Postcard Exchange Round 66 Comments and Feedback

[mshchem]

Received from @rduraoc nice cyanotype. Been 38 years since I last printed a cyanotype . I love the subject, I have owned similar old American cars. Starting a 68 Chevy in 10 below weather is a skill young folks are missing out on. Anyway thanks for the print and extra effort!!

I have not printed my cards yet. I've started 3 or 4 times then shoot a different subject and can't decide. We are supposed to be getting some crappy weather. Just snow no blizzards, floods or fires thank goodness!

If weather is bad I'm more productive in the darkroom

 

[hwv]

The next card I received: "Home for two" by @jvo . A dark, high-contrast image reflecting the hopeless mood of life on the streets. The church dominates the image, making it easy to overlook the two homeless people, just as they are often overlooked in daily life in large cities due to habituation. Thank you for sharing this powerful image.

 

[Don_ih]

I also received the card from @jvo - the clouds and the overall darkness make the print somewhat surreal. I like that the no parking sign is quite prominently towering above. Thank-you, James!

 

[pamphoto]

I received @rduraoc's cyanotype the other day. I have just started printing cyanotypes, so this was a treat. The faded blues add to the nostalgia of the old cars and building.

 

[Ajven]

The past weeks have been rather hectic, so I must admit that my postcards remain in a latent state. Hopefully, before the end of the year, I’ll manage to transform the bathroom into a darkroom for one evening and finally bring this round’s postcards to life.

Last week I received:

Cyanotype by @rduraoc: I have seen the "Let's all print one negative" initiative and I was quite curious about it. Thanks to @rduraoc that I can see one result and I have to say, the cyanotype matches the motive very well. Definitely one of my favourite postcards from this round!

"Do The Twist" by @drpsilver - beautiful print with excellent contrast management and perfect choice of the object for postcard. And one more thing - the stamps! One postcards and 5 stamps with 4 different motives! I love stamps!

"Home For Two" by @jvo: Wow, very impressive picture. Church, wild wires, traffic sign, clouds, repeated patterns of steps and bricks. Nice. What? What the h... Ohhh... Somebody is lying on the pavement before church. And another person on the background is probably sitting on steps. Very strong picture.


Thank you for very nice pictures.

 

[mshchem]

I received pamphoto's Leaf Study today. Nice color print. Looks prehistoric! The Phoenix II color palette works nicely. Well done!

 

[mshchem]

I sent out 24 cards yesterday.

 

[mshchem]

This was the weekend, I went on bike ride today. I was printing postcards during this mess.

 

[rduraoc]

I got another 2 postcards, @jvo 's very moody, wonderful tones "Home for Two", and @pamphoto 's "End of Season". Thank yo both!

 

[gbroadbridge]

Received!

"home for two..." - @jvo - Wow, this strikes me as a very powerful photo. Beautiful composition and edit - the green tone adds strength to the foreboding feel of the image. The border adds a finishing touch. Great image.

 

[pamphoto]

I received pamphoto's Leaf Study today. Nice color print. Looks prehistoric! The Phoenix II color palette works nicely. Well done!

Thank you!

 

[hwv]

Last week I received one more postcard: "Bridge Study" from @pamphoto Nearly monochromatic, many angles of bridges, crossing each others. Well seen. Thank you.

 

[mfohl]

I also received pamphoto's Leaf Study. I really like the diagonal composition, the lines are all going the right way. And nice colors too. Only a few postal scuffs. Thanks Pam!

 

[ChrisR]

A few days ago I received "Home for two" from James O'Gara, a very dark and sombre image that I had trouble reconciling with the title and his text on the back, all the more powerful for that!

 

[Don_ih]

I received the very nice Leaf Study from @pamphoto, also. No postal scuffs. It's in perfect condition. Do you know what kind of leaf it is? The space between the veins (apparently called the venules (just looked it up)) is very interesting.

 

[absalom1951]

Have received several very nice postcards.
@mshchem a composed photo with a mail box, rural address, and a for sale. Composed nicely. Did you buy any duck eggs? I haven't ate any duck eggs for a long long time.
@rduraoc a cyanotype of Don_ih's negative. I enjoyed the card, its making me curious of cyanotype. Appears that it got caught in a postal machine- adds to the post card look.
@Don_ih a photo of a Great Blue Heron. Very nice shot. This card also was scuffed in almost the same spot a
as the card from @rduraoc . All that remains of the Heron is its head.
@drpsilver Do the Twist, Another very nice shot. Makes one wonder how nature contorted the stump to that particular shape. This card was also scuffed up , must be the sorting machine in Des Moines doing it.
@jvo Home for Two. This photo has many eye drawing interests. Each time I look at it I spot another point. I can't figure out the area underneath the signs, in the far background?

 

[pamphoto]

I received the very nice Leaf Study from @pamphoto also. No postal scuffs. It's in perfect condition. Do you know what kind of leaf it is? The space between the veins (apparently called the venules (just looked it up)) is very interesting.

I also received pamphoto's Leaf Study. I really like the diagonal composition, the lines are all going the right way. And nice colors too. Only a few postal scuffs. Thanks Pam!

Thank you both. I do not know what type of leaf it is. I noticed it at a local garden when we were there for a model train show. It is a big leaf, I do remember that. I wish I had had my macro lens with me to capture more detail, but I am happy with how this one came out.

 

[pamphoto]

I received @mshchem untitled card in the mail. He captured a lonely sign advertising duck and chicken eggs with nice tones and values. It is printed on Ilford's postcard paper. I had some of that back in college and gave it away because I didn't have access to a darkroom at the time. Thank you.

 

[bedrof]

A batch-update from my side:

- @bedrof 's "Stone formations", very, very well printed with wonderful textures.

This postcard exchange continues being a great learning experience, and a lot of fun!

Ah, that must be round 65 card.
I haven't even started printing for the current round yet unfortunately, just returned from a long trip to South America.

 

[AnselMortensen]

Ok, I've been remiss in commenting about a few cards that arrived in the past couple of weeks:

rduraoc's cyanotype interpretation of Don_ih's "Let's All Print One Negative" exercise.
It arrived safely, with no damage...the matt, thick watercolor paper was a good choice, nice texture and coloring. Well done!

pamphoto's "Bridge Study II"...A nice graphic bridge composition, with great use of spot color. Thank you!

jvo's "Home for Two"...a very somber humanistic statement, with excellent tones and graphic composition. Bravo!

 

[SJC1952]

I received JVO's "Home For Two" a couple of days before Christmas, and what a welcome addition to round 66 of postcard exchange. This is a powerful example of photography in an urban environment. Thanks James.

 

[AnselMortensen]

I received @mshchem 's egg sign photo.
An expertly seen, composed, & printed glimpse of Americana.
Thank you!

 

[mshchem]

I received @mshchem 's egg sign photo.
An expertly seen, composed, & printed glimpse of Americana.
Thank you!

 

[FilmIsCheap]

I received the egg photo from @mshchem. This reminds me of driving to my friend's house, six hours away. Driving through Iowa, I see a lot of signs like this or signs for harvest festivals. Nice print.

 

[FilmIsCheap]

I finally have all of my photos printed and spotted. I was really battling dust this time. I suspect it's the cold weather. I work in the basement and it's been really dry.

I've also been having an issue occasionally getting a spray of tiny spots on prints. The spots are pure white or a pale, pale pink. The only thing I can think is that I'm somehow dripping some chemistry on the photos. But I can't figure out where it's happening in my workflow, in part because it's not consistent.

About a week ago, I saw an exhibit about Julia Child at the local history center. It was a cool exhibit, and it featured a ton of photos, printed from normalish size (like a print I'd have on my own wall) to poster sized, that her husband (Paul Child) took. I noticed some dust spots and some water spots on the photos. When I pointed them out to a friend, she said she never would have noticed. It was a nice reminder that sometimes you (and by that I mean "I") have to just let things go!

There might be a typo on the info sticker regarding the type of film. But that's not important enough to go back and fix!

Postcards should finally go out tomorrow!