Postcard Exchange Round 42 Comments & Feedback

[LarsAC]

21 cards sent today, had some spares for Sean and George !

Lars

 

[MattKing]

My cards went into the two postal systems yesterday.
Longest title I have ever used on a postcard: "Pinhole, Penstock and the Stillwater Surge Tower".
It barely fit on the cards!

 

[1kgcoffee]

Sent them out today, hope you all like them.

 

[tezzasmall]

Mine are finally on their way - I posted from Bangkok on Wednesday, so hopefully, you'll be receiving then very soon.

I have just received Ozphoto's COLOUR postcard = only the second colour print I have received in exchanges.

It's good to have received a picture of Thailand 'out of season' = colder and wetter. I didn't think there was such a season there? I went for three weeks over Christmas and New Year 2000 / 2001, visiting and staying at three different places. I just remember the weather as being sunny and hot all the time, with time in Phuket being the hottest; so hot in fact that one could barely leave the air-conditioned hotel or beach.

It was a good find concerning the camera and film though Ozphoto.

Many thanks.

Terry S

 

[aluk]

So far I've gotten cards from rrusso, drpsilver, Laurent, oxleyroad, David at Harman, mike c, and MattKing. All really great images so far this round! rrusso's "Discovery" made me chuckle - excellent staging and lighting there.

Mine went out from the USA when I was there about a week ago, so they should be getting to everyone soon.

 

[tezzasmall]

Thanks for all tbe cards received so far, will write some individual comments later. Printed mine on the weekend. My 7-year-old daughter helped me with some of the writing. She is in her first year of English at school and was very proud to help out. Will try to get them sent tomorrkw.

Lars

And I received Lars's postcard today. A lovely picture from Brugge, which is a place I have been to a few times with friends, so it brought back good memories.

Thanks to Lars and his daughter.

Terry S

 

[Laurent]

This week I'v" got:

mike c's "Sidewalk solar eclipse", great find, and a spectaculat print!
Lars's view from Brugge, lovely city and lovely image

I think there was a third card, but I can't get a hand on it, so I'm not sure. I may need to tidy my desk a bit...

 

[mike c]

Thanks Laurent for your comment, ahh,sounds like you got the same messy problem I have.

 

[drpsilver]

02 Dec 2017

I finally have some time to comment on the cards that have accumulated next to the computer. Here are my comments on the cards I have received in no particular order.
The card from Laurent of a "home in need of repair". There may be photographic possibilities inside this house. I like the rocks in the foreground, they are a good balance to the mostly cloudless sky.
MattKing's card is nicely composed and toned. It has been a very long time since I did any pinhole photography. Thanks for the nice image.
The card from aluk of an artist working is an inspiration to make more time to photograph, process, and PRINT.
"Sidewalk Solar Eclipse" from mike c is a cool abstract in the spirit of Brett Weston. Very well done. I like how you split toned this print.
A very nice, and difficult, close-up of bee and flower from Oxleyroad. These kind of close-ups are really difficult, and you did a good job keeping your subject sharp.
Edit: I forgot to comment on the card from feon. This is a really cool image because it "works" in all orientations. I would like to visit this sculpture or/and museum.

Thanks to all for sharing your art, and vision of the world, with this group.

Regards,
Darwin

 

[mike c]

Thanks for the remarks on my card Darwin, the card being a representative of a Solar Eclipse needed a two tone paint job.. I have Matt's card here also, nice toning, the road is just right to enter the photo and enter that tower (which looks like a ballistic missile) at the end, an being a pinhole photo really blows me out.

 

[Laurent]

Thanks Laurent for your comment, ahh,sounds like you got the same messy problem I have.

I'm afraid I suffered this for years, and may not change for the near future.

I've found Aluk's card back, nice prortrait of the artist's back (I lie images from the back, they tend to reveal more about the person I think)

 

[rrusso]

This past week I've received:

mike c's Sidewalk Solar Eclipse - very cool shot that has me finding new things about it every time I look at it. I'd like to try the process you used with a few of my own images.

Aluk's His Own Devotion - these simple shots can be some of the best, imo. It just works - nothing more needed.

Matt King's Pinhole, Penstock & the Stillwater Surge Tower - to me, this has a brooding, eerie feel to it...and it's right up my alley. If I look at it long enough, it makes me feel uneasy. What, besides the tower, is at the end of the road? Do we want to know? Good stuff...

 

[mike c]

rrusso, look close enough you can see mans first foot print on the moon ...err the sun, anyways some one has large boots !!!

 

[rrusso]

Received a card from Lars today - a really nice shot of a canal in Brugge.

The image made me do a Google search and man, I bet I could spend a lifetime there, and all over Europe, blowing through my life savings in film...

I have to visit someday, thanks Lars!

 

[mike c]

Nice card from Ikgcoffe "Man in the Shadows" and the very true words spoken by Tecumeh are expressed in this print. The printing, composition are great and the paper and toning really work with photo, I like it.

 

[foen]

Received yesterday from Matt . Very pleasant mood...thank you!!!

 

[Laurent]

I cam back home yesterday evening to find 3 very nice and very different cards:
Matt King's "Pinhole, Penstock and the Stillwater Surge Tower": great perspective, and the first pinhole for this round
(not sure about the sender) "Man in the shadows", Very moody landscape, on a paper I did not know, and beautifully toned. And beautiful Tecumseh words we should all remember and repeat to ourselves every day.
Ozphoto's sea scape, first colour print in this round, and a very expressive range of colours, serving a wonderful perspective. I'd love to see winter in your place. (And I too am impressed by the results from a humble Oly Trip)

Thanks!

 

[rrusso]

Received 1kgcoffee's Man in the Shadows. Nice tranquil scene - I think the toning is spot-on for it, thanks!

 

[drpsilver]

09 Dec 2017

Two more card landed my mailbox this week. The card from LarsAC of a canal in Brugge, Belgium is nicely composed. I like how you balance the buildings with the trees. The card from 1kgcoffee is very well done. I like the composition of river and sandbar, how you managed he bright sun, and how nicely the image is toned (not brown, not yellow - just right). Very well none. Unfortunately this card came in an envelope without any information about the image. I would like to know where it was photographed, and how you "worked" the image to get this image.

Regards,
Darwin

 

[tezzasmall]

Just received a postcard from 'Iandvaag' Canada.

It's a picture of two people on what looks like a canoe on a lake, taken at what looks like sunset = I've not seen many sunsets in B/W, but it suits this picture a lot!

I love the dark overall sombre look that it has.

Many thanks,

Terry S

 

[Laurent]

02 Dec 2017
The card from Laurent of a "home in need of repair". There may be photographic possibilities inside this house. I like the rocks in the foreground, they are a good balance to the mostly cloudless sky.

The house was in a very precarious position, and even approching from the beach was forbidden, as it could fall at any moment. But yes, I'd loved trying this.

 

[1kgcoffee]

Thankyou for the kind words, drpsilver, rrusso, Mike C and Laurent.

It was photographed in fish creek provincial park, at the end of a photowalk. I had almost given up for the day, and was crossing a bridge over the creek when I saw this scene. Had some HP5 in the camera, and using my cell phone as a lightmeter made several exposures at different shutter speeds and apertures. I wanted to capture it perfectly. HP5 can be a bit subdued, I like the character at 800 and so developed 1 stop over. This frame was my favourite. In the darkroom the sun on the edge of being blown out, and the man just barely visible. I think I used a grade 3 filter (its written down somewhere). The forest had just enough detail. A low contrast filter would have given plenty of shadow detail, but it would have been boring and flat. I really appreciate a good sky.

Foma fiber paper can be a little flat compared to Ilford, but that's by design. It is a warm paper and needs to be toned to give more depth to the shadows. Moersch MT20 is a selenium sulfide toner that can be used directly, or indirectly. I bleached the image about halfway, so the skies were gone and soaked it for six minutes. This deepened the shadows and gave a nice separation in the sky where it was on the edge of being blown out. It's a small 'where's waldo' type of print that I think would work better at 8x10 or larger.

 

[mike c]

I have four cards here ,Lars I like of the canal with a row of house,s and trees like a kind of Venice in Belgium. Oxleyfoad's Last nectar of a Bee working the nectar plantation (flower bed), Laurent,s house on the slope, I use to work in the Hollywood Hills with a contractor that specialized in stabilizing these over hanging houses , and all of them where slipping inch per inch a year down the side, crazy!!.
Ozphoto beautiful pastel color, like the lines on the boardwalk and the wavy lines of the canape, can almost feel the wind starting to blow rain onto the shore.

 

[Laurent]

I have four cards here ,Lars I like of the canal with a row of house,s and trees like a kind of Venice in Belgium. Oxleyfoad's Last nectar of a Bee working the nectar plantation (flower bed), Laurent,s house on the slope, I use to work in the Hollywood Hills with a contractor that specialized in stabilizing these over hanging houses , and all of them where slipping inch per inch a year down the side, crazy!!.
Ozphoto beautiful pastel color, like the lines on the boardwalk and the wavy lines of the canape, can almost feel the wind starting to blow rain onto the shore.

That would be something worth seeing! In this case, though, going down the hill would have meant sinking in the sea, not sure what's best!

 

[rrusso]

Received Nanette's (ozphoto) card - love the muted colors and perspective - thanks!