Postcard Exchange Round 37 Comments and Feedback

[Randalcav]

I received MattKings Redwood Park card. It is awesome. Thanks for the link to the park information. I love to research many of the interesting places that show up in my mailbox. Old TMax 100 with my favorite 35mm OM2 camera. I have a OM2N. If you had to lay on your back to shoot this, it was well worth it. Thanks.

Astroclimb has sent Wintertime and the composition is very nice. I love how you handled the whites in this shot. They add a lot of snap to the card and the subject matter really holds my interest. Nice work.

piu58 sent a very nice panorama, shot with a Russian camera that sounds fun to use. I like the way you composed the curve of the building and the tones captured on the Adox paper. Old buildings always draw my attention and they usually lend themselves well to black and white. I like the embossed name in the corner, it shows class.

I am going to start printing my cards tonight. Should be in the mail soon.

Thanks all!

 

[Black Dog]

Posted my first batch today.

 

[piu58]

Yesterday I opened my letterbox and found ... Matt King's card from the Redwood park. This is an anazing view. I took similar shots over the years but none of them competes to this.

 

[kraker]

The first three cards I received this round, in order of date received (just because I remember, not because I keep track of this detail):

anikin, "The Unicorn". Received it before I read about it here. Maybe even before anything was written about it here. Nice! Certainly something different. I will remember the idea of doing a cyanotype on one half of the paper; folding and writing inside gives it something extra.
astroclimb, Wintertime near Chester. What an original perspective. Had me wondering for a few seconds what I was looking at. Good shutter time too, most action frozen, some action "in action". Great.
MattKing, "Hallelujah". I've often found myself in a forest thinking of doing a photo like this. Just let myself fall backwards and take a dreamy shot of majestic trees arranged like this. I doubt the trees here would even be half as majestic as in your shot, however. So, yes, I like it.

Off to an excellent start, I would say. Looking forward for more.

I finished printing my cards yesterday. Give me a week or so to get some stamps and think of a title, and do the writing (or lazy laser printing).

 

[TheTrailTog]

Since I last checked in I received 3 more cards for this round...

Cacti Balls from Oxleyroad - Congrats on the move and the new darkroom. An interesting scene that is a stark contrast to the pine forests here in the Northeast! With all of the camera outfits that I have gone through over the years, the IIIf with a 50mm Elmar is near the top of the list of cameras I miss the most.

Wintertime from astroclimb - A lovely scene of park life. Reminds me of the many times I visited Deering Oaks Park in Portland, ME to feed the ducks when I was a child. You did well capturing the frenzy from the birds!

Hallelujah from Matt King - As an avid hiker/backpacker/trail runner I have tried so many times to get this shot, but it just never seems to work out. You have captured it perfectly!

I'm running a bit behind this round. Just not much I'm really feeling inspired to print. Heading up for some backpacking in the White Mountains 2 weekends from now and am hoping for some good shots worth printing the following weekend, which I have set aside for darkroom time.

 

[ozphoto]

Matt's card arrived yesterday - I love the symmetry and your description of this place has me itching to visit!

 

[drpsilver]

10 Mar 2016

My cards went into the postal system yesterday. They should land in your mailboxes soon. Hope you like the image I selected.

Regards,
Darwin

 

[astroclimb]

10 Mar 2016

My cards went into the postal system yesterday. They should land in your mailboxes soon. Hope you like the image I selected.

Regards,
Darwin

And one got from Cali to NM today. Thanks DRPSILVER for the nice pic of a "sight for sore feet". Though are the two in the background talking about where they've gone or where they're going?

 

[ozphoto]

Apologies for my tardiness this round. I opted for something a little different and then "life" threw some design work my way which has taken up the (little) free time I had.

Hoping to get to the PO next week!

 

[drpsilver]

And one got from Cali to NM today. Thanks DRPSILVER for the nice pic of a "sight for sore feet". Though are the two in the background talking about where they've gone or where they're going?

11 Mar 2016

Astroclimb, thanks fro you kind comment. The two people in the background are my wife and her sister (visiting from Canada). We had just hiked to the top of a hill and they were "taking in the view" of the surrounding preserve when I noticed the cairns, and thought they would look good in the background (and serve as a connection to the cairns).

Regards,
Darwin

 

[anikin]

Two more beautiful postcards made it to my mailbox this week:

"Cairns in the Woods" by Darwin. I love the composition. The tree root with stacks of rocks are very interesting to look at, but the figures on the background make this photo complete! It just feels perfect to me. Really nice!

"A heavy snowfall" by Jake (Black Dog). A picture of a snowy path through the woods. You get that chilly quiet morning feel of a freshly fallen snow. Your eye just gets attracted towards the path. Great capture. What kind of paper is this? It's got this special look to it.

 

[kraker]

The same two cards mentioned by anikin arrived on my doorstep last week:

drpsilver, Cairns in the woods. Sharp print with good contrast. The cairns on the tree, with light and shadow working around it already makes for a good photo. The people in the background, recognizable as people, yet not recognizable, really add to the photo, though. Great.
Black Dog, a heavy snowfall. A lovely wintery view, from closeby until far far away. The typical landscape meandering off into the distance. Lovely. I made the mistake of leaving the photo on the table one night, even when I know that one of our cats likes licking every surface. The photo is still intact (the cat too, not to worry), but after that night, the photo is curling like never before (it was pretty flat when it arrived). Anyway, I'll flatten it a bit before putting it on my postcard exchange #37 board.

My cards are printed, written and addressed, they will go into the mail tomorrow.

 

[Black Dog]

Two more beautiful postcards made it to my mailbox this week:

"Cairns in the Woods" by Darwin. I love the composition. The tree root with stacks of rocks are very interesting to look at, but the figures on the background make this photo complete! It just feels perfect to me. Really nice!

"A heavy snowfall" by Jake (Black Dog). A picture of a snowy path through the woods. You get that chilly quiet morning feel of a freshly fallen snow. Your eye just gets attracted towards the path. Great capture. What kind of paper is this? It's got this special look to it.

It's Ilford Galerie [a favourite of mine].

 

[Oxleyroad]

Another 2 arrived today. 'A playful moment observed' - Black Dog. Thanks Jake. The moment in everything but the Child's face, beautiful photo. The Other 'Cairns in the Woods' - Drpsilver. Another postcard that draws the person looking at it right into the image.

6/17

 

[drpsilver]

21 Mar 2016

A postcard/print from BlackDog landed in my mailbox today. I like several aspects of this photo. First it draws the viewer into the photo very effectively, and invokes a sense of wonder. Secondly, I like the "infrared look". You managed the highlights very well. Just curious how you metered this photo.

Thanks to all for some very nice images this round.

Regards,
Darwin

 

[ozphoto]

"Cairns in the Woods" arrive in my mailbox today.
A nice little scene that had me thinking of my childhood, reading "The Enchanted Wood" and the "Magic Faraway Tree".

 

[mooseontheloose]

Just wanted to let everyone know that my cards went in the mail today. I've also received quite a few, but I'll comment on them later when I have more time and all of them in hand.

 

[Laurent]

Hello all,

my cards are now all printed, I hope they'll go to their destination by the end of next week.

I received several cards last weeks, and will comment later

All the best,
Laurent

 

[astroclimb]

Just received Randalcav's "The end of another factory" today. I must admit that I thought the "rust belt" remnants were already gone. Guess they are not. And it is true that time marches on...but how much of our past is being sacrificed instead of re-used or recycled? Seems a pitty. But alas I drone on and haven't mentioned the nice card, excellent printing and wonderful contrast.

 

[Oxleyroad]

I too got a postcard in the mail today from Randalclav. I thought I was looking at a photo taken round here in Detroit. Looks like there is many places about the country that have a similar sad end.

 

[Black Dog]

11 Mar 2016

Astroclimb, thanks fro you kind comment. The two people in the background are my wife and her sister (visiting from Canada). We had just hiked to the top of a hill and they were "taking in the view" of the surrounding preserve when I noticed the cairns, and thought they would look good in the background (and serve as a connection to the cairns).

Regards,
Darwin

You were right-excellent effort!

 

[mooseontheloose]

Sorry, I've been lax on my comments, but I've enjoyed every card I've received so far, which includes:

"Wintertime" by astroclimb and "Cairns in the Woods" by drpsilver. I like how both these images have different subjects at opposite ends of the frame. They make a nice diptych when looking at them together.

Two wonderful tree images: Matt King's "Hallelujah" and kraker's "Pollard Willows," which arrived yesterday. The former is quite stunning - I love looking up through the trees like this but have never been able to capture a shot like yours Matt. The latter reminds me a lot of the trees in Japan, that get pared back every year by overzealous gardeners across the country. It's great to see the Wanderlust Travelwide in use, I still sometime regret not signing up for it when I had the chance.

Finally, two people shots, from Black Dog and myself. Jake's "A Playful Moment" is a nice capture of a child totally in the moment of whatever he is doing. I'll refrain from commenting on my own, other than to say that I'm surprised it took three days for the post office across the street from me (literally!) to redeliver it to me.

 

[Black Dog]

21 Mar 2016

A postcard/print from BlackDog landed in my mailbox today. I like several aspects of this photo. First it draws the viewer into the photo very effectively, and invokes a sense of wonder. Secondly, I like the "infrared look". You managed the highlights very well. Just curious how you metered this photo.

Thanks to all for some very nice images this round.

Regards,
Darwin

It's actually shot on HP5+, however the developer [Pyrocat HD with minimal agitation] and the light reflecting off the snow definitely played their part. I don't remember the exact exposure, but I gave a bit extra to make sure the snow didn't look all grey and sludgy.

 

[astroclimb]

Pollard Willows arrived today by kraker. I really appreciate the 4x5 contact printed (I presume) onto the postcard. Along with the tonality from the dev, the bleakness gives me cold-to-the-bones feeling. Can't wait for summer!

 

[kraker]

Happy to see my card has been received by (at least some of) the intended recipients. Rachelle and astroclimb, thanks for commenting. And yes, it is a 4x5" contact print. In the previous round, I printed on old Agfa Brovira paper. The box was now empty. I had another box (and a few more), but after a few attempts, I have to conclude that not all old paper reacts the same to light and developer. So, for this round, I opted to use the Ilford postcard paper. (Actually, what better way to support the current producers of paper than to use new & currently available paper?)