Postcard Exchange Round 51 Comments and Feedback

[mfohl]

I also received MattiS's beautiful Aquarius Water Museum. Lovely cyanotype rendering of a pinhole image. Masterful. Thanks Matti!

 

[BSP]

Blue is the new black, it seems.
Today I received Rüdiger's (@rst ) postcard for round 51. I am falling in love with these cyanotypes . They are so nice to receive and this one is very interesting. I keep waiting for the beaver that caused the damage to show itself.

As I have a few 6x6 and 6x7 negatives I was wondering if I could get into this printing process too. Is it very difficult, messy of expensive?

Thanks for your kind words on the back also!

Nice one!
Bill

 

[MattiS]

Blue is the new black, it seems.
As I have a few 6x6 and 6x7 negatives I was wondering if I could get into this printing process too. Is it very difficult, messy of expensive?

40-50€ for chemicals, bottles, foam brushes and pipettes. 25€ more for a UV LED strip and a box. Water colour paper and a cheap picture frame, that´s it.
An afternoon for your youtube-diploma and a weekend practising cyanotypes and you are up and running... .

 

[Dan McGuire]

An afternoon for your youtube-diploma... .

I love that, I am going to have to remember that

Dan

 

[BSP]

I love that, I am going to have to remember that

Dan

Same

 

[mfohl]

I just received drpsilver's Never Give Up. A nice message, and a very nice still life. Thanks Darwin!

 

[rst]

...
As I have a few 6x6 and 6x7 negatives I was wondering if I could get into this printing process too. Is it very difficult, messy of expensive?

Thanks for the kind words Bill. As already pointed out it is not very difficult or expensive to get into cyanotypes. And it is a simple process also with regards to suitable negatives. You need a negative which prints nicely on about grade 3 paper. Compared to other processes cyanotypes are not that contrast hungry.

Coming from smaller formats you can also do enlarged negatives (make an enlarged interpositive and then a negative from that or directly make the enlarged negative by reversal processing) or use a digital negative. But that would require a scanner and printer. OTOH a 6x7 miniature, on a nice paper ... that should work very well.

Cheers
Rüdiger

 

[BSP]

@drpsilver Darwin's little shrine really cheers me up today. I am glad to have received it. Thanks man.

Keep shooting, printing and sharing people!

Bill

 

[mfohl]

I got another really nice cyanotype in the mail today, from rst. A very large tree. Thanks, Rüdiger! Excellent detail in the dark tones of this one! And to answer your question, I absolutely do not mind a cyanotype!

 

[MattKing]

I just received drpsilver's Never Give Up. A nice message, and a very nice still life. Thanks Darwin!

I too received and am enjoying drpsilver's "Never Give Up".
Well composed, an interesting subject, and very nicely printed too.
Thanks Darwin - I always look forward to your cards.
My cards are printed, the labels are drafted and I'm just trying to make some time available for toning (or reaching the decision not to this time).

 

[tezzasmall]

I am falling in love with these cyanotypes.

I was wondering if I could get into this printing process too. Is it very difficult, messy of expensive?

Bill

40-50€ for chemicals, bottles, foam brushes and pipettes. 25€ more for a UV LED strip and a box. Water colour paper and a cheap picture frame, that´s it.
An afternoon for your youtube-diploma and a weekend practising cyanotypes and you are up and running...

As already pointed out it is not very difficult or expensive to get into cyanotypes. And it is a simple process also with regards to suitable negatives.
Cheers
Rüdiger

It's interesting to read that members of this forum are getting into cyanotypes, for these rounds. But, it is made to sound so simple, and sometimes it is, but as I have found out lately, whilst also trying the process, there can be a few hiccups along the way.

I am at present experimenting with different papers, for although I have now got a UV light that gives me much smaller exposures and dark blues in the wash, I am finding that some papers are better than others. Cheap cartridge paper, at about 190 gsm, gives a good blue right to the end but ends up breaking up into pieces in the wash. Then I've used a heavier 300 gsm watercolour paper that looks absolutely wonderful in the wash, with lovely deep blues, but then when dry they have almost disappeared! It's got to be the worst type of dry down ever!!!

If you're interested to read some other members experiments with it, can I suggest reading this post:

http://www.film-and-darkroom-user.org.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=13447

Terry S

 

[rst]

... there can be a few hiccups along the way.

That is true Terry. There is quite some dependency on the paper. I found that Arches Platine (which I used in the last round), Bergger COT 320 (which I used in this round) and Hahnemühle Platinum Rag work very well with the cyanotype process. I would not recommend to start into it with saving money on the paper. I would rather recommend to use a paper which is known to work well. That might make starting with it a bit more expensive, but one has also value the time that is waisted using an unsuited paper.

In addition to the three papers I mentioned above, there are many other papers which work well. For those not interested in the youtube diploma I can recommend the following book by Christina Z. Anderson: Cyanotype - the blueprint in contemporary practice

There you find some comparisons between different papers and also different dilutions of FAC and PF and much more.

Cheers
Ruediger

 

[Howard Earl]

Really enjoying the new images received. Cyanotypes are very prominent this round.

MATTIS Aquarius Water Museum very nice.
RST Large tree with multiple branches. Excellent cyanotype.
DARWIN “Never Give Up” wonderful still life.
FOTOGYS Nice hillside scene.
BSP I received the dog walker with long leash and dog venturing into water.

I really enjoy reading the comments about photos on back of cards. And the technical info on camera gear is a bonus.
Love reading how everyone approaches this project.

Keep up the great work,
Howard Earl

 

[Dan McGuire]

Hello All

Another week with delivery of 2 post cards
@rst A beautiful Blue Cyanotype with a hand written message on the back. Makes the hand made image even more personal.
@drpsilver "Never Give Up" A still life for our times. Not a criticism, but a question. Would a rock with 2020 on it have anchored the picture or taken away from the message

Dan

 

[FotoGys]

Last week two postcards I received.

I love the still life picture of Darwin and also his possitive message. I love the composition as well as the print quality.
Also the cyanotype of Rüdiger I like because of the technique supporting this nice shot of a lake or river.

Guus

 

[hkbenji]

I finally managed to mail out my cards. Unfortunately, still no service from HK to Russia, so that one will go out later.

Received the following already with many thanks:

@mfohl - Nice 4x5 with interesting composition, textures and tones.
@rst - Another 4x5, this one a Cyanotype. Excellent. Did you do your signature with the Cyanotype solution? Works very well. Lovely paper too.
@JimEA - Great print of a Bronze. I was intrigued by your print and had to look up the sculptor.. (Jens-Flemming Sørensen). Toning looks good too.
@Oxleyroad - Love the mix of (bendy) palm trees and (non-bendy) lighthouse. Very nice. Interesting camera as well.
@Dan McGuire - Great contrast / tone / sharpness / detail. Looks fantastic.
@FotoGys - Your photograph brought back childhood memories from the North Sea, thank you. It has a nice soft quality that I enjoy.
@MattiS - Another 4x5 Cyanotype! And a pinhole to boot. The tower, the sky, the trees, the fence - all works very well together. I had to look up your camera - never heard of it before.. So now I can blame you for me ordering yet another camera (the 6x17..)..!
@BSP - Ha, great fun shot! The dog is clearly in charge here..

 

[rst]

...
@rst - Another 4x5, this one a Cyanotype. Excellent. Did you do your signature with the Cyanotype solution? Works very well. Lovely paper too.
...

Thanks. Yes I use emulsion to sign. I use a nib made of glas so that there is no metal other than the metal in the emulsion involved.

Cheers
Rüdiger

 

[hkbenji]

That's a great idea! Thanks for sharing.

 

[RSImages]

I've been terribly slow getting things done this go around. I just delivered my postcards to the post office this morning. My apology for the delay this go around.

-Robert

 

[tezzasmall]

And my six cards have just been put in the post, Thursday 26/11/2020.

Terry S

 

[mfohl]

Got two nice postcards today. Michael Teresko's structures from South San Francisco. And RSImages' Colossus in Lincoln, Nebraska. Nice head!

 

[BSP]

Three postcards today kept the doctor away

@tezzasmall / Terry sent me a wonderful follow-up to his Lloyds building series. I love the nice range tones that lead the eye up into the sky.

@hkbenji's fun little square one is a joy to hold and behold.

Mike's scene from South San Francisco looks like people gathering round to discuss how to climb that wall.

Thank you for sending such great postcards
Bill

 

[BSP]

And another one....this time from @gijsbert....a glowing, high contrast still life..."message in bottle".....I love it!

En jij ook hele fijne Sinterklaas en kerstdagen toegewenst!

 

[drpsilver]

03 Dec 2020

Thank you to all for the kind words and comments. I found this small "altar" at the entrance to Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve (Los Altos, CA) which is walking distance from my home. I was very thankful to whomever created it because it was what I needed to see at the time. The message has become a recurring thought for me. It remained in place for almost 2 weeks before it disappeared. I hope it showed-up somewhere else to brighten the spirits of more people.

I have received many very nice cards. Here are my comments in to particular order.
The card from Micheal Teresko of an area in South San Francisco, where in SSF I have no idea.
I really like the card from hkbenj. The simplicity of the fisherman contrasted with the complexity of HK is wonderful. Very nicely printed. The dark frame accents the photo very well.
The second cyanotype of this round came from rst. The contrast between the two types of grasses is a nice juxtaposition. You succeeded in holding both shadow and highlight tone/detail. Well done. I am curious how you added you signature; ink or a pen dipped in cyanotype chemistry?

Regards,
Darwin

 

[rst]

... The second cyanotype of this round came from rst. The contrast between the two types of grasses is a nice juxtaposition. You succeeded in holding both shadow and highlight tone/detail. Well done. I am curious how you added you signature; ink or a pen dipped in cyanotype chemistry?

I used a pen made of glass and cyanotype chemistry.

Thanks for the kind words Darwin and everyone who commented.

Cheers
Ruediger