Postcard Exchange Round 66 Comments and Feedback

Ok, I need to respond to the cards I have received recently...

Absalom1951's "Bent Railing... Beautifully composed & printed. I always enjoy the interaction of rusty metal and nature, one of my favorite subjects. The paper surface and tones are outstanding.

mfohl's "Diamond House"...
Wonderful composition! Nice to see someone using vintage Kodak Postcard paper. Abandoned buildings...another favorite subject.

Michael Howard's "Smith Mountain" .
A lovely desert vista landscape, well printed. A tangible sense of desolation.

Simon I's graveyard image.
Wow, what a gorgeous lith print! Beautiful color and tones. Bravo!

Daniel's "Sculpture at La Défense"
Excellent graphic study with interplay between geometric and organic shapes.
Reminiscent of Jacques Tati's "Playtime" in some ways. Unfortunately, the croissant stamp lost its aroma along the way.

Jim Christie's "Too Many Wheelbarrows"...
A wonderful example of Roadside America quirkiness. The subject matter makes one ask not only "Why?" but "How?". Well seen and printed!

Thank you, all!

6 cards received so far:
Jim Christie - Too Many Wheelbarrows - Very crisp print nicely composed
ChrisR - Ghost Trees - Very interesting abstract "movement" picture, I love the colors
mfolh - Diamond House - Old houses/buildings, one of my favorite subjects, on old Kodak postcard paper, nicely done
absalom1951 - Bent Railing - Looks like the Jacks-in-the-Greens are taking over this site
Daniela - Sculpture at La Dispense - Absolutely wonderful printing on this. Daniela is, in my opinion, a master printer.
Simon I - Unnamed - Beautiful lith print of, I believe, a grave marker. The color is perfect.

First card received yesterday

"At Ease" - @AnselMortensen - What an interesting photo. I wonder if these folks were actually performers in some type of stage play, being photographed during some rest break. The lighting setup looks rather staged on the stage . Is that Kimac Sticker on the back of the photo old stock you have hanging around? And BTW, the stamp was cancelled with a sword ... lol

@gbroadbridge , Yes, those backing stickers were ones I have had for quite some time.
I guess a USPS clerk somewhere thinks a pen is as mighty as a sword. LOL.

I have been slacking here. I have received three cards so far:
@AnselMortensen "At Ease" from a found negative. At first I didn't see the man behind the camera's legs they blended in with the wall so it took me a moment to figure out what was going on! What a fun find.
@mfohl "Diamond House" about an abandoned house. I am sure that house has some storied to tell.
@Michael Howard "Portal 2" about a cave used by silver miners. It has a cold, lonely feel which seems fitting for the subject.

Thank you all!

I have mine printed, I just need to address and label them, then find time to go by the post office while they are open.

AnselMortensen said:

Unfortunately, the croissant stamp lost its aroma along the way.

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One stamp catastrophe after another this round!

Michael Howard said:

Daniela - Sculpture at La Dispense - Absolutely wonderful printing on this. Daniela is, in my opinion, a master printer.

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That is very generous!

Ansel Mortensen's "At Ease" immediately reminded me of a Second World War photograph. This wonderful postcard will be hung alongside my other postcards and interesting prints in my darkroom. And, it's a "found 4x5 negative". I have a collection of found negatives and glass plate negatives from the inter-war years. I've like to do contact prints of them. Thanks Ansel. Michael Howard's "Dublin Gulch" appeared in my post box this morning. A small cutout in the rock used as living quarters by Silver Miners in the Amargosa Valley. This is a beautifully printed photograph. Thanks Michael. I posted off my six postcards a couple of days ago.

I too received Portal 2 from @Michael Howard - a very interesting if lonely-looking spot. Doesn't exactly cry out "Home Sweet Home". Small wood stoves may make the space warm but it would also be asphyxiating. Very cool photo - thanks!

In related news, my postcards are finally away. I've never been this late, before.

Received @Michael Howard 's "Smith mountain". Nice representation of a place as beautiful as harsh in terms of living conditions. Thanks for mentioning the historical aspect of it.

Also received @mfohl 's "Diamond house", an almost fully symmetrical shot of the front of a house in the wintertime. I can see why it caught your attention! I find it quite an odd design. I especially like the shine on the dark siding.

Thank you both!

A couple of days ago I received what appears to be the 4th species from @mfohl, mine I think is called "Bridge support" (he writes "I like structure // Bridge support, // Columbus"). an interesting play of light and shade, curves, steps and zigzags! And it answers the question, can a postcard be portrait format? Yes!

11 Nov 2025

I finally had some time, and energy, to get into the darkroom last night. My cards are dry and awaiting a determination whether they need to be toned. Hopefully I will get them in the mail by week's end. Below are my comments on cards received to-date (in no particular order).

"Clouds & Mountains" from vbenares shows a very nice interaction between cloud and mountains. Commercially printed by TouchNote, a service I have never heard of until now.
A card from Simon I of what appears as an alter or headstone. The brown/sepia toning enhances the image.
When I first saw "Smith Mountain" from Micheal Howard the first place that came to mind was Death Valley NP - not too far off the mark. Shoshone is just outside DV.
"Jag" from mfohl certainly satisfied the club competition requirement. Nice composition and nicely exposed (to minimize the glare of the sun).
"Too Many Wheelbarrows" from Jim Christie gave me a good laugh. Where did this person get so many wheelbarrow? How did he stack them so high? Why? This photo has a story to tell.
"White Bay Power Station - Sydney, Australia - 2025" from gbroadbridge looks like an engineers playground. It is cool that you have access to this site. In the US it would be completely sealed off from any access.
"At Ease" from AnselMortensen shows the joy of finding negative that you did not make, but enjoy printing (and giving it new life). I like the selection of stamps that you used as postage.
"Ghost Trees" from ChrisR is a really cool abstract photo. Thank you fro explaining how you created this image. This photo is really different when viewed in each orientation. Thank you for something very different.

Regards,
Darwin

I got a wonderful "Bridge support" composition from @mfohl today, an architectural photo with an interesting balance between shades and light. Many thanks!

This week I have received (so far):

• "Einsteinhaus Caputh" by @hwv : The image itself is a beautiful and playful composition of lines created by wooden elements and the shadow of the structure. A note on the back of the postcard mentioning Einstein led me to the website of this landmark, and the reading turned out to be truly fascinating. When I looked at the list of guests who visited Einstein there, it felt like reading a chapter from a physics textbook on quantum mechanics. A lovely postcard from a very interesting place I hadn’t even known existed.
• "Bent Railing" by @absalom1951 : Most likely a part of a small bridge somewhere in nature (or something like that), the image shows the natural chaos of tangled plants and trees gradually reclaiming a man-made structure. The medium format caught incredible amount of small details and tones.
• "Portal 2" by @Michael Howard - The entrance to a small cave in the rock — it’s hard to imagine living in such a space. Sharp stones, harsh sunlight, darkness inside. Crazy.
• "Rural composition" by @mfohl - A beautiful compositional study — there are horizontal lines, vertical lines, a circle, a rectangle, a triangle, a trapezoid, and even a three-dimensional cylinder. Yet the postcard itself is a document of a rural building.

Thanks so much, everyone, for the lovely postcards.

This week I received 3 Postcards until now.
@mfohl "Rural comosition": A beautifully composed and designed scene of rural buildings. Many geometric shapes, some overlapping, perfectly arranged within the frame. The full spectrum of whites, blacks, and grays. I love this photograph.
@SJC1952 "Stay Woke": A photo that immediately captivates the viewer. In the center stands the brightly illuminated figure (with a halo!), blocking the door, behind which the dead already lurk, waiting to take us — and showing us the path that will lead to our salvation. Beautiful paper, and the toning fits the image perfectly.
@rduraoc "Let's all print one negative": A cyanotype on watercolor paper. The blue tone suits the subject perfectly—the cold metal of moving, parked, or scrapped cars. It makes me want to create cyanotypes again myself.

Thanks to everyone for this wonderful variety of subjects and techniques.

I am already to print. Then I figured out I need to replace the water softener. Major pain, and it's going to cost $600.
Weather here is too nice to be doing plumbing. Rode 22 miles on the ebike today. Thought I was done shopping for the week, but now water softener.

mshchem said:

I am already to print. Then I figured out I need to replace the water softener. Major pain, and it's going to cost $600.

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If it's only for photography, you could get a RODI filter for a lot less. It's what I use.

gbroadbridge said:

If it's only for photography, you could get a RODI filter for a lot less. It's what I use.

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Actually I use unsoftened (cold) water to wash prints etc. RO water for mixing developer. The soft water is for the rest of the house. The mineral content is very high. I use RO for coffee, otherwise I would need to buy a new coffee maker every 6 months.

Once softened the sodium carbonate level is crazy too.

Silicon Valley AI morons are flocking here for Wind power (zero carbon claim nonsense) and subterranean aquifers. Terrible!

...I think someone dropped it on the floor and stomped on it a few times on its way here. Part of the photo is totally scuffed off and there are numerous folds. It has battle scars....

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@Don_ih sorry to hear the card got damaged. I like this paper for postcards, but one downside is a slight ‘tacky’ quality which can cause prints to cling to adjacent things and perhaps make problems for postal machines. Next time I think I’ll experiment with a surface spray to mitigate this problem.

Also wanted to mention a few cards that have come in over the past few weeks:

• Bridge Support from mfohl with an interesting play of light on concrete supporting a bridge. There's an interesting play of horizontal and vertical lines which makes for a very nice photo.
• A found photograph, At Ease from AnselMortensen. These are so interesting — makes you wonder about the people in the photo and their stories.
• Portal 1 from Michael Howard. I really can’t imaging having to live in one of those spaces, but I also really want to peek inside .

Thanks!

@Jim Christie -- the scars the cards receive are marks of distinction. They survived the trip - but just barely. It's their prized patina.

I've received many beautiful cards. I will be commenting soon. Too much work today. Finish plumbing and repairs on my wife's Honda (how the dealer thought it was more important to replace the cabin air filter and not test the 7 year old battery is beyond me)

This batch of cards has inspired me to do more photography!

Received two surprise ones yesterday. @hwv 's "Einsteinhaus Caputh". Lovely shot and print. I googled the place and it was fun figuring out where you were standing to take the picture.

Also received @rduraoc 's cyanotype of Don's negative. I really like the graphic quality it has. As a cyanotype enthusiast, I wish you luck not getting addicted

Thank you both!

Don_ih said:

@Jim Christie -- the scars the cards receive are marks of distinction. They survived the trip - but just barely. It's their prized patina.

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Don and I are in total agreement on this!
Yes - that does happen!

Almost every one I receive has a faint uv glow in the dark barcode from USPS. Not a big deal,

Two more cards this week, hwv's "Einsteinhaus Caputh" a really interesting portrait format postcard of stairs, their shadows, and a white shuttert. Leading lines and contrast everywhere.

Completely different: a cyanotype made by rduraoc from a shared negative by Don_ih, much more successful than my own attampts at cyanotypes from negatives, direct or via internegs. I like the extended margins showing the cyanotype mixture brushed on.

Thank you both.

One more card this weekend:
@Don_ih "Great Blue Heron": A beautiful shot of a lake landscape. Perfect shades of gray — it doesn’t get any better than this! I'm very impressed.