Postcard Exchange Round 54 Comments and Feedback

bedrof said:

Satin is the same as pearl, right?

Ilya

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gijsbert said:

@bedrof: satin is between pearl and matte, has a bit more punch than matte and not as shiny as pearl, I think satin is only available for ilford regular rc paper, I like it.

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Yes, satin is quite unique in it's RC paper surface, which I like to use. I have heard it described as being 'Arty', and giving prints a distinctive look. Along with FB matt, I recommend anyone to try a small box of it, maybe postcard size, where it'll be used up quickly if not quite your cup of tea, but you might surprise yourself in liking it.

Anyway, just catching on my HUGE pile of correspondence, so apologies for any lateness...

Four lovely cards received so far for this round:

Mattis has sent a humorous print of a speed camera, on which someone has spray painted 'Cheese!' It made me smile but I hope it doesn't put anyone off their driving! I also like the shallow depth of field, which works really well here.

Howard had sent a lovely print of a small and single sunflower in front of what I presume are much larger sunflower plants. Lovely to get this at this time of year, as it reminds me of summer, when I also grow them, being one of my favourite flowers.

Matt King has sent an interesting print called 'Canopy', which suits it very well. A well captured mixture of ground level darkness, up to very small bits of much lighter sky. Quite spooky and still and makes one wonder what animals are hidden amongst the many trees and ground foliage.

Ilya / Bedrof's print puzzled me initially until I realised that it was a very close crop of some stacked row boats. As well as full details of camera, film, paper and chemicals, which I like to read, he says that the Retropan film '...is known for it controversial grain look' which he likes and I do too. To my eyes the grain is invisible. I also really like the matt surface of the paper that he has printed on, being 'Forte Bromofort', which I have not heard of before.

Many thanks to all that sent the cards.

Terry S

18 Feb 2022

My comments on cards received over the past week+.

The card from bedrof "Stream and Stones" is a photo of that invokes the sounds of running water. A peaceful refuge. I like to light polysulfide tone. It softens the highlights without being too red/brown. A very interesting, and mysterious, photo from Black Dog. This photo reminds me of something out of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Thank you to all for sharing your images.

Regards,
Darwin

Many thanks @Don Heisz @drpsilver and @mfohl for your kind comments!

Three more excellent cards have arrived here:

@drpsilver - "Checker Lily" - such a great use of flash to make the flower stand out. Excellent.
@Black Dog - Nice to receive a colour postcard. A atmospheric photograph with muted yellow, brown and orange tones. I especially love the curtain.
@cramej - Light and shadows, bricks and concrete. It's a kind of photograph I aspire to but can never quite manage. Well done, fantastic! And thanks for the Ray Metzker recommendation, new to me, good stuff.

Thanks for the great cards!

I apologize - I have been delinquent in my intention to comment on Postcards these last few months. Since my last comments respecting this round 54 several excellent cards arrived and ended up on the "to be commented on" pile on the enlarger baseboard.
@drpsilver - "Checker Lily" - a very nice black and white flower photo, printed very well;
@Black Dog - "Winter Woods Wandering" - a colour print, that captures nicely the muted colours of winter. And the Rolling Stones commemorative postage stamp is great!;
@cramej - "Light and Shadow Study" - an excellent study in mood and geometry, with the bricks providing the geometry and the shadows providing the mood. The black borders really add to the effect;
@tezzasmall - "Crane" - dark and brooding, this is an impressive result from what appears otherwise to be a bright sunny day near the water;
@bedrof - "Row Boats" - beautiful repeating forms and textures, and printed very nicely on Bromofort - a paper I haven't seen for a while.
Thanks everyone - they are much appreciated.

Another card arrived -

@bedrof - "Shadow (Rain outside)" - a very nice and moody print of raindrops on glass and out of focus outlines of a tree. I like it a lot. And Kodak 5222 film, I had to look that one up.

Many thanks!

Alright everyone, after a very long delay, my darkroom is back up and running and I have finally been able to catch up on my printing for this round. Cards are in the mail and hopefully will arrive sooner rather than later, although who knows with all the postal delays.

Cards I've received*:

In the flora category I've got a lovely sunflower from Howard Earl, although it was unfortunately damaged in the post. Matt King's "Canopy" reminds me of the woods back home, which I hope to explore this summer. dprsilver's "Checker Lily" is new to me, don't think I've ever seen one in the wild before. I also have an unclaimed postcard, as it has no writing on the back and I clearly misplaced the envelope it came (so it may or may not be for this round). The faint pencil lettering on the back makes me think it is from Black Dog, but I could be incorrect - It's a black and white print of what looks like ivy and some tall grasses (*I also cannot find any cards from bedrof or tezzasmall, but they could be misplaced as I know they've sent theirs, so it's possible it's from one of them as well).

In the more abstract category I've got "Steps and Shadows" from mfohl and "hand hand" by Don Heisz. Similarly, the high contrast minimalist looks from cramej's "Light and Shadow Study" and hkbenji's "Kerri" work well here too.

Finally, MattiS' "Cheese" is a bit quirky and fun, and is something I have to remember about when I speed along Japan's highways. And as a cemetery aficionado, I love gijsbert's "Angel" at what I assume is the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery, one I hope to visit this summer if I can squeeze in a day trip to Montreal from Ottawa this August.

I just received a lovely card from mooseontheloose, a shot of an old train on an old bridge in fading light. Very nice, I love the old train! Thanks Rachelle! And your cards are always welcome, late or not. What a great way to kick off round 56!

mooseontheloose said:

Alright everyone, after a very long delay, my darkroom is back up and running and I have finally been able to catch up on my printing for this round. Cards are in the mail and hopefully will arrive sooner rather than later, although who knows with all the postal delays.

Cards I've received*:

In the flora category I've got a lovely sunflower from Howard Earl, although it was unfortunately damaged in the post. Matt King's "Canopy" reminds me of the woods back home, which I hope to explore this summer. dprsilver's "Checker Lily" is new to me, don't think I've ever seen one in the wild before. I also have an unclaimed postcard, as it has no writing on the back and I clearly misplaced the envelope it came (so it may or may not be for this round). The faint pencil lettering on the back makes me think it is from Black Dog, but I could be incorrect - It's a black and white print of what looks like ivy and some tall grasses (*I also cannot find any cards from bedrof or tezzasmall, but they could be misplaced as I know they've sent theirs, so it's possible it's from one of them as well).

In the more abstract category I've got "Steps and Shadows" from mfohl and "hand hand" by Don Heisz. Similarly, the high contrast minimalist looks from cramej's "Light and Shadow Study" and hkbenji's "Kerri" work well here too.

Finally, MattiS' "Cheese" is a bit quirky and fun, and is something I have to remember about when I speed along Japan's highways. And as a cemetery aficionado, I love gijsbert's "Angel" at what I assume is the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery, one I hope to visit this summer if I can squeeze in a day trip to Montreal from Ottawa this August.

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@mooseontheloose good guess, indeed NDG cemetery, if you go there don't miss the Belvédère Outremont!

gijsbert said:

@mooseontheloose good guess, indeed NDG cemetery, if you go there don't miss the Belvédère Outremont!

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I won't! I believe I visited it my first time to Montreal back in 1995 but didn't in my two subsequent visits so it's definitely time to go back.

I just received ( @mooseontheloose ) Rachelle's train-on-a-bridge card. The background disappearing into mist is very nice. I'm always amazed by what they will do with trains in Japan in comparison with how stupid they've been with trains in this country.
Oh, and the card arrived in perfect condition - that's amazing. Almost every card has been mangled in some way.

Don Heisz said:

I just received ( @mooseontheloose ) Rachelle's train-on-a-bridge card. The background disappearing into mist is very nice. I'm always amazed by what they will do with trains in Japan in comparison with how stupid they've been with trains in this country.
Oh, and the card arrived in perfect condition - that's amazing. Almost every card has been mangled in some way.

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Thanks Don! Glad to hear it's made it to at least one destination! I actually photographed a number of trains and train stations on that particular trip and subsequently learned that I'm not that good at photographing them. Having a longer lens, better light, and knowing the train schedules would have helped a lot, although I'm happy enough with what I got.

I also received @mooseontheloose lovely train & bridge print. What strikes me is that it appears to be a single carriage. The short train makes the scene appear even more rural (to me). Great stuff.
And @Howard Earl's Sunflower arrived as well. A lovely 4x5 print. I'm a big fan of sunflowers!

Many thanks

hkbenji said:

I also received @mooseontheloose lovely train & bridge print. What strikes me is that it appears to be a single carriage. The short train makes the scene appear even more rural (to me). Great stuff.
And @Howard Earl's Sunflower arrived as well. A lovely 4x5 print. I'm a big fan of sunflowers!

Many thanks

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@hkbenji - there are a lot of these single carriage trains in the Japanese countryside, I've lived in quite a few places that had them. Oftentimes as well, most of the stations along the line would be unstaffed, so it was easy to travel on the cheapest ticket since no one would ever check it, although in retrospect I don't suppose that helped keep those lines afloat! I remember reading of a place up north in Tohoku that ran a single carriage train twice a day for one passenger - a high school student living in the countryside (it would pick her up in the morning and bring her back from school in the afternoon). The entire line was scheduled to be decommissioned once she graduated (which I think has since happened). As the population ages and the countryside empties out, I'm sure that will happening a lot more.

Oh, what a sweet story! Gotta love Japanese trains. And Japan, for that matter

It looks like I haven't confirmed cards received for these participants:
@drpsilver Checker lily
@Howard Earl Sunflower
@MattKing Canopy
Surprisingly all three are of a vegetative nature, interestingly composed and printed.
Thank you!

Somehow I overlooked few cards received in this round:
@cramej - Light and Shadow study
@Black Dog - Winter spaces
@tezzasmall - Dramatic print of a crane

Lovely cards, all three were made with a considerable creative efforts, thank you!
I definitely have to go search that Ray Metzker.

Ah, and a card from @hkbenji, sent in an envelope with numerous cards for other rounds:
Kerri - Hybrid tech card of a discreet composition, cleverly seen and executed.
Thanks!