Postcard Exchange Round 19 - Comments and Feedback

[bwakel]

Quick catch up:

Lovely print of a birch trunk using shallow depth of field from Roger.
Stunning tonality on lorifrommontana's print of her Willys Wagon.
Great eye Darwin - really nice capture.

I've just finished printing my cards and they'll be in the post on Monday. I've gone for something a bit more experimental this time. I was attempting to create more individual images without giving up the speed benefits of serial production. Each print is different due to different combinations of bleach point, agitation and time in a second development in lith. Some are more alternative than others so everyone's going to have a different experience when they receive their card.

Barry

 

[Shaggysk8]

I just wondered as I sent all my cards out at the beginning of feb, if there is anyone who has not got it yet, this is my first time doing it and I am not sure how this is all normally done.

Paul

 

[Roger Thoms]

Paul, I received your card, thank you. Nice shot, it's subject matter that I'm partial to and I like the raking light across the frame. Good job. As a far as how it's done. Varies as you will find out. I usually ask at some point well after I have sent out my cards if anyone has not received a card, and if anyone responds, then I sent another. I Know that cards don't always make it.

Roger

 

[gurkenprinz]

Had another card waiting for me on Friday evening: Laurent's beautiful seaside shot! It has a strangely dramatic feeling to and is very well composed! Merci, Laurent!

 

[BirgerA]

I received Laurents landscape today. Definetly one I would like to see printed larger.

Regards

Birger A.

 

[gurkenprinz]

I received Laurents landscape today. Definetly one I would like to see printed larger.

exactly what my first thought was!

 

[ozphoto]

Birger, I totally agree!
Laurent's card arrived on Saturday and it is a superb landscape image - love it!

 

[hoffy]

Howdy all,

this is an apology post. I had planned on printing up all mine today, but I had a minor incident in my darkroom. In the process of setting everything up, I managed to spill all my remaining Multigrade developer on the floor. This necessitated me having to pull the door blanking off (MDF taped up against a double glass sliding door), to clean and dry.....by the time it was all done (about 5 minutes ago), I'd run out of time to get a decent enough print session in (plus, I didn't have any developer left...maybe just enough, but I have disposed of it as it wasn't worth keeping). This was my last chance for the next two or three weeks.

SO, I am still going to send out cards (there has to be a plan B now), but I am not sure when and how. All I know is there is going to be a delay.

Cheers

 

[Laurent]

Thanks Birger, Nanette and Christian for your comments ! I recently discovered the virtues of small prints, so my first real print of these was on a 5x7, but I wanted to keep on printing on postcard paper.

 

[relix]

Put all my postcards in the mail today.

Last week I received Lori's Wagon. I love the sight of those bubbles in the glass, it almost makes it look like something marine-like. I've also received Laurent's landscape, the detail is amazing! Thank you, both!

 

[polyglot]

I've been a bit quiet sorry, but I have been receiving your cards! Mick Fagan's in particular was awesome. I'm done printing now but due to an unexpectedly large bill, can't afford all of the ~$90 postage just yet. Therefore today I sent cards to everyone I've received a card from (about seven), plus all the Australians (another 5). The rest of you - I'll get 'em out before March is out I promise. They're sitting on my kitchen table right now.

donminbox if you're reading this - send me a real photo you took and I will send you one too. Otherwise, no.

PS: I hope all y'all like FB postcards. It'll be interesting to see how the finish survives the post compared to RC.

 

[Tim Gray]

Got Laurent's wonderful shot. Very nice. Delta 3200 really isn't that grainy on a 1.5x enlargement

 

[KWhitmore]

A few more cards came in...

Laurent's landscape with all it's yummy detail...(I love small prints like this personally) I especially like how the trees and foreground surround the bright field in the distance.

Lori's door handle- very nice close-up, great tones and interesting subject. well done!

Tim's bridge- I really like the angles and the graphic in this one. nicely composed.

Roger's birch tree- I love the DOF in this shot and the tree placement. interesting and totally works for me.

Thanks all!

 

[drpsilver]

02 Mar 2010

Received Laurent's card. Detail, small print, and very nicely done. The black border really accents the photo. The scene you choose reminds me of the winter 1996 when I was snow-shoeing near Chambery in the Savoie region of France. Thanks for reminding of this wonderful trip to your country.

Regards,
Darwin

 

[bwakel]

Also received Laurent's card today. Wonderful cloudscape above the coastline. Very well printed and, as Darwin says, the border works very well.

I'll be in France (Provence) for Easter and am greatly looking forward to it.

Barry

 

[kraker]

I have received quite a few very nice cards since my last (and possibly also first) update. I will comment on them soon.

For now, I just wanted to let you know that I am very likely to be a straggler this round. Looking at my agenda, I see there's no time left in any of the weekends in March. So, unless I find some time during the week, I guess I will not print & send my cards before the end of March.

That's the bad news. The good news is that I will spend a week in NYC this month, so I should certainly have something interesting to print when I'm back.

Anyway, rest assured that my postcards will be sent, but be advised that they will most likely be sent later than usual.
Just wanted to let you know.

 

[Christopher Walrath]

I received Laurent's postcard in the mail today. Friend, I love your print. It is beautiful. No catch phrases. I absolutely love it. Thank you so much for sending it to me.

To the rest of you on my list, I have printed my Group and Blind Print Exchange prints. Postcards come next. And soon. And how. Thanks for all of the great cards thus far.

 

[Allen Friday]

I printed my cards tonight and will send them out on Thursday. I ran out of 4x6 post card paper after 43 cards, so a few people will receive 5x7 cards.

Allen

 

[Roger Thoms]

I received Laurent's card as well, nicely printed with great clouds.

Roger

 

[Patrick Latour]

Received the card of Laurent this morning. Nice landscape, printed like I would wish to do myself, but I do not have all that level of experience. A lot of details. I like the hand written note. Thanks a lot.

 

[Mike Wilde]

Mike Wilde’s comments on prints received by 3 March

Gurkenprinz – the glossy surface of the print suits the subject of the space with smooth and glossy surfaces well. There are nice convergences of lines in the image. The nuns location looks great. It would have helped a bit more if there was more detail in their coats. I don’t know if it was in the negative or not, so if a bit of local dodging might have benefitted this effect.

Mooseontheloose – The IR gal again. I love the clouds impacts and the large white rebate on the print surrounding the image. The shape of the house reminds me of the set used for the establishing shot of an old TV show ‘the Ghost and Mrs. Muir’. It showed up on Australian TV around 2002-2003 during summer holidays (when no one really watches TV) while we were living there. . American mid 60’s series I believe

DRPSilver – I love the irony that this little installation puts out for the passing public to see. There is a great range of tones and shadows in the print to strengthen its impact as well.

TimVermont – I got a high key image of a close up of a set of white stairs on a white clapboard house. Very well done. It says toned, but in high key I really don’t pick up if the selenium toning has had any affect on the image.

Mick Fagan – Great skies – wonderful clouds capture though a lovely and skilled use of filtration. The crispness of the lines on the grain silos and whow they gracefully are placed in the image works well for me also.

LorifromMontana – the lurking black interior though the broken section of the window framed by the door post and door sill draws me in. The door handle pulls my eye for a moment, but does not linger; it more just establishes the place for me. Nice creative use of DOF.

Laurent – a delicate landscape, printed with a healthy matt effect with the rebate left on the card all white. Well done. I find it much more affecting than filling the whole card with image. I am going to have to experiment with the less is more style of printing that you exhibit so well here with this image.

 

[Mike Wilde]

Well I am part way though. The envelopes are addressed, postage affixed and return labels attached. The legend sheet I am sticking in describing the three images that fit the weight limit of the envelope is written, printed, trimmed to fit the envelope.

Two of the three images that I am sticking into the envelope are done.

The envelope approach will likely a this round only thing. A company dividend cheque arrived in the mail today and I don't feel so financially stretched any more. I paid off the creidt card in full after buying living room reno supplies on it last month

I was busy last night. I would have finished, but I ran out of drying room. My wife was out off to rehearsal right after dinner, so I puit away the leftovers,and ran the dishwasher. I also ran a load of laundry, got it though the dryer and upstairs for sorting, put the guys in jammies, read bedtime stories and fit in the printing somehow

I have done one as 5x7 sw fb, one 5x7 RC cooltone, and have a third one planned. It is going to be a warmtone FB image. It is selected, the easel set and the exposure time and developer figured out, so it is more a mechanical thing now. Hopefully I can get the package mailed before the weekend, but I have a set of 30 or so people to do front of house portraits for a theatre production to take between two sessions, one tonight and one Sunday.

 

[Laurent]

Received the card of Laurent this morning. Nice landscape, printed like I would wish to do myself, but I do not have all that level of experience. A lot of details. I like the hand written note. Thanks a lot.

Thanks all for your comments.

Patrick : I'm no printing expert, my darkroom has been used for less than one year now. The negative is very easy to print, which is IMO a good reason to try to make good exposures.

The border itself is the result of a happy accident : I once knocked a negative in the holder and loved the result (but threw the print anyway because the border was only on two sides :rolleyes: ).

 

[Roger Thoms]

Well I'm getting there, just printed the full sized labels for the 5x7 paper. The labels will stiffen up the paper quite nicely. This is turning out to be a lot of work to use up some old RC paper. I used paper from several different boxes, some of which I have to cut down to 5x7. Then each change in paper required new test strips for slight adjustments in exposure and contrast. I don't think I'm saving any money either, but the time I pay the extra postage and buy the full size labels. Not to mention the cost of ink for my Epson, wouldn't want the labels to smear or anything like that. Oh well, still happy to have used the paper rather than wasting it. Now I have to trim and apply the labels which is no small chore. I hope to post this evening.

Roger

 

[Roger Thoms]

OK my cards are on there way, just returned from the post office. What a great feeling.

Roger