Yeah! A rare colour postcard from Klinger of the Ring of Brodgar on Orkney. Added bonus is that he's licked on some interesting $0.03 philately too.
• Arthur's (great name!) street candid of the local fishmongers in NYC Chinatown is also the stuff I like to shoot.
• My GAWD! Another colour postcard. And of the Toronto skyline too. Very nice mood.

Thanks everyone from me and my parents.

Regards, Art.

 

[Stephen Frizza]

I would like to join this post card exchange i am based in australia, can someone help me?

 

[rst]

I would like to join this post card exchange i am based in australia, can someone help me?

Hi Stephen,
the sign up for the next round will be opened January 2008. As for "rules", please take a look into (there was a url link here which no longer exists) thread which describes what it is all about and also lists the next schedules.

It is a lot of fun.

ciao
-- Ruediger

 

[Pete H]

Woo hoo! 6 cards in the post today!

Doug Smith's diptych works really well,
There is an anonymous swimming pool from Florida,
Greg Dejanovic's gas can uses the same storage arrangement as my garden shed,
A wonderful legless flamingo from Nicholas Linden - I never knew they could balance on their beaks like that
A posing pig from Mark Fisher. I hope you post some more from the series at APUG.
Kathy Whitmore's trees at night have lovely rich tones.

This is already another good round - thank you all!

 

[Jon King]

I printed my postcards today, and they are drying below . The post office is next.

I've recieved 13 cards so far

I just got kwhitmore's card in the mail today - a great night shot
Klinger - I like how the color sets off the stones and the sky.
blackdog - a great image and amazing location.
I've been to Foamhenge , but it just isn't the same as Klinger's and Black Dog's
Nicholas Lindan - Wonderful texture in the bird, and the lack of legs makes it easy to see it in an abstract way
stan160 - I like the missing one, as well as those rare shadows!
Mick Fagan - great portrait, my house guests never pose
fm2n- a great city shot, and 4x5 street photography, love it!
Allen Friday - I like the composition and the glowing crucible
gr82bart - nice image that works well with Cyanotype
Peter Schrager - symmetry and reflections
Mark Fisher - works as a single image, looking forward to a series
Pepmiro - nice composition - wonderful toning - blue, but different look than most cyanotypes
Doug Smith - Great idea for a diptych, nicely done.

 

[Buster6X6]

Received 5 more cards today.
Mark Fisher I sure hope this pig went to haven.It is so cute. The picture tells a story.
Peter Schrager Very moody late afternoon shot. Well done.
KWhitmore Interesting hand held night shot of a stairs. Very slight up movement of the camera give it a interesting texture. I like it.
rwyoung An eerie,ghostly shrunken head . Yikes, I better use film only
Peter Klinger A very surreal color photograph of "Ring of Brodgar" Thanks Peter the post office made a mess of the front . A lot of swirly things in the middle. And as Art said I like the 3c stamps nice touch.

Keep them coming, thanks to all that made comments on my contribution to this post card exchange.

Greg

 

[AdamKap]

Received another 5 today.
George's selective focus tree. I love the choice of matte paper.
KWhitmore's staircase. I wish I had the patience to hold a camera still for 1.5 minutes.
Allen's foundry shot. I like the composition. and the glowing of the crucible.
rwyoung's shrunken head. very creepy.
Arthur's chinatown fish market. I loving walking down there everytime I'm in the city. great shot.

 

[rwyoung]

rwyoung's shrunken head. very creepy.

Just to be clear, that isn't my head, shrunk down...

 

[Mark Mombarg]

8 cards in my mail today!
-Spectacular in-line skaters from Pete H.
-Todd's gas can by Greg D.
- A beautiful printed leaf by Rüdiger
- A very confident high-key portrait by Mick F, nice print!
- A pavement (beautiful tones) exposed for 1.5 min by Kathy, great composition!
- "Bronze Casting"by Allen F.
-Ring of Brodgar, by Klinger
- A spectacular picture of a Catalonian village, from Andorra (!)

I received 19 cards until now; I am really enjoying this exchange..
My cards were posted a couple of days ago.

 

[Pete H]

Today I received

Rüdiger's hivernal leaf with nice veiny detail
and
Eric's something dog (the post office stuck the infamous paper strip over the "something") looming over the bedclothes.

It's another enjoyable round.

 

[eric]

Eric's something dog (the post office stuck the infamous paper strip over the "something") looming over the bedclothes.

It's another enjoyable round.

It was "Dang Dog!"

 

[Buster6X6]

Post card exchange is up to speed, received another three cards today.
FM2N Chinatown fish market.Difficult to capture but a lot of fun. I love markets. Well done Arthur.
"Bronze Casting" from Allan Friday Beautifully executed image. Great shot Allan.
No surprise here. Another beautiful portrait from Mick Fagan. Pose, expression, angle and high key work well together. I love it mate.

Thanks Greg

 

[KWhitmore]

Ok, so far to date I've received six awesome postcards.
A gorgeous cyanotype from Art-I love it, wonderful curves.
The Evergreen Barn from drpsilver is really nice-makes me miss living in the country.
Doug Smith's diptych of the bridge for WTC day is cool and moody.
Todd's gas can from Buster6X6 is great...you made all that junk look beautiful and somehow organized?
From Mark Fisher was "all good pigs go...." Well, this vegetarian hopes he went to heaven....and not bacon ;P Nice tones, great subject. I hope to see more of the series.
Finally Dang Dog from Eric. This one made me laugh out loud I'll admit. A great portrait in my opinion.
This has been a great first round for me....thanks!

Kathy

 

[Mark Fisher]

Ok, so far to date I've received six awesome postcards.
A gorgeous cyanotype from Art-I love it, wonderful curves.
The Evergreen Barn from drpsilver is really nice-makes me miss living in the country.
Doug Smith's diptych of the bridge for WTC day is cool and moody.
Todd's gas can from Buster6X6 is great...you made all that junk look beautiful and somehow organized?
From Mark Fisher was "all good pigs go...." Well, this vegetarian hopes he went to heaven....and not bacon ;P Nice tones, great subject. I hope to see more of the series.
Finally Dang Dog from Eric. This one made me laugh out loud I'll admit. A great portrait in my opinion.
This has been a great first round for me....thanks!

Kathy

Thanks for the comments of the county fair cards. I have enough images to keep it going for another few years. This winter, I want to get all the images I have thusfar printed as a group....hopefully this group could be the basis for a show. I think I've sent out 3 or 4 so far from the series. I'll try to get them all posted in one place sometime this winter.

It has been a nice exchange thus far....seems like the quality is moving up and the people are trying things outside their comfort zone.

All the best -- Mark

 

[Pete H]

The postman is really working hard. Today I received a very well composed bronze casting from Allen Friday and the Geat Wall of China extending off into the mist from Mark Mombarg. Both are printed very well.

I agree with Mark Fisher's comment that the quality of this round is very high

 

[gphoto120]

I received 6 more cards the past week - Thanks to everyone.......
Mick Fagan- wonderful portrait and subject!, "Great Wall" from Mark Mombarg -very nice. Diptych from Doug Smith - really cool, (my wife's favorite thus far).
"Witch Doctor" - rwyoung, and "Bronze Casting" from A. Friday - both excellent.
Finally got in the darkroom today and printed 10 cards. Will send these Saturday and print the balance this weekend and send next week.

 

[Buster6X6]

Commitment in this round has been wonderful. I received four more cards today.
1.I hope I read it correctlyicture was taken with Diana I assume 6X6? At world Toy camera day. Is it a contact print?Excuse my ignorance Dave Smith but I do not know nothing about Diana It looks like image was shot against the light. Very difficult shot.What paper and developer did you use?
2.PepMiro with little village of Valldurques?Good composition and toning
3.As always something unique rst with rendition of a fall leaf, very nice.
4.Mark Mombarg With chinese bridal shop. Well done indoor shot. I never tried HC-110 it works well with Tri-X.

Cheers Greg

 

[drpsilver]

23 Nov 2007

I agree with Matt that the quality of work is outstanding. This is my first time participating in anything like this, and it is really FUN and EXCITING. I cannot wait for Round 13 sign-ups.

Klinger's photo of standing sones reminds me of Kilmartin, Scotland where I was also among other pre-historic structures.
I really like gmessarit's composition and selective focus to direct the eye of the viewer. Wonderfully done!
The photo of the flamingo balanced on it bill by Nicholas Lindan is nicely composed. I would have never though of hiding it leg when taking the photograph.
Buster6X6's photo of "Todd's gas can" is interesting because I also try to look for art in places that art is not usually found, like piles of junk.
The message from the "Witchdoctor" brought to us by rwyoung is one that I need to hear often. Thank you Rob.
I received MattKing's postcard today. I really like how you combined the gray and sepia tones to give a brown that something I have been working to do for some time. Thanks for the ideas.

The two things I like most about this exchange are:
1. I get to show others some of my work, and I get to see lots of other peoples work. It broadens my view of the world.
2. It gives me ideas for my photography. Both in the field and in the darkroom.

Thanks to all for a wonderful exchange. I look forward to receiving more postcards.

Regards,
Darwin

 

[Doug Smith]

Thanks to all for all the wonderful cards I've received so far.

Todd's Gas Can by Greg- one of my favorites. He and Mr. Shovel look like they're holding the jumble behind them at bay.
I love randyman's "Ladder to nowhere". Great tones and composition.
The tonality in Allen Friday's shot matches the subject. Very nice.
Tim Gray's wheelie shot- I love how the rider is diagonal and everything else is very rectangular.
Art's cynaotype is just beautiful.
Likewise for pepmiro's rooftop view.
Kathy Whitmore's Night Stairs - 1.5 minutes handheld- I'm impressed. The lights look like UFOs.
Also impressed with Mike's color print of Toronto. What a treat to get a color postcard.
I love how the man seems like one of the stones in Klinger's Orkney shot.
Peter's Florida poolside shot takes me back to the 50's.
Mick's house guest - nice light and an excellent portrait.
Mark's Beijing shot- very evocative. Was that an open air market?
Ian's crab shot made me smile.
Mark Fisher's pig shot made me sad (but in a good way).
Eric's dog shot made me laugh.
Nicholas Linden's flamingo shot made me go "Wow, I wish I had taken that."

To Greg regarding the Diana- It's a cheap plastic camera made in the 60's and 70's in Hong Kong and has appeared under a number of names, sometimes as promotional giveaways. It uses 120 but shoots 4x4 so you get 15 exposures. The subject I used for the postcard was of the el in Sunnyside, Queens, NY. It's two consecutive exposures (complete with light leaks on the edges - a toy camera bonus) that made an interesting diptych. Shot on Plus-X dev in Xtol. Print was made from a scan on an inkjet printer since I no longer have access to a darkroom. It's kind of like a contact in that it just shows the two frames and surrounding unexposed film (which is why Diana's are so good for this type of thing - they make their own internal frames) but it was enlarged to fit the 4x6 card.

Doug