Postcard Exchange Round 49 Comments and Feedback

[Laurent]

Thanks for your comments! The musician was photographed in Lisbon, the two other ones were made in London (great trip, I loved it! Had to go buy film because I did not bring enough)

In the meantime I received:

• Reilly and Rowen's tugboat on the Hudson. Nice shot, I'd love to have such scenes on my commutes!
• HkBenji's great streetscape from Tokyo, very interesting set of lines and patterns (and it's amazingly looking close to a view I shot in Luxembourg some months ago)

Thanks !

 

[Oxleyroad]

Two more cards have arrived in the last week taking my total to 19. HKBenji - 'Tokyo, Feb 2020'. This will become a really historic photo. In my visits to Tokyo I never saw a day with so few people or vehicles. Covid-19 has a lot to answer for. I also like the paper/card it has been printed on. Laurent - Accordian player. Another photo the whole family really likes and keeps going back to look at because of the detail. Thanks to both of you.

 

[Howard Earl]

Received a wonderful photo of a musician in preventive mask playing on the street. Very nicely done. Wonderful tones and print. Great job Laurent.

 

[drpsilver]

31 May 2020

I too have received a card from Lauent. This photo has several interesting aspects: (1) the speed limit sign leans back so much it looks like it has been hit, (2) the person walking is a important part of the photo's composition, and (3) the high contrast makes this image "pop". I also noted that this is not French architecture. The English billboard (on the far right) and the direction of traffic indicate that this photo was made in the UK. Thank you for the nice print.

Regards,
Darwin

Edit: Grammatical and sentence structure correction.

 

[Laurent]

Two more cards have arrived in the last week taking my total to 19. HKBenji - 'Tokyo, Feb 2020'. This will become a really historic photo. In my visits to Tokyo I never saw a day with so few people or vehicles. Covid-19 has a lot to answer for. I also like the paper/card it has been printed on. Laurent - Accordian player. Another photo the whole family really likes and keeps going back to look at because of the detail. Thanks to both of you.

Thanks! (and thanks to the family ;-) )

Received a wonderful photo of a musician in preventive mask playing on the street. Very nicely done. Wonderful tones and print. Great job Laurent.

Thanks Howard. One point though: the image is almost one year old and he does not wear a mask. I looked at it again and I think Inunderstand: he's wearing a cap and looks at his keyboard.

31 May 2020

I too have received a card from Lauent. This photo has several interesting aspects: (1) the speed limit sign leans back so much it looks like it has been hit, (2) the person walking is a important part of the photo's composition, and (3) the high contrast makes this image "pop". I also noted that this is not French architecture. The English billboard (on the far right) and the direction of traffic indicate that this photo was made in the UK. Thank you for the nice print.

Regards,
Darwin

Edit: Grammatical and sentence structure correction.

Great deductions Darwin! This is indeed London. Thanks for your comment!

 

[tezzasmall]

And I have now received two more cards.

Laurent has sent a lovey view of London's 'wonky' millennium bridge; a view I know well, having used in a lot to visit the Tate museum, when I lived in London, until not so long ago.

Also Rowreidr's card of a tugboat on the Hudson River. Great catch and an interesting set of tones (especially the sky) as it's been printed on a 'metallic' surfaced paper.

Thanks guys!

Terry S

 

[Lucid]

@hkbenji - I received your card today in the post. I really like the composition and contrast. The combination of shadows and reflections on the central building gives an almost 3D effect. I also enjoy look and the feel of the paper.

 

[Oxleyroad]

Post card #20 arrived today. Wayne Frederick - Lava Creek rin Yellowstone NP. I really like the framing and I am blown away by the sharpness of this image given the age of the camera. At the time it must have been a high quality camera.

 

[mfohl]

I also received Wayne Frederick's card. Very nice scene, and yes, great sharpness for what is now considered a "toy" camera. Is that a contact print? I am somewhat familiar with 116/616 film. And where did you get it? Thanks!

 

[mfohl]

Yesterday I received Oxleyroad's road construction postcard. Amazing! There were no people, and this was before the pandemic! Thanks Ox!

 

[Oxleyroad]

Yesterday I received Oxleyroad's road construction postcard. Amazing! There were no people, and this was before the pandemic! Thanks Ox!

The contruction postcard is for round 50 ...

 

[mfohl]

Oops! My bad! I could have sworn I saw a 49 on the card, but after further review, it was indeed a 50!

 

[Wayne Frederick]

Post card #20 arrived today. Wayne Frederick - Lava Creek in Yellowstone NP. I really like the framing and I am blown away by the sharpness of this image given the age of the camera. At the time it must have been a high quality camera.

Thanks Oxleyroad for your comments about my card-glad you liked it. As far as I can tell, my Six-16 Brownie Special was not intended to be anything more than a point and shoot camera, since the lens seems to be a single element meniscus type. But it has a built in closeup lens which I remember using for this shot; this probably accounts for the great foreground sharpness. Also the film gate is slightly curved, in the style of some panoramic cameras, which must help the overall image quality somehow.

A little background: I have been lucky enough to have visited Yellowstone NP several times, usually dragging around a Mamiya Press 6x9 outfit with 3 lenses, film backs, ground glass back, extension tubes, spotmeter, etc.; I got some great pictures, but on my last visit I took only the Brownie camera. I have just started printing these latest pictures and I am pleased so far with them.

 

[Wayne Frederick]

I also received Wayne Frederick's card. Very nice scene, and yes, great sharpness for what is now considered a "toy" camera. Is that a contact print? I am somewhat familiar with 116/616 film. And where did you get it? Thanks!

Thanks mfohl for your nice comments about my card. To answer your question, I used 120 film with home-made spool adapters in the Brownie. 116/616 film is a little taller than 120 film, so I masked off the top and bottom of the film gate in the back of the camera with small strips of cardboard. I do look for expired 616 Verichrome Pan or similar on Ebay, but have so far not seen anything I would buy.

The print on the postcard is a full-frame enlargement of the original 2 1/4" x 4 1/4" 120 negative.

 

[BSP]

@jvo 's postcard was delivered to my door today. It picked up quite a bit of "patina" along the way which only adds to the atmosphere that the image on the photograph from Washington dc breathes.

I am very glad to have received this late-for-the-round-49 postcard. Thanks @jvo ! The postmark reads April 20 so what a journey it must have been.

Looking forward to seeing more of your work in round 50.

Bill

 

[Black Dog]

Another card for this round arrived-Lava Creek by Wayne Frederick. Beautifully lit and composed. Thanks!

 

[Black Dog]

A card from Hkbenji arrived yesterday...posted on April 6th but none the worse after its long journey. A neat balance of light, shade and form-sometimes you can't beat a bit of black and white.

 

[tezzasmall]

The print on the postcard is a full-frame enlargement of the original 2 1/4" x 4 1/4" 120 negative.

As already said Wayne, an interesting and lovely print and glad to see you answered about the unusual format.

I too have bought a couple of box cameras not long ago, which I am trying out, along side a 35mm Russian panoramic camera and a Holga or two. As you will now know, it's quite liberating taking out only one of these cameras and leaving all the more modern camera equipment at home. I find all of them sharp, at least in the central area and I quite like the softness around the edges of the frame.

If anyone hasn't tried one of these 'Lo-Fi' cameras, buy one and give it a go. You can pick one up for next to nothing if you keep your eyes peeled.

Thanks again Wayne.

Terry S

 

[Black Dog]

As already said Wayne, an interesting and lovely print and glad to see you answered about the unusual format.

I too have bought a couple of box cameras not long ago, which I am trying out, along side a 35mm Russian panoramic camera and a Holga or two. As you will now know, it's quite liberating taking out only one of these cameras and leaving all the more modern camera equipment at home. I find all of them sharp, at least in the central area and I quite like the softness around the edges of the frame.

If anyone hasn't tried one of these 'Lo-Fi' cameras, buy one and give it a go. You can pick one up for next to nothing if you keep your eyes peeled.

Thanks again Wayne.

Terry S

That's very true-thankyou digital!

 

[mike c]

Received a great card from bedrof yesterday. He did a very good job of toning this photo, and its printed very light which works well with the roof tops of the buildings and sky, giving it a great feel of the country Istanbul. thanks Ilya. (the stamps are cool also).
Mike

 

[bedrof]

Received a great card from bedrof yesterday. He did a very good job of toning this photo, and its printed very light which works well with the roof tops of the buildings and sky, giving it a great feel of the country Istanbul. thanks Ilya. (the stamps are cool also).
Mike

Thank you, Mike, for your comment!

 

[bedrof]

I also got some cards of this round, which were lost in the PCX'50 pile.
hkbenji - streen scene - composed with eye-catching patterns, stark contrast and hardly visible shadow waves in the building facade - every detail works for this card.
Laurent - London card - another card showing a good use of high contrast. I like this dynamic moment very much. 21 mm looks a perfect choice for the scene.
mike c - 2 Linemen - an interesting moment captured. I'm very surprised at the detail visible in the shadowed figure of the lower man. Very nice tones indeed. And the contrast is fine too.
Howard Earl - Barber shop - contrary to other three cards, this one shows a very soft contrast. Door's detail and folding windows give an impression the frame was exposed a hundred years ago.

 

[iandvaag]

A few more:
@mike c - 2 Linemen - Lovely high contrast, but not a total silhouette. Fantastic exposure.
@Laurent - Accordion player - I like the wide field of view to place the subject in his isolated environment. The natural vinette due to the light falloff highlights the subject beautifully.
@Wayne Frederick - Lava Creek - I really like how the harsh light highlights various locations throughout the photo. Good job framing with the shorter film roll. It makes for a nice aspect ratio.

Thanks to each of you.

 

[bedrof]

Found a card from @fatso, The Northern Exile.
Received in September, this card spent last couple of months on my desk. I got very used to looking at it and only this week realized that I forgot to write a note here.
Looks great in panoramic composition. And great implementation of the idea.
Thank you, Paul

 

[gijsbert]

@bedrof same here, love your surfers card, it's still on my desk, looking at it feels a bit like vacation!