Postcard Exchange Round 60 Comments and Feedback

mfohl · Oct 19, 2023

Wow, I also received krnow's "Gunnera Leaf, Cornwall 2023". A beautiful cyanotype of a leaf. Printed on handmade paper, then glossed. Beautiful image, and way beyond the standard postcard. And cyanotype, too, for that matter. Thanks Graham!

And by the by, my cards (letters, actually) went out in the mail today.

mshchem · Oct 19, 2023

KitosLAB said:
I wanted to show the place where the postcards were sent. This is my post office. The bicycle belongs to the postman)))

Great photo.

SJC1952 · Oct 22, 2023

I have my 8 printed but am away from home until the first week in November so will get them posted then. Stefan

drpsilver · Oct 22, 2023

22 Oct 2023

My postcards have been printed, toned, and labeled. I will be drop them off at the post office tomorrow.

A note on the edition for this round. While printing this edition I finished my last box of Ilford MGIV RC Postcard stock, and had to finish the edition with Ilford MGRC 4x6 stock. This means that 2/3 of you will be getting prints on MGIV RC, and the remainder on MGRC. Printing on these two papers proved to be more of a challenge than I first thought. However, after some experimenting, and the help of Ilford's literature, I determined the following:
1. That MGRC needs to be printed with a 1 grade SOFTER contrast filter than MGIV RC.
2. The exposure for MGRC is 0.5 stop LESS that that for MGIV RC.
This brings one to the conclusion that if one still wishes to print using grade 2 filter (as one did with MGIV RC) using MGRC one must develop negatives that are softer by one grade. Unfortunately not many film manufacturers publish "contrast curves", so it becomes a recursive exercise to find the correct development time for your workflow. The above illustrates the joys of paper manufacturing changes.

My comments on cards received to-date.
"Frank Gehry Grey" from Rrrgcy is a wonderful example that not all photographs need a "full tonal range" to be good. I like how you kept contrast and shape in the high values. Question: Where did you find Kodak XX film? How fogged was the film?
"Gunnera Leaf, Cornwall 2023" from krnow is a wonderful cyanotype (my favorite alt process) on handmade paper. Your chemistry formulation, and exposure, gave very nice results. The gloss varnish gives the image some depth, and is something I would have never thought to do. Well done. Was this printed from a digital negative?

I am looking forward to seeing more wonderful work, and hope you like the image I chose for this round.

Regards,
Darwn

mshchem · Oct 22, 2023

I have received 3 cards
D. Heisz Bean Leaf, really nice composition and print. Kodalith negative.

@Tel , Lunch, nice film to scan to print. Delicate, beautiful softness.

@krnow , Gunnera Leaf. Amazing cyanotype! Beautiful. My wife the artist wanted to cut it up to incorporate into one of her "assemblages"! I denied her request!

So much fun getting these photos. I rode 14 miles on my mountain bike today. I will print 1st rainy day, I promise!

Rrrgcy · Oct 22, 2023

drpsilver said:
My comments on cards received to-date.
"Frank Gehry Grey" from Rrrgcy is a wonderful example that not all photographs need a "full tonal range" to be good. I like how you kept contrast and shape in the high values. Question: Where did you find Kodak XX film? How fogged was the film?
Regards,
Darwn

I’ve had to send out several images/pictures. “Frank Gehry Grey“ was Kodak Double-X 5222 and a seller here and various on eBay sell 100’ fresh bulk rolls cut from new ordered 400’ and 1k‘. Perhaps I miswrote it and led you to surmise it’s discontinued film (Super-xx?), I’m sorry. Also much too new to understand how to get to various tonal balances in my imagery. With the old Kodak Retina iiic std lens and probably slightly slow shutter, I shot on sidewalk full bright daylight 250/developed@250 Xtol replenished, and using a straight old Beseler 23 and a Rodenstock printed various exposures and selected what I felt gave me the “pictorialist-ish” mood. The silver building and hot clear white blue sky must’ve blended the tonality. I imagined It might come out a wash of grey blend.

I’d looked up a lot of the images of that building before and after shooting and hadn’t seen anything similar. A Swiss photographer Johannes Marburg has imaged something from another part of the building only marginally close in appearance, a lot more texture and “color/tonal/sharper/digital-like” (but still 270 degrees from and not my look). Also a “MaxPixel” image captures another angle but much broader view enveloping more of the building and but a part of my picture and with more normal tone. I was aiming for something unique and not done, something with heavy density to make the building appear very dense and solid. I haven’t seen an image of this section of this building from this sidewalk perspective yet.

I don’t believe I’ve fogged the paper; the series just came out that way. I happen to think the Supra bright day, building and film impacted the output. Still a lot to learn and practice very much experimenting. Recently tried this film at 1600 and I like it. Thank you for the thoughts and contemplation about the image!

krnow · Oct 23, 2023

drpsilver said:
My comments on cards received to-date.
"Frank Gehry Grey" from Rrrgcy is a wonderful example that not all photographs need a "full tonal range" to be good. I like how you kept contrast and shape in the high values. Question: Where did you find Kodak XX film? How fogged was the film?
"Gunnera Leaf, Cornwall 2023" from krnow is a wonderful cyanotype (my favorite alt process) on handmade paper. Your chemistry formulation, and exposure, gave very nice results. The gloss varnish gives the image some depth, and is something I would have never thought to do. Well done. Was this printed from a digital negative?

I am looking forward to seeing more wonderful work, and hope you like the image I chose for this round.

Regards,
Darwn

Thank you, and thanks also to mshchm, Don_ih & mfohl for their feedback.

It is from a digital negative that I had printed onto acetate (I built myself a 3’ x 4’ UV exposure unit using BLB tubes so that I can make very large prints)

I either print on watercolour paper/handmade paper bought in sheets or on Japanese Kozuke paper which is very light but very strong when it comes to developing the print in water (I buy this in 60m rolls from a specialist shop in London)

I find that varnishing gives the print a darker blue, especially using the Japanese paper.

Michael Howard · Oct 23, 2023

40 cards all printed this weekend. I've decided to send this round in envelopes for a little better protection. Theme this round is Halloweenish. Going out this week. I too am now out of Ilford 4x6, need to order some more.

Don_ih · Oct 23, 2023

I received a card, a nice image of a foggy windfarm, from Valencia, Spain, presumably from @negativefunk -- who neglected to put his name on the card (tsk tsk) (also didn't identify that it was PCX 60). But that's fine - everyone likes a bit of detective work (pretty easy with "Espana" on the stamp and "Valencia" on the postmark and there being just one person from Spain on my mailing list).
It's very nicely printed - I don't consider the shadows too dark. Thanks!

negativefunk · Oct 23, 2023

Blimey, sorry, I got excited for having a printer at last and I forgot the basics...

Rob Skeoch · Oct 24, 2023

Just back in town and I've received three so far.
Corral Gables White Hot from Rrrgcy...nice shot of that building, is it just going up or is it mirrors?
Shell from Heisz...it has such a wonderful luminance to it. I love it. Nicely done. No there's no ocean around here, I checked the map. I live the other side of Orangeville in Grand Valley.
Gunnera Leaf from KRNOW... hey that's really cool, and looks like a lot of work? Do you make what we would call an 'negative' from the digital file and then make the Cyanotype from that? The paper has a great feel to it!

Don_ih · Oct 24, 2023

Rob Skeoch said:
I live the other side of Orangeville in Grand Valley.

I now think of you whenever I pass the sign pointing to Grand Valley. I'm glad you liked the card.

mfohl · Oct 26, 2023

Three nice postcards in the last coupla days.

"On Bleaker Street" by Tel. A nice slice of life street scene, looks like two restaurant workers. Nice lighting with the windows. A scanned image originally taken on an Ikoflex 1A - cool!

A very foggy, and dreamy, scene with a large wind generator and small tree. Lucky you to find those conditions! I think by negativefunk: no name, but postmark is Valencia.

And Shell, a nautilus shell by Don_ih. Very interesting process: lith film taped onto a film holder developed in paper developer. Well, the result is very nice. And thanks to the post offfice for putting the bar code on the image side. Fortunately, it came off without taking any emulsion with it. The emulsion scrape was right in the center, on the shell. Dammit.

Thanks Terry, Andrea, and Don. Good stuff!

Don_ih · Oct 26, 2023

mfohl said:
a nautilus shell

I had no idea!

Also, I just received the Bleaker St. card from @Tel -- it's very atmospheric - a timeless scene, really. The light is especially nice (it almost looks stage-lit).

AnselMortensen · Oct 28, 2023

My cards were mailed out this morning.
So far, I have received :

krnow's "Gunnera Leaf"... a beautiful varnished cyanotype on handmade paper.

Don _ih's "Shell"...excellent image, nice to see that he's a darkroom experimenter like me.

drpsilver's "Tiger Beetle Tracks"...I really appreciate the graphic qualities of this intimate landscape.

mfohl's "Grain Elevator Pattern"...another excellent image with strong graphic qualities.

Tel's "On Bleecker St."...I really like the composition and feel...the quality of the window light is outstanding!

Today I received a beautiful print of a foggy Spanish windmill/generator from a mysterious incognito photographer.

mshchem · Oct 28, 2023

I am going to try to get printing this weekend. Weather has been great, however I have a puncture in the rear tire of my Ebike so that's one less thing .

mshchem · Oct 28, 2023

Michael Howard said:
40 cards all printed this weekend. I've decided to send this round in envelopes for a little better protection. Theme this round is Halloweenish. Going out this week. I too am now out of Ilford 4x6, need to order some more.

Michael, I received your card today, outstanding! Beautiful printing! You have every zone in this. Really nice composition and print. Thanks. Best Regards Mike

Michael Howard · Oct 29, 2023

Thanks @mshchem ! Selecting negatives to print always comes down to how they print. These were a little more work than I planned. Very wide range in the desert sun.

Daniela · Oct 30, 2023

Just received @mfohl 's "Strange". Awesome pinhole image of railroad art. Love the composition, texture and contrast. Thank you, Mark!

In other news, just mailed my postcards today.

mshchem · Oct 30, 2023

I printed 32 cards yesterday, I need 25, plugged in addresses into Word template for labels, still need to make labels etc, then take to my friends at the post office

mfohl · Oct 30, 2023

Three more nice postcards. First is drpsilver's "Tiger Beetle Tracks" taken in Great Sand Dunes NP. Nice diagonal set of tracks coming to the top of the dune, then into the shadow on the lee side. Either that, or another critter ate the beetle. Good shot, good printing.

Then there is Michael Howard's "Ghost Rider" from Colorado. A very creepy character with nice mountains in the back. Does the bicycle belong to the rider, or was someone scared away? And will the guy burst into flames and show his skeleton face?

And finally AJVEN's "Joy Ride": two older gents obviously enjoying their outing. It was an uphill race of vintage motorcyles, an event that has taken place since 1925. This one is nicely printed (and toned) also.

Thanks Darwin, Mike, and Ivan. These are why I love this activity.

Ajven · Oct 31, 2023

I'm glad to hear that the postcard found its way and was delivered across the ocean! And of course I'm glad you like it.

Don_ih · Oct 31, 2023

Received Grain Elevator Pattern from @mfohl - which ends up being pretty abstract if you see it with no additional information. The pattern is very interesting - and it's a very good print. Thanks!

Todd Barlow · Oct 31, 2023

All of mine put in the mail this morning.

Todd Barlow · Oct 31, 2023

PCX#60 gems received as of Oct 31:

Oct 27 - mfohl - Why so serious? - Well seen! - why are the wipers up, why is the oil filter gasket on the ground, why is only the passenger side sun shade down, why....
Oct 25 - negativefunk - I was going elsewhere - Beautiful image with the fog!
Oct 20 - Don Heisz - Bean leaf - Love the detail of the photo but also the story on how it was made.

Postcard Exchange Round 60 Comments and Feedback

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