Postcard Exchange Round 53 Comments and Feedback

mooseontheloose · Aug 13, 2021

I'm doing something completely different this round, but all the prints are done, I just need to get them all sorted and posted - hopefully I can finish this weekend.

I've received a lot of great cards, I'll comment on them soon.

hkbenji · Aug 14, 2021

Thanks to @mike c @Don Heisz @gijsbert @distributed @drpsilver and @mfohl for your kind comments! @gijsbert , glad you finally received the cyanotype as well. Something's up with the HK postal service..

So far, I have received the following six cards:

@Don Heisz - Lilac Leaves - very beautiful, creamy tones. It's such a nice print.
@mike c - A nicely toned landscape with train. A dark foreground with the far mountains receding into pure light. Great stuff.
@mfohl - I had to check the title to see what's going on. These bike racks look enormous. Excellent use of a pinhole camera.
@distributed - Italian workmanship indeed! Very well seen and printed. I love the pipes especially.
@drpsilver - A great 4x5 photograph, leaves caught in a spider web with subtle yet effective toning. Very nice.
@Howard Earl - Another excellent 4x5. A detailed cityscape with a canal in Brooklyn and what looks like some construction work.

Thanks for all the great cards!

tezzasmall · Aug 18, 2021

MattiS said:
This reminds me to start with my cards. I´d love to experiment with paper negatives and contact printed cards with my new to me 13x18 (app. 5"x7") Mentor. But unfortunately it has a light leak that I have to fix first.

MattiS said:
I'm a bit late but finally I was able to send my cards today.

Not as late as me MattiS and good to see that you sorted your light leak out.

For today, I have received a great contact print from a paper negative made in Matti's Mentor LF camera.

I too have a liking for working this way and along with many other things, is something that I want to try and do a bit more of.

One question about this print - Is there any particular reason that you used two different papers to make the negative and then the print?

Terry S

MattiS · Aug 18, 2021

Simple reason - I had not enough Ilford MG in stock for both. So the Foma 313 was ordered later for the post cards.

Next time I´ll give the Fomaspeed 311 (!, glossy) a try for negative use, Held against light, the Foma is much more even (less cloudy) in comparison with the Ilford MG.

Don_ih · Aug 18, 2021

Got the card from @MattiS today - it's right up my alley (I take many pictures of such things). As for paper negatives - I've never contact printed one. Perhaps I should try.

mfohl · Aug 19, 2021

I also received "Vacation Memories" from MattiS. It's a "lighthouse", perched on the edge of a table. A 13x17 paper negative contact printed onto 5x7 paper. The sky looks very realistic.

Thanks Martin!

-- Mark

tezzasmall · Aug 20, 2021

MattiS said:
Simple reason - I had not enough Ilford MG in stock for both. So the Foma 313 was ordered later for the post cards.

Thanks for the reply.

Terry S

mike c · Aug 26, 2021

Received Mattis's card "Vacation Memories", very nice for frist time shot using 5x7 and paper negs . The sky works well behind the Light House..
Professor01983 a large format post card if there ever was one, the winter snow scene is great, might have named this card "Gateway to Snow" very nice .
Mike

distributed · Aug 27, 2021

First I received @MattiS' card "Vacation Memories". It's a contact print of a paper negative. You seem to have succumbed to the addictive paper negative shooting, too! The photo is a fun idea and the tones, both in the foreground and background are absolutely lovely. When I stayed in the Netherlands, I missed out on a trip to Texel, but this card is a bit of compensation for that. Thanks!

I also received @gijsbert's "Cool car" from Montreal. The tones are very bold on this one and the right border of the image makes it seem like the viewer may be getting a sneak peek at the vehicle. Not mentioned in the comments: Nice bicycles on the picture, too! Thanks!

ProfessorC1983 · Aug 27, 2021

I was also quite late in getting my (yes, once again large!) cards out this round, due to all manner of distractions including a bout with Covid, but got them in the mail late last week so glad to see a few are arriving at least domestically.

I've also been charmed by everyone's submissions this round and will collate my reactions soon!

mfohl · Aug 28, 2021

I received ProfessorC's large and lovely postcard today. A beautiful winter snow scene, the remnants of a gate. Great shadow detail, great snow detail. Even Claire was impressed, and she usually doesn't comment. Thanks Clinton!

George Nova Scotia · Aug 30, 2021

Almost time for a new round. Thanks everyone for cards and comments.
Round 54 starts September 1st, keep an eye out for the sign up thread.

George

Don_ih · Aug 31, 2021

I just got the card from @ProfessorC1983 - people weren't kidding when they said it was big. They insisted on folding it in half to put it in my box, though. Luckily, not really a creased fold - it may go flat again if pressed for 18 or so years. It's a very cool shot of a very dirty grill.

George Nova Scotia · Sep 1, 2021

The sign up thread for round 54 is ready.

https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/postcard-exchange-round-54-sign-up.186334/

George

tezzasmall · Sep 3, 2021

I too have now received Professor01983's lovely, as said, larger than normal, postcard.

It's a beautiful snowy print and I'm glad to see someone else uses Ilford's RC Satin paper.

I also love the stamps but the Royal Mail has decided to cross them all out with a scribble of a biro... Luckily the print is untouched.

And I love to see full details, where possible, with a card and full details were given on this one... except the round number, so I'm glad that I wasn't the first to receive one.

As well as using a Kiev 60, a good old fashioned typewriter was used to put the text on the back of the card. I'm now hoping to receive more from the sender in future rounds!

Thanks again Clinton.

Terry S

hkbenji · Sep 11, 2021

@ProfessorC1983 also arrived here - amazingly, given its size, in pristine condition! Loving the photograph of a charcoal grill, as well as the photograph's backing with a great write up.
@MattiS Miniature Lighthouse via paper negative - very nicely done! Makes me want to experiment with paper negatives more.
@gijsbert Cool car indeed, made with a cool camera! Looks like it's popping out of the photograph. Very nice

tezzasmall · Sep 15, 2021

Despite being printed over a month ago now, I finally got my prints in the post yesterday = Tuesday 14/09/21.

Who'll be the first to receive something, I wonder?

Terry S

MattiS · Sep 19, 2021

Hi Terry,

sems that I am one of the first to receive your cards. Incredible that it needs a customs declaration these days to send two photos in an envelope... .

Beach huts - I can smell the seaside salty air. You managed the contrast between the dark an the light hut pretty well.

No cycling - one doesn´t see vertical panoramics that often. The mark in the foreground fills this area a bit, but you may go a bit closer next time - that´s part of the Horizon learning curve.

I really like the Horizon panoramic cameras and the character of them and their results. And don´t be shy to use it handheld, as long as the light allows it. You´have to touch it like a burger if you don´t want finger tips in the corners of the picture, but you´ll get used to it pretty soon. And it´s much more fun to use. And forget this "handle" thing, if your S3 came with one at all.
Character (some would call it an issue) - your S3 produces slight banding due to uneven rotation of the lens barrel. The beach hut scene shows it on the right in the sky, "no cycling" in the sky on top, too. Maybe some exercising the camera will cure that, otherwise I would call it character. My 202 produces a slight pressure mark along one long side of the negative. I decided to accept it as camera character, too.

I enjoyed your cards very much - Thanks!

mooseontheloose · Sep 26, 2021

Alright, here we go. We start our new semester tomorrow which means I've had to sort through all my paperwork and I keep finding cards from the exchange!

On the "large" side of things, I love the chaotic nature of hkbenji's card, with the dinosaurs, high rises, and traffic all competing for attention. MattiS' "Vacation Memories" reminds me of my time in Texel where I biked around the island to photograph the lighthouse only to discover to my dismay that riding back to my hostel at night with only the bicycle light to light the way was not the best idea (you were on the right track with that miniature!). gijsbert's "cool car" is very cool, and I love the crisp black and shiny tones on this print. Wish we had scenes like this in Japan. And the largest of them all, ProfessorC1983's "Christmas Day, Kentucky" is a great snowy scene that makes me wish for home.

I also like the somewhat abstract nature of both Don Heisz's "Tragic" and mfohl's "Bike Racks." The latter looks great for a pinhole image! drpsilver's "Caught in the Web" has a beautiful simplicity that, as someone else mentioned here, reminds me of a music score. I also like the warm tones of mike c's "Morning east bound train" and Matt King's "Winter Continues" - a beautiful scene with lots of details.

Finally, on the more urban side of things, Howard Earl's "Gowanis Canal, Brooklyn" is a scene I've never seen of NYC before, and the clarity of detail on the buildings in the background make me realize once again how great 4x5 negatives are. tezzasmall's sunny day panoramas are both great, with interesting subjects that make the most of the sunny light, and makes me want to pull out my Horizon camera for a long overdue spin.

It seems bedrof has sent his prints, but I can't seem to find mine - I'll have to do another sweep of my papers and cards to see if it is hidden away somewhere.

And of course, my cards are now out in the mail as of this evening (Japan time). Those of you who know me will find that this card is a lot different than what I usually do, and even though it took awhile for me to finally put them together, they were a long time planning, as the the images were taken over a 6 week-period. Everyone is getting something slightly different this round, hopefully they'll arrive sooner rather than later.

tezzasmall · Sep 29, 2021

MattiS said:
Character (some would call it an issue) - your S3 produces slight banding due to uneven rotation of the lens barrel. The beach hut scene shows it on the right in the sky, "no cycling" in the sky on top, too. Maybe some exercising the camera will cure that, otherwise I would call it character. My 202 produces a slight pressure mark along one long side of the negative. I decided to accept it as camera character, too.

I enjoyed your cards very much - Thanks!

Thanks for the comments MattiS and I'm glad that the pics arrived in good time.

As for the slight banding on the prints, I never even noticed them until you pointed them out. Just checking the prints, I couldn't see them at all straight away and then they just jumped out at me! Good to know that it's only a slight imperfection though and it may end up being, as you say, 'camera character'.

I'll check some of the negatives from the roll taken to see if it occurs throughout the film or not, but as you say a good bit of exercising of the camera may sort it out.

Terry S

mike c · Oct 1, 2021

tezzasmall, just now had time to respond to your great postcards (2). Like that format and also the large borders of these small jewel like cards, they will fit perfectly on the wall of my closet sized gallery I maintain.in the darkroom.
Be looking forwards to your postcard Mooseontheloose.

Mike

tezzasmall · Oct 2, 2021

mike c said:
tezzasmall, just now had time to respond to your great postcards (2). Like that format and also the large borders of these small jewel like cards, they will fit perfectly on the wall of my closet sized gallery I maintain.in the darkroom.
Be looking forwards to your postcard Mooseontheloose.

Mike

Very much appreciated comments Mike.

The camera is new to me and I now look at scenes in a different format but anything that helps us see differently is a real bonus.

All the best,

Terry S

mfohl · Oct 6, 2021

I received mooseontheloose's card (letter?) from Japan. Marvelous! Two instant shots of Maruoka castle. And a nice description of the area, and of washi. I had a month-long trip to Japan in 1996, and it was nice. Stuck in Tokyo for the workdays (which was really not that bad), but took a day trip to Nikko on a Saturday, and made it to Kyoto with my wife on a weekend. Also very nice. Thanks Rachelle! Very exotic, as usual.

mooseontheloose · Oct 6, 2021

mfohl said:
I received mooseontheloose's card (letter?) from Japan. Marvelous! Two instant shots of Maruoka castle. And a nice description of the area, and of washi. I had a month-long trip to Japan in 1996, and it was nice. Stuck in Tokyo for the workdays (which was really not that bad), but took a day trip to Nikko on a Saturday, and made it to Kyoto with my wife on a weekend. Also very nice. Thanks Rachelle! Very exotic, as usual.

Great to hear the card made it! I wasn’t sure how the Instax shots would survive on their own (even with glue and tape) so made the decision to go with an envelope, which was not unusual this round I think.

Don_ih · Oct 6, 2021

I got your card, also, @mooseontheloose - with the little map of Lake Biwa and Fukui and the Instax pics of Tojinbo Cliffs. The write-up is very much appreciated. I'd like to go to Japan some time - but I doubt it will ever happen.
I think the pictures taped to the card in an envelope is a perfect way to send them. I considered putting my postcards in envelopes, since I trust envelopes more, but I think they all reached their destinations.

Postcard Exchange Round 53 Comments and Feedback

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Privacy & Transparency