Postcard Exchange Round 58 Comments and Feedback

[Daniela]

I also just received @drpsilver 's beautiful "Tree reaching". Trees make for such awesome subjects; and the print you made (and with heavily fogged film!) is gorgeous! Would you mind explaining what OD(FB+F)=0.74 means?

 

[drpsilver]

I also just received @drpsilver 's beautiful "Tree reaching". Trees make for such awesome subjects; and the print you made (and with heavily fogged film!) is gorgeous! Would you mind explaining what OD(FB+F)=0.74 means?

30 Mar 2023

Daniela:

The meaning of "OD(fb+f) = 0.74" is a comment on the optical density of the "film base + fog" of unexposed parts of the film. Optical density is measured as the -log(T) where T is the transmittance of light [i.e (measured intensity)/(unobstructed intensity)]. Most 120 roll films have a OD(fb+f) of 0.2, with a maximum OD of 2.5+ (which is as dense as exposed leader on a 35mm roll of film). An OD of 0.74 for a fresh roll of film would produce close to a "middle grey" print. For more information read about photographic sensitometry. A good start is A. Adams "The Negative".

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Darwin

 

[mshchem]

Ah, the exchange is in a full swing now. I've just dropped the first batch of my cards to European destinations in the post office. The rest will follow soon.
Hope to get my mail from Tashkent in the second decade of May.

Good to hear from you. I bought a little flash unit from a fellow in Belgium, it took over 7 weeks to get to me here in Iowa City. 4 weeks to get out of Europe, it spent a couple weeks in sunny Portugal,. Then it popped up in Chicago, took another 3-4 weeks to get to me, Iowa City is about a 4 hour drive from Chicago .

 

[Daniela]

30 Mar 2023

Daniela:

The meaning of "OD(fb+f) = 0.74" is a comment on the optical density of the "film base + fog" of unexposed parts of the film. Optical density is measured as the -log(T) where T is the transmittance of light [i.e (measured intensity)/(unobstructed intensity)]. Most 120 roll films have a OD(fb+f) of 0.2, with a maximum OD of 2.5+ (which is as dense as exposed leader on a 35mm roll of film). An OD of 0.74 for a fresh roll of film would produce close to a "middle grey" print. For more information read about photographic sensitometry. A good start is A. Adams "The Negative".

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Darwin

Thank you for the explanation, Darwin. My mind is blown at this amount of detailed knowledge!

 

[koraks]

@drpsilver's card also arrived here - beautiful tones indeed from this film! A very well-executed print, many thanks!

 

[Laurent]

Hello, my APUG friends!

I'm sorry but will be late again, I'm currently on sick leave for a burnout and have to get the energy back before I can select a negative (my nightmare) and print it.

In the meantime, I received many great cards, I'll acknowledge (no specific order, and I may not comment each and every one, but all were appreciated)

So, as of today, I received:

"Not that way, guys" from Mike. Nice "street" shot, very engaging.
mfohl's Barn and trees. Nice textures, nice story (I need more local photography friends, I guess)
Don Heisz's rectangles. I too like all the rectangles, and the "rythm" they give.
Mikeg's Callanish II, very nice print (I miss neopan 400, loved it in my 'Flex) and great subject.
Mshchem Tires 15up. Nice urban scene
Henryyjjames's Howth Hike Bike. Nice "bikescape", I love the story it tells (or the one I imagine)
Negativefunk's II. I love boats, and square images, and this one works great
Jonmon6691's Esplanade, another bike, another street shot, I love both!
Koraks' diptych, with a story. Sad story, but nice to have it captured and told.
Tom Taylor's Wagon wheel. Bodie is one of the places I dream of visiting one day, and this image makes me more envious.
Jvo's "in the heart of the Financial District", nice street scene
Bhuis' "Reflecting" . I like the smaller card, and the vintage look ot gives to the print
Drpsilver's "Tree reaching". Interesting landscape!
Mtoma's "in the line of duty". Intriguing image, makes me smile!
Dunga's "Blooming light". Nice low key portrait! (and I really agree on the comment on the success ratio, MF is great for this)
Jim Christie's "Rainy day", I love the focus on the window's glass, and the blurred scene behind.

Thanks to all of you, the cards are great!

 

[Don_ih]

I'm sorry but will be late again, I'm currently on sick leave for a burnout and have to get the energy back before I can select a negative (my nightmare) and print it.

I don't think anyone wants you to pressure yourself unduly to get the cards out. The exchange should be fun at every step. Get some rest! We can all wait.

 

[koraks]

@Laurent burnout sucks big time, I hope you get into a better groove soon. It takes time. Don't rush.

 

[Don_ih]

Received Tree Reaching from @drpsilver -- or is it Tree Accusing? It looks like it's angry with that other tree.

Plus-x is a very good film. I have a bit of it - even a roll from the mid-70s still in the cardboard box. Maybe I'll see how foggy that is, one day.

 

[mfohl]

Received two nice postcards from Romania, on the same day, and in two different envelopes. First is mtoma's "In the Line of Duty", a cute shot of a child's stuffed animal that had gotten itself stuck head down and feet up. The poor guy (or gal) apparently did what was necessary. And second is dunga's "Blooming Light", a soft intimate portrait of a woman in a very dark environment. Great lighting and composition on this, it says "sensual" in a classy way. Thanks Mihai and Claudiu!

 

[BHuij]

Got @Dunga's print in the mail today. Really beautiful portrait and the print is so well-executed! Thank you!

 

[henryyjjames]

Update: I have now received @koraks's, @Dunga's, @Daniela's, @negativefunk's, @rcphoto's and @jonmon6691's cards. (14 total so far). Thank you all for the photos, I was very excited to receive them in the mail! I have to figure out what I'm going to do with this collection of prints ◡̈

 

[Daniela]

Update: I have now received @koraks's, @Dunga's, @Daniela's, @negativefunk's, @rcphoto's and @jonmon6691's cards. (14 total so far). Thank you all for the photos, I was very excited to receive them in the mail! I have to figure out what I'm going to do with this collection of prints ◡̈

Great to hear mine arrived!
As for what to do with them, I have a little display board that I keep adding to/changing as new ones arrive

 

[Michael Howard]

Just got Dunga's beautiful portrait today. Very nice, I was shocked by how good it was when I took it out of the envelope.

 

[Tom Taylor]

I also received Dunga's excellent Blooming light with descriptive notes in Saturday's mail. The black envelope with Romanian stamps were very effective.

What to do with these prints? You might want to consider getting a scrapbook. I keep mine in this. It will hold 2 5x7 or 1 8x10 on each page and can mount both Dunga's print and descriptive narrative alongside each other. Makes a great coffee table book.

 

[Daniela]

What to do with these prints? You might want to consider getting a scrapbook. I keep mine in this. It will hold 2 5x7 or 1 8x10 on each page and can mount both Dunga's print and descriptive narrative alongside each other. Makes a great coffee table book.

Great idea!

 

[MattKing]

I also received Dunga's excellent Blooming light with descriptive notes in Saturday's mail. The black envelope with Romanian stamps were very effective.

What to do with these prints? You might want to consider getting a scrapbook. I keep mine in this. It will hold 2 5x7 or 1 8x10 on each page and can mount both Dunga's print and descriptive narrative alongside each other. Makes a great coffee table book.

I used to photocopy the back of the cards, and put both the card facing forward and the photocopy side by side, on the same or facing pages in books like this.
Thrift stores can be a great source for the books.

 

[John Patrick Garriga]

My goodness! I finally got it done. Sorry for taking so long, seems like every time I tried to sit down and get these prints made, something would happen. Went out West to get new pictures, took about two weeks, then got a new puppy named Oliver. He's our current dogs third cousin, actually. Finally got him to a point where he can be left alone for a couple hours and as soon as I did that, it turns out the allergies I've been ignoring for the past 3 weeks were a sinus infection. Monday evening I realized that forgetting how to walk and sounds fading in and out is probably not the best for your health, but I got some antibiotics and I'm finally starting to improve today. Pushed through it last night and finally got all the cards ready to be posted, though. Maybe this was a blessing in disguise because I'm going to be horribly busy again for the next foreseeable future. Anyways, I appreciate all the cards.
God bless,
JP Garriga

 

[koraks]

John, welcome back, and get well soon! I hope the dust settles down and that you're back on your feet (with full knowledge how to use them!) ASAP!

Also, I received @bedrof 's fisherman today! A treat for sure in many ways. Such a recognizable scene even if I've never actually visited Russia.

 

[drpsilver]

13 Apr 2023

Finally have some time to comment on the batch of postcards I have received over the past two weeks.

"Blooming Light" from Dunga is elegant. A very nice portrait, and very well staged. I like the intimacy of the photo. I like the postage you used.
The diptych from koraks is a nice example of an "in camera diptych". Very well composed and printed. The narrative that accompanied this photo tells a very sad story. Congratulations on printing is color, something I have never tried (or want to try).

Thank you to all for sharing your work.

Regards,
Darwin

 

[John Patrick Garriga]

I wanted to thank y'all again for the cards. These have been excellent. I'm not a newbie to this, exactly, but I aspire to be able to make compositions like many of the members here. I'd especially like to complement

@koraks whose card I received today. My little area of Mississippi is home to some of the last remaining longleaf pine, which is endangered or extinct in most areas due to unsustainable logging practices. Unfortunately the land here is almost impenetrable with brush in some areas. Made something that was familiar seem very different, and that's hard to do, especially in landscape photography.

@Dunga had an excellent portrait, one of my favorites. Not many portraits just get me to sit and stare like that, but when a portrait is well done it just captivates and captivates. I'll be honest that I'm ignorant and small minded when it comes to nude photography, but you are clearly one of the few that managed to make art instead of pornography. Loved the use of the square format as well.

 

[koraks]

Thank you John for offering a parallel from halfway across the globe to a place close to my home! I'm glad the image has managed to connect in this way

 

[Dunga]

Glad that my stuff made it over the pond as well and you're enjoying it

It's very nice for me to find prints in my mailbox every few days.
Rebuilding my relationship with snail mail in the 21st century

I wanted to thank y'all again for the cards. These have been excellent. I'm not a newbie to this, exactly, but I aspire to be able to make compositions like many of the members here. I'd especially like to complement

@koraks whose card I received today. My little area of Mississippi is home to some of the last remaining longleaf pine, which is endangered or extinct in most areas due to unsustainable logging practices. Unfortunately the land here is almost impenetrable with brush in some areas. Made something that was familiar seem very different, and that's hard to do, especially in landscape photography.

@Dunga had an excellent portrait, one of my favorites. Not many portraits just get me to sit and stare like that, but when a portrait is well done it just captivates and captivates. I'll be honest that I'm ignorant and small minded when it comes to nude photography, but you are clearly one of the few that managed to make art instead of pornography. Loved the use of the square format as well.

Glad you like it, man.
She was very well dressed, but wearing one of those "tube-tops" or how the ladies call them.
"Implied" is the keyword

I used to photocopy the back of the cards, and put both the card facing forward and the photocopy side by side, on the same or facing pages in books like this.
Thrift stores can be a great source for the books.

Seems gread minds think alike )
Today i had the same idea, to copy or print the back of the postcard on the top half of an A4 sheet and place the print on the bottom.
And use a basic document pouch as a transparent container.
Should be a lot better browsing experience than my current PX mail basket.


Side note:
Still looking for an idea to fix the postcard on the backing paper with some non-damaging adhesive or something smarter.
Maybe one of you has good ideas and/or previous experience.



Have nice light, everyone, and looking forward for round 59

 

[mshchem]

Received beautiful photo from @Dunga . Great work!!

 

[mfohl]

Today I received John Patrick Garriga's Moab, Utah. A very nice western rock structure. A stitched together digital image, very nicely processed and printed. Thanks John!