Postcard Exchange Round 34 Comments and Feedback

Mike C​'s card arrived last week - loving the textures in this one!

Rachelle (mooseontheloose) your photograph of the temple at Kinkakuji is excellent. I love how you managed to capture a peaceful snow covered tranquil image amongst the throng of humanity that you wrote was present. Your use of infrared film, along with a unique view of a heavily photographed temple is spot on and well printed. What a well thought out use of Kodak HIE. You made me wish I had a roll! Thanks for sending it.

Thanks Randalcav! Even though I only have a few rolls of HIE I knew I wanted to photograph the temple in the snow. I was lucky that I arrived as early as I did - not only did it allow me to get some halfway decent shots without incident, by the time I left an hour later most of the snow was melting off of everything, and the throng of visitors coming up the path was a bit alarming!

I too love your shot Rachelle. Have been to Kyoto myself and I felt the temple would look magical in the snow also.
Great shot - you've definitely proved our assumptions to be correct!!

My postcards have been addressed, stamped, and dropped off at the postoffice.

David

Got a bulk of four cards today!

Matt, DRPSILVER, mike c and Rachelle.

Thank you very much all, really nice work!

Every single card is something very special

Matt: My motive! Over the years linving in town I always hunted these!

Darwain: Light an fleecy, it reminds me on my childhood

Mike: You do the details like I prefer and so foten forgot to do

Rachelle: Everlasting aesthetics aesthetically shot! Have to try IR very soon ...

My cards are in the post office now. Sorry if the quality isn't perfect. At the moment I can't judge tonality and contrast due to some current problems with my eyes ...


horst

Rachelle's card today the Golden Pavilion looks good in snow and IR.

Mike

13 Mar 2015

I have received 4 cards so far.

The photo from TXFZ1 is very aptly named. Looks like a cool place to photograph. Lots of stories come with places like this.
The photo of a manifold from MattKing is appealing in two ways: (1) photographically because of the good use of repeating patters and depth of focus, and (2) as an engineer the clean form of well designed equipment.
The card from mike c fooled me at first viewing. The rock and bark are so similar that they "morph" into each other. The shadow of the trees makes the image more interesting.
The card from mooseontheloose is my favorite of the round so far. The use of HIE really makes this image (sadly its gone). This photo is a good example of why HIE was the BEST infrared film made. This is very well done. I agree with Randalcav on how you "managed to capture a peaceful snow covered tranquil image amongst the throng of humanity that you wrote was present."

Looking forward to more good images.

Regards,
Darwin

I received a nice image of a close-up white amaryllis from Tennessee today. Thanks megzedad81. I'm up super late tonight working on my postcard print. Finally back in my darkroom after a long cold winter. I love the fact that you are breathing life back into a Blad. I love taking pictures with old cameras, but mine aren't as prestigious. Glad you are shooting with that camera again. I think there is nothing better than using a camera that has been hibernating for years and breathing life back into it. It's a reward when you get pleasing images like the amaryllis. Thanks for sending it to me.

My cards are finally in the post as well - apologies for the delay, been a crazy week!

megzdad,s White Amaryllis is now hear. The old"Blad" comes thru once more.



Mike

Finally got mine out...

...into the mail. I couldn't decide which photo to print on the postcard between two so, like I think it was Solomon, I decided to split it into two, one half got one, the other half of the 20 got the other. Hope folks like at least one of them.

Todd

Horst's (TheMissingLink) card arrived in Japan - a 4x5 contact print I believe. What I really like is the play of light on the fields near the top of the frame.

Only one card last week, from TXFZ1. I totally agree with Darwin - this looks like an awesome place to wander around and shoot!! I love places like this, as they always have surprises waiting to be photographed.

Astroclimb has sent me a card of a memorial along a New Mexico highway. This is an emotional image which he felt compelled to capture. Many probably pass by this daily and just get a quick glance at it. Todd has managed to record it nicely. He put the same care in the photographic details as the builders of the shrine did in their project.

Thanks Randalcav for your kind words. Even after nearly 3 decades here New Mexico remains for me in many ways an enigma.

mooseontheloose said:

Horst's (TheMissingLink) card arrived in Japan - a 4x5 contact print I believe. What I really like is the play of light on the fields near the top of the frame.

Click to expand...

I received Horst's contact print yesterday, and second Rachelle's comments on the light in the field - magical!!!

Nanette, I received your card yesterday. I went to Dachau the first (and only) time I was in Germany - it is the only concentration camp I have ever visited, but I found it hard to take photos there (though I don't think I would have the same issues today). I really like the simplicity of the image - I find the flowers hidden in the shadows below the tormented souls above to be somewhat moving.

So far I've received 6 surprises in the mailbox:


MattKing's "Manifold" Before reading the back of the card I puzzled over which British classic car this motor found itself in: a four cylinder, probably from the 40's or even as late as the 70's I thought, but was puzzled that the manifold wasn't a single piece. Found I was close in my guesswork but not right. I have to say the texture you caught and the colors captured in your B&W image are so familiar and wonderfully conveyed that I can smell the rust/oil/exhaust of a nicely running old motor.


TXFZ1 "School's Out" When I got this card I puzzled for some time over why it is that we find old, decaying, dying structures like David so nicely captured in his image to be so interesting, so enticing, and at times so beautiful. Is it the evidence of lives lived in a place that is no longer? Is it fascination about a history of events to be speculated about? I have no answer.


Thanks to MikeC's image "Tree Bark and Rock" I'm pretty sure I scraped my knees on rocks, scratched my legs on branches, just like that. But the shadows of the leaves, or the flowers, or whatever they are, are just such an unfamiliar shape that I finally realize it could never have been so. Thanks for sharing!


Megzdad81's "White Amaryllis-Christmas 2014" glows so gorgeously I wish it was an even larger print. Nice composition and, though I'm usually one to stay away from glossy finishes, it was surely the right choice for this image.


Thank you Rachelle (mooseontheloose) for bringing back memories of many trips I was lucky enough to take to Japan with your "Kyoto in the Snow" IR photograph. I was ofttimes frustrated on the rare opportunity I had to do some photography while there because of the crowds and especially the not-so-attractive modern buildings that are everywhere; your patience at avoiding these distractions shows in your carefully crafted composition. The architectural lines of traditional Japanese buildings and shrines are timeless; adding the snow and the soft IR "glow" makes your image similarly timeless.


A nice, sweeping landscape from an area of the US that I wish to visit but have to admit I'll likely not ever make is beautifully captured in Randal's (randancav) "The Boulder, Cadillac Mt, Maine" postcard. While nowhere in NM is the elevation as low as 1,530', the texture of the barren rock outcropping so nicely captured suggests a climate of short summers and long, cold winters.


A bit of introspection to end: I find writing about a piece of art only slightly harder than discussing it--discussing a piece of art is difficult for me, writing slightly harder because the words need to be more carefully chosen, the ideas better formulated, the logic more precisely crafted because there is little or no give-and-take with the written word. I say that writing is only slightly harder that discussing because, on a scale from easy to impossible, for me both are very near the impossible end, far removed from easy. Therefore, my apologies for not promptly contributing to the "feedback" forum for this and past PCX.

Todd

Thanks Tod, for having a hard time finding words you sure stored a few up for that post "ha,ha"


Mike

mooseontheloose said:

Nanette, I received your card yesterday. I went to Dachau the first (and only) time I was in Germany - it is the only concentration camp I have ever visited, but I found it hard to take photos there (though I don't think I would have the same issues today). I really like the simplicity of the image - I find the flowers hidden in the shadows below the tormented souls above to be somewhat moving.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your kind words Rachelle; yes they are indeed very sobering - I actually spent a month visiting several around Germany, the Czech Republic & Austria. Apart from shot this and one other at Terezin, the entire project was shot on B&W.

I'm now trying to put together a selection to submit to a few magazines etc for possible publication.

26 Mar 2015

A card from RandalCav landed in my mailbox this afternoon. I like the composition. It is well balanced both near/far and in tonal values. The day you were on Cadillac Mountain was a lot clearer then the day I was there - socked in by fog. You may fall in love with the 4x5 format. Once I started working with a big negative, and the flexibility of camera movements, it was hard to go back to 35mm unless necessary (like on hike and backpack trips).

Regards,
Darwin

I also recieved Randal's card, the Boulder and Cadillac Mt.,Maine. At 1530 ft. it sure shows a beautiful vista, thanks Randal.

Mike

Thanks, Mike, Darwin and Todd for the positive feedback on my card from Maine. I often do my vacation photography, rushed and with limited exposures because I'm traveling with my family. This consists of my wife, my 21 year old daughter and a 15 year old son. They are supportive of my photography, but sometimes don't understand the need to linger at a site that feels special or wanting to wait for the light to change. I don't know how the rest of you shoot, alone or with family. I'm interested to hear any feedback. I went to a museum a couple weeks ago to look at works by Steiglitz and Strand and other early Masters of photography. I knew it would be best to attend alone, so I wouldn't feel rushed. It was the right thing to do. Any thoughts on this subject? How do you shoot? Solo, or with family members along?

Randal...since you asked, your story sounds familiar. How I shoot is, more often than not, what I'd call "as opportunity allows." Mostly it is what you said, with family, or on a vacation with other priorities, or on a work-related trip with other priorities, almost always with somebody else around (thus seems rushed, limited time, all like you said), very often the shots are not far off the road or whatever else we're doing. Lately I've tried to have a camera available to take advantage of opportunities. My experience is much like yours, friends and family who support my photography, and even enjoy (some of) my photos and also like going to museums and galleries. But, even if I'm "solo," there is almost always something else also taking attention e.g. yesterday I was "solo" on a bike ride (yes, heart-healthy exercise is a priority) and brought a camera along...got a few snaps in, was happy about that, whilst enjoying a nice spring day. When you read about the "masters" (Steiglitz, Strand, Adams, Weston, White, whomever from whatever era you prefer) and their stories, it seems that photography is their first (sometimes it seems only) priority; unlike them, my photography is my hobby that gives me a creative outlet, but even so it is not my only hobby. Perhaps the moral of the story, for me at least, is that my photography is a priority for me, but not the only one, nor the highest one, and I wouldn't have it differently. Hope that helps answer your question.