Postcard Exchange Round 20 - Comments and Feedback

[mike c]

Thanks for the complement Stephen.
Mike

 

[MattKing]

Hi Steve, glad you liked it.

"Classic Pan" was a house brand of the late and some might say lamented J & C Photo. The 120 size ISO 200 film was, if I recall correctly, manufactured by Forte (or was it Foma - I can never keep it straight). It was very reasonable in cost - I think I bought 60 rolls for $60.00, US shipping included, during one of J & C's last sales before they imploded.

It curls more than any other film I've ever handled

Because of the curl, I've always used it for testing or similar purposes. That particular shot was on a roll I shot while testing out a new to me 645 back for my RB67.

 

[hwv]

I have received one more last week:
black dog: Early light, low key, only hints of streaming sunlight, I like it

 

[kraker]

Received two more cards last week:
lorrifrommontana Water, snow, sun shining down on the scene; nice view.
Tim Gray, Sutton Dam. Beautiful IR shot. Big man-made structures, grass, trees, amazing sky and water. Works very well as an IR shot. I also like the dark borders, ir really fits the mood of the photo. Despite having fun with several other IR films, I'm starting to feel sorry I've never tried HIE. Great print.

Stephen, thanks for your comments about my cards. It means a lot to me. Haven't been getting much comments on my photoblog lately, haven't gotten much comments from friends when I show them recent work; it's the comments from my fellow analog photographers that really keep me going. (And frankly, it's comments from fellow APUGers that matter most to me.)

 

[mike c]

Received Stephens post card today,what a beautiful stained glass window, color is "spot on". I think that's what the Aussies say when they mean "Right on ",which only proves it was hand printed.Great work on a beautiful print.
Mike

 

[Oxleyroad]

Sorry it has been a while since I last posted, but as I got a burst of cards arrive nothing like the present to get out a reminder for myself, as I am still trying to catch up with everyones comments since then. I have rec'd 8 since my post when I had rec'd 4.

Rec'd from;
Mick Fagan: 'Nancy'
Fleath: 'Chantal at the tram stop'
BoxBrownie: 'The Heart & Hand Pub'
Drpsilver: 'Tafoni, Cambria'

Slumry: 'Unwise #7, a self portrait'
Allen Friday: 'Grand Canyon'
Laurent: 'Deck and grass covered in ice crystals'
Markrewald: 'Dever Civic Centre Park'
Kwhitmore: 'Old Friends'
Black Dog: 'An Informal Moment'
Stephen Frizza: 'Masonic Window Sydney City'
lorifrommontana: 'Near Bozeman'

Will sit down before Sunday and comment on all and review the comments made on my son. For those who asked he did not catch anything .

 

[rst]

Hey, I just opened up the signup for round 21 of the postcard exchange: (there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Cheers
Ruediger

 

[mooseontheloose]

Well, it's officially the last day of the exchange (at least here in Japan) and I was very happy to see an infrared image finally appear in my mailbox. I was beginning to despair as it seemed that all the infrared cards were being sent by people not on my list. Serves me right for not sending an IR card this round!

Anyway, thanks to Tim Gray for his HIE shot of Sutton Dam. I think the clouds and the sidewalk make a nice mirror image of each other and I like the way the highlights within the image just pop. I love HIE too and don't know what I'll do once I'm finished my final rolls.

 

[anikin]

I have received a few more cards since my last comment:

Allen Friday, what a picturesque view of the Grand Canyon. I've seen it twice, but only from the top. When you look at it from the rim, it's just too big to comprehend - like a wallpaper, no feeling of scale whatsoever. Your card just made it alive! You made me want to go back again and this time I will hike down to the river! It looks so beautiful!

Crispin, that's really a blast from the past. You've skillfully matched qualities of Minox and the subject. Without the grain the picture just would not be the same.

lorifrommontana, thank you for your personal message on the postcard. I'd say, try color. It's not as hard as they make it sound. The only difficulty is knowing when to stop trying to improve the print. It might be hard for a perfectionist. Anyway, I love your postcard of snowbanks. I'm from Siberia originally, and living in Oregon, I just miss snow too much. Your picture brings back memories of the spring.

BlackDog "early light". Now, that's real philosophy. I think there are two kinds of pictures. There is one kind that you take a quick glance and you know what's it is all about, and there is a second kind where you need to read a description and only then you can understand the story and intent of the author. Yours is the second kind. It's an abstract painting of photography. It shows the mood, the stillness and the lightness of the morning. Very beautiful and very different. Thank you!

Tim Gray The Sutton Dam. Wow, just perfect. I want to try IR one day. I'm just worried that I might get addicted. I swear, I've never seen a bad IR photo. Tell me, how hard is it to get exposure right? I'm really worried I'll just waste a lot of expensive film if I try IR.

 

[sage]

Got a bunch of awesome cards, the latest being an ilfochrome from steve, awesome work.

 

[Sean]

Just wanted to thank everyone again for sending me cards. I feel bad I have not sent a batch out yet. We're in-between houses and the darkroom is currently out of action. When the time is right I plan to send out a truckload to make up for it I've also been covering an entire wall of my office with the cards..

 

[Black Dog]

Hi Stephen and glad you liked it- IIRC I sent you Luss Hills 3 which I took in the Southern Scottish Highlands near Loch Lomond. I guess it was originally built to mark a boundary or keep sheep from straying-just loved the nystery of it really. Rachelle-sounds like an interesting trip and glad you made it back safely!

 

[Stephen Frizza]

I just received 4 more post cards!!

TIM GRAY - WOW perfect use of HIE that dam is awesome. I too will miss this film when my stocks are gone.

KWHITEMORE - Those chairs look great, nicely composed and beautifully printed. Does this shop make nice milkshakes?

MARK REWALD - Great shot. The composition is strong and the lighting great. I like how you have printed this.

WAYNE FREDERICK - Cool story with your photograph the wooden remains remind me of bones.

 

[mooseontheloose]

Stephen, I received your beautiful print twice! I'm not sure exactly how that happened, but I'm very happy to have some real ilfochrome prints in hand -- great subject, beautiful colours.

 

[MattKing]

I’ve previously commented on 17 cards received from other APUGers. Since then, cards from 3 more APUGers have come in:

lorifrommaontana - “Snow Scene near Bozeman” - I look at the card, and can feel the cold!
drpsilver - “... Falls” - a really nice waterfall scene printed really well. Somewhat mysteriously, the post office decided to beat this one up. It is scraped, and the top corner looks like someone decided to see how good it tastes. The card stands up well though to the mistreatment. I did, however, have to guess at the beginning of the title (it was on that part of the card that suffered from the “bite”). Thanks as well for the nice note
Stephen Frizza - "Masonic Window Sydney City" - Stephen (or is it Steven? ), it has been a long time since I’ve had a chance to hold and admire an Ilfochrome up close. In fact, the last time, it was most likely called a Cibachrome. You picked an ideal subject for Ilfochrome, and printed it beautifully

20 down, 8 to go!

Thanks to everyone for participating.

 

[OMU]

Sorry to say, I'm late this time. Hoping to make mine in the weekend.

 

[david James lee]

Katherine, i received your postcard last week. when my son saw it he said: "look dad,this is exactly the way you like to make pictures". he is right, i love your photograph.thanks for your comments on mine.

 

[Stephen Frizza]

I received a post card from VALERIE today. It is Stunningly crisp! What a shame the building is being demolished. If the post card is anything to judge by you have certainly done this building justice in documenting it before its destruction. Thanks for the post card, Like always your work is impeccable.

 

[MattKing]

I’ve previously commented on 20 cards received from other APUGers. Another one came in late last week:

Tim Gray - “Sutton Dam” - Another very fine example of the quality and character of HIE - a film that I have never used, and never really started appreciating until I began to participate in APUG exchanges. I wouldn’t have thought to use IR film for a scene like this Tim - I’m glad you did! It is also very well printed.

21 down, 7 to go!

Thanks to everyone for participating.

 

[kraker]

Last week, I received Stephen Frizza's Ilfochrome postcard. In one word: stunning. Great detail, sharp, well chosen subject, and a very good print. This made me realise once more how much I like the look of Ilfochrome. If I only had more room, I would buy a 2nd-hand tabletop Cibachrome processor. But even if I don't, I'm going to give Ilfochrome another try soon. Thanks a bunch, Steve!

 

[Laurent]

I received Valerie's Peden Iron & Steel Warehouse yesterday. Very nice contact of a 4x5 negative, I like contacts ! The perspective is nice, as well as the feeling of dereliction from the old building. Thanks Valerie !

 

[drpsilver]

07 Sept 2010

Two cards came in over the past two weeks.

Valerie's photo of Peden Iron & Steel is nicely done. Very sharp and well composed. You did a great job documenting the building. Sad that it will be demolished. Did you get a chance to photograph inside? That would have been really cool!

The Ilfochrome form Stephen Frizza is stunning. I have not seen a print so vibrant in a very long time. (Probably since the only lab around the did Ilfochrome "went under" 10 years ago.) I also love in inscription. Very well done! I wish you lived closer so I could have you print my transparencies.

Regards,
Darwin

 

[hwv]

Two more arrived during the last two weeks:

Tim GraySutton Dam Infrared. Beautiful. A picture I would like to see printed really big
Stephen Frizza Ilfochrome - the only colored card I got. I like Ilfochromes

18 of 25 arrived yet
I'm looking forward for round #21

Here is the location where I took the photo I sent:
http://maps.google.de/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=de&geocode=&q=texel&sll=51.151786,10.415039&sspn=20.697059,39.506836&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Texel,+Nordholland,+Niederlande&ll=53.038699,4.848238&spn=0.001208,0.002411&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=53.038872,4.848729&panoid=2IeXVFDKUdvm1-Dv6uqXEA&cbp=12,230.04,,0,5
Maybe for those who are still guessing what's shown this hint is useful.

 

[Alex Bishop-Thorpe]

More postcards - it's slowed to a few a week now.

Valerie's Peden Iron and Steel Warehouse - I always appreciate 4x5" contact prints in these exchanges, just for the commitment to print a bunch of them. Urban wasteland/urban decay is kind of a classic theme in black and white photography today, but not usually this well executed. A lovely crisp image with a creat deal of depth, and really wonderful composition. I like the windows best.

Tim Gray's Sutton Dam - I actually received this last week and put it aside until I had a few more to comment on, so it's been sitting on my dresser for a few days and I've found myself looking at it pretty much every morning. I've got some HIE in the freezer (Many thanks to Stephen for that one) and this is a really fantastic example of what the film is best at - lovely everyday scenes that could do with a dose of the mysterious. Brilliant glow in the highlights, but a really subtle effect overall. Abrupt Infrared effects are kind of old hat, and rarely well executed (myself included, heh...), but this is really quite a delicate scene. I really dig it.

Aron, "The mind is kept in it's own prison..." - First of all, I'm impressed that this made it to me in such fine condition, considering how thin the paper seems to be. I never experienced the Forte papers, but it has a really lovely finish. A myserious photograph! I like the spiral wrapped around the poles, out of focus, in the foreground. A simple but really intriguing composition...it makes me a little uncomfortable, the more you look at it the more you get a creeping trapped feeling. A great example of how you can do a lot with a little, a good lesson for any of us.

 

[mooseontheloose]

Aron, your card arrived in the mail for me today too. Like Fleath, I'm impressed that it made it (with a few creases to be sure, but nothing serious) all the way to Japan, considering how thin the paper is! I like the ambiguity of the subject, and that blurred pole in the center seems to be hiding something menacing behind it. I don't know if I could make it to the top of the stairs. ;-) Thanks.