Postcard Exchange Round 47 Comments and Feedback

[George Nova Scotia]

The mailing lists have been sent, time to check your Inbox. As before a new thread for comments, updates and feedback. Let us know how you're doing and what you've received. Feedback is important, even if just to let us know you've sent or received a card it keeps the list active. Please check that your information is correct. Let me know as soon as possible of any corrections.

Please wait a few days for any corrections then let the mailings begin. There have been address changes so check carefully. Please check that your name is the first on your list.

awty (10)
bedrof (MAX)
Black Dog (MAX)
drpsilver (ALL)
graciemansion (11)
Howard Earl (MAX)
iandvaag (MAX)
jvo (ALL)
Laurent (ALL)
MattKing (20)
meanderbot (15)
mfohl (MAX)
mooseontheloose (MAX)
Rob Skeoch (MAX)
tezzasmall (6)
Wayne Frederick (ALL)


Sign up for the next round Begins September 1st.

George

 

[mooseontheloose]

Thanks George! Looking forward to another round.

 

[Laurent]

You've be been very fast this round, mooseontheloose ! I found your card in the box today, first one for this round. Great composition and intriguing subject, thanks for sending it!

 

[mooseontheloose]

Thanks Laurent! Glad to know the cards are starting to arrive at their destinations.

I felt bad for being so late last round that I was ready to go for this one!

 

[bedrof]

My first card of this round got into the postal system yesterday.
Hope to finish the rest soon.

 

[mfohl]

I also got your card today, moose, thanks! Nice woodpecker! I'll get most of mine off in the next few days.

 

[MattKing]

I too received a card today from mooseontheloose - "Looking Up" - a fascinating series of repeating patterns. As it is square, I'm guessing that those who were with Rachelle at Chernobyl got to see the intriguing image of her shooting up with a waist level finder equipped TLR. I wonder if they were wondering what the heck she was looking into ?

 

[mooseontheloose]

I too received a card today from mooseontheloose - "Looking Up" - a fascinating series of repeating patterns. As it is square, I'm guessing that those who were with Rachelle at Chernobyl got to see the intriguing image of her shooting up with a waist level finder equipped TLR. I wonder if they were wondering what the heck she was looking into ?

Well, it was only me, my guide Misha, and a local dog who chose to accompany us around the site*. I think Misha was at that point (this was day 3) pretty used to me shooting with the Rolleiflex. It's really nice not having to look up or down, but just straight ahead into a viewfinder. Not often I get to do that with a TLR.

I do have to say, I feel thankful I went before the HBO series "Chernobyl" aired and has now made it insanely popular. Other than guards, and passing tour buses stopped at the Pripyat sign, the only time we saw other tourists were when we went back into town to have lunch at the canteen (mostly meant for local workers, but all tourists go there too (same food, different lines), as it's the only place you can eat in Chernobyl since no eating or drinking is allowed outside.) Grant it, I went during low season, but the numbers of people I see in news stories is disheartening. As a photographer, it was nice not to have to worry about anyone walking into my shot, and being able to take as much time as I wanted in any particular location, which is generally not the case on the 1- or 2-day tours that most people go on.

*Edit: We were here at Chernobyl-2 for most of the morning (until lunch) and in all that time not a single other group of tourists showed up while we were there.

 

[tezzasmall]

I too received a card today from mooseontheloose - "Looking Up" - a fascinating series of repeating patterns. As it is square, I'm guessing that those who were with Rachelle at Chernobyl got to see the intriguing image of her shooting up with a waist level finder equipped TLR. I wonder if they were wondering what the heck she was looking into ?

And I too have now received the mentioned postcard = one more to add to my, so far, tiny collection (of 2) postcards taken at Chernobyl.

Thanks Rachelle for another great shot.

Terry S

 

[mooseontheloose]

And I too have now received the mentioned postcard = one more to add to my, so far, tiny collection (of 2) postcards taken at Chernobyl.

Thanks Rachelle for another great shot.

Terry S

Thanks Terry. FWIW, I printed two different images from the same location, so some people will get the bigger picture shot, and others the more detailed one ("looking up"). I'm still developing photos from that trip (!) so it is possible you may have a 3rd picture when round 48 rolls around.

 

[tezzasmall]

Thanks Terry. FWIW, I printed two different images from the same location, so some people will get the bigger picture shot, and others the more detailed one ("looking up"). I'm still developing photos from that trip (!) so it is possible you may have a 3rd picture when round 48 rolls around.

A third would be really cool Rachelle.

I think you may have done the Chernobyl tourist board a good turn. I for one (of probably quite a few on this site) would now like to visit if at all possible.

Terry S

 

[mooseontheloose]

I think you may have done the Chernobyl tourist board a good turn.

I think HBO has had a much larger effect that I have! There really is no tourism board (in fact, the area is not promoted by the Ukrainian Tourist Board for tourism at all) - I think it's a pretty ad hoc situation there that has developed from all these weird people that started showing up over the past 10-15 years. It can't officially be considered a tourist site, people who go there are "visitors" and nothing more. Of course we have to pay a fee for every day that we are there, but I'm not sure exactly how much that is since it gets rolled into the cost of whatever tour you choose to join.

The question now is how much is the increased tourism going to affect the place (mainly in people who do not respect the rules and end up ruining the site for other visitors) - there's already talk of putting in motion sensors in the more popular buildings to catch rule-breakers (which was definitely me!). Landscaping is minimal there - they cut back the vegetation just enough to keep the roads passable, but I imagine within another 10-30 years the entire zone will be off-limits since nature will really have taken over at that point (and what remains of the buildings will be hazardous to most people). There are some places my guide took me to that makes me wonder if it will still be accessible in a year or two, as the stairs give way to rot or rust, and as the walls and roofs continue to fall apart.

If you do end up going there (it really is amazingly photogenic) I am more than happy to give you information about the guide that I went with. He's a pretty good photographer himself (just with his phone) and understands the light in different buildings and what works well for photographs. And is incredibly patient, which is good!

 

[mfohl]

Hello Folks, I just sent out my eight "out of the country" cards. I'll get the others out in a day or two. My cards are the old Kodak photo post cards, and I think they are fiber based. They have a slight curl to them, even after I ran them through the dry mount press, and kept them under weight for a while. I hope they don't get crunched up in a machine.

Cheers,

-- Mark

 

[drpsilver]

04 July 2019

My cards are printed, toned, labeled, and ready to go. I will deliver them to the post office over the weekend.

I have received two card for this round thus far:
A photo of part of the "Russian Woodpecker" from mooseontheloose. A very different perspective of a radar array. It is interesting that this image "works" in several orientations. Well done. Do I sense a triptych in the future?
The other card is from mike c. I like how you have framed the rocks with the bridge, and repeating patter in the distance (another bridge). I also like the warm tone of the photo - it adds depth to the photo. The paper stock you selected fits the image well. What paper is it?

Regards,
Darwin

Edit: I just noticed that the card from mike c is for Round 46. I will duplicate my comments on his card there.

 

[Black Dog]

Well, it was only me, my guide Misha, and a local dog who chose to accompany us around the site*. I think Misha was at that point (this was day 3) pretty used to me shooting with the Rolleiflex. It's really nice not having to look up or down, but just straight ahead into a viewfinder. Not often I get to do that with a TLR.

I do have to say, I feel thankful I went before the HBO series "Chernobyl" aired and has now made it insanely popular. Other than guards, and passing tour buses stopped at the Pripyat sign, the only time we saw other tourists were when we went back into town to have lunch at the canteen (mostly meant for local workers, but all tourists go there too (same food, different lines), as it's the only place you can eat in Chernobyl since no eating or drinking is allowed outside.) Grant it, I went during low season, but the numbers of people I see in news stories is disheartening. As a photographer, it was nice not to have to worry about anyone walking into my shot, and being able to take as much time as I wanted in any particular location, which is generally not the case on the 1- or 2-day tours that most people go on.

*Edit: We were here at Chernobyl-2 for most of the morning (until lunch) and in all that time not a single other group of tourists showed up while we were there.

Thanks for sharing that; another great card and the subject matter works really well with the square format. As a lover of the Bechers, Robert Adams etc, I always appreciate images like this. I haven't watched the HBO series; I've heard it's good though.

 

[mfohl]

I just sent out my six domestic cards, Round 47. Should be received sometime this week.

 

[jvo]

seems there are a bunch of early birds this round... (i'm not in that party)
a while ago i rec'd the same oft mentioned cards from rachelle/mooseontheloose "russian woodpecker" - it's unreal in a number of ways . great perspective and it looks other-worldly and even when you know what it is, it still doesn't look like it's "supposed to" and it fits the place when you know where it is!

I also rec'd "last chair standing" (pcx 46), it does portray the event impressively... both nice shoots. both make you want to go - then there's the radiation, and now the crowds!

thanx

 

[jvo]

slacker unite! 2 more early birds have struck!

mark fohl, mfohl - sent a nicely seen graphics, lines, shapes with interesting layers from columbus, oh.
darwin puolos, drpsilver - sent "eeyore sitting in the mud", great tones, impact and layers - portending our dystopian future?

it's wonderful getting these images - thanks.

 

[jvo]

...I'm still developing photos from that trip (!) so it is possible you may have a 3rd picture when round 48 rolls around.

i don't think any participant would be disappointed - on technical level or subject matter!

 

[MattKing]

I too have received mfohl's "Shadow Photo" - it is a very interesting and graphic image, and it is great fun to see it on old fashioned, 3.5" x 5.5" postcard stock.

 

[mfohl]

Ditto about Darwin's Eeyore. Nice boat!

 

[Black Dog]

I too have received mfohl's "Shadow Photo" - it is a very interesting and graphic image, and it is great fun to see it on old fashioned, 3.5" x 5.5" postcard stock.

Likewise-as a lover of the Surrealists and the likes of Lee Friedlander I always appreciate images like this.

 

[mike c]

drpsilver, sorry I did not respond right away, the card I sent was for PCE #46 I sent out really late. Thanks for the comments, the warm tone paper I found in my paper safe mixed with some Foma neutral tone paper semi matt, I really liked it also and do not think it is Foma.
Mike

 

[tezzasmall]

Despite printing my cards up, even before the signup started, I have only just managed to get them all written up, stamped and finally sent yesterday = Tuesday 16 July 2019.

Terry S

 

[tezzasmall]

04 July 2019

My cards are printed, toned, labeled, and ready to go. I will deliver them to the post office over the weekend.

Regards,
Darwin

And just received in the UK Darwin, with thanks.

A lovely card full of a range of tones and detail of 'Eeyore sitting in the mud', with Eeyore being a small boat.

With the card being made from a 4 x 5 negative, there is absolutely no grain to be seen, which is not too surprising!

But I do wonder if it was made as a contact print or via an enlarger?

Terry S