Postcard Exchange Round 23 - Comments and Feedback

[hpulley]

Got Allen Friday's "Dry Falls" today, neat effect! Was it hand held? Any idea of the exposure? Thanks!

[hpulley]

Taking stock so far in round 23 I've received (hoping I haven't mixed any up with round 22), not quite in order:

1 Mike Wilde's trio
2 Jim's Pinky and I
3 Craig's water
4 Ruidiger's No bikes
5 Sandra's angel
6 Roger's Yard Office
7 Dave's untitled
8 cw's Quansit in snow
9 George's Cold Steel
10 Kris' Gilbert's Bar
11 Matt's Life rafts
12 Rachelle's Tiger's Nest Monastery
13 Trond's Beach
14 Darwin's St. Paul's, Salt Spring Is.
15 Valerie's through the gift shop
16 Willi's Eiffel Tower
17 Inez's Little Rock Central HS
18 Andres' face
19 Allen's Dry falls
20 Uwe's Canoo trip

and my own makes 21 unless I've already misplaced some from round 23... so that's almost half of them.

[kraker]

My cards are now on their way. I apologise for not sending them out until the "breather" month.

To date I have received 14 out of the 25 (26 including my own) in my list. I will sit down and comment on the received cards later today (or at the latest: later this week, promise!).

[drpsilver]

10 Aug 2011

This is a bummer because it is the second time I have had to type my comments. Last night just before posting my text APUG had a "hick-up" and all was lost. I gave up and went to bed. Now I am fresh and will start over.

First, thanks to all for all the very nice cards, and for the comments on my card. Second, this has been a very interesting round with lots of variety. Here are my comments not in any particular order, just how the pile is arranged on my desk.
Of Mike Wilde's 3 card I like photo No. 2 the best. You definitely succeeded in making a contemporary photo look very old.
The photo from piu58 has great tones and detail. The stories that could be told from this photo.
The photo from Roger Thoms of a door to a "supply yard". Really sharp!
The card from J Rollinger took me a while to figure out. A great example of how a mistake can become a good photo.
The photo from c.w. is simple composition, but keeps the viewer involved.
The photo from rst uses depth-of-focus to highlight the subject. Well done. I really like the paper. Do you need to work under a red safelight with this paper?
Thank you for the guardian angel swittmann.
Paper negatives in a 4x5 camera, cool idea ccross!
A photo of a crazy car form Valerie.
I like to photo from mooseontheloose in so many ways: how the prayer flags surround the monastery, the perspective, HIE, ... My favorite so far this round. Thanks for an outstanding card Rachelle.
The color card from hpulley looks like it was printed many years ago. The high contrast and red/green color give the photo a nostalgic feel.
The card from Trond is a simple composition with a lot of "stuff to read".
I really like to tones and detail in the photo from George Nova Scotia. Well done.
When I received the card from MattKing it was immediately recognizable. I have traveled on these ferries many times on my way to Salt Spring Island.
Cool perspective of a Paris landmark from hwv.
I really like the illusion of a person looking at a wall without the person. Great tones and detail. Thanks ndrs.
The card from Allen Friday could be viewed several ways and still work. Took me a while to get the orientation in which it was photographed.

Thanks to all for all the fantastic images. I look forward to more. I have received 22 of 42 sent.

Regards,
Darwin

[kraker]

Cards received so far, in random order (well... if you must know: in order received...):

semeuse, house of refuge. Nice subject, I really like the colours.
Roger Thoms, yard office. You just can tell that the building makes a great subject for B&W photos, and you have certainly nailed it. Great contrast with enough details in shadows and highlights.
Dave Martiny. Interesting. The subject keeps puzzling me, but that's part of what makes it a great shot. Did I mention "interesting"?
rst, no pinhole this round, but a great shot, soft, quiet; like you describe: before the tourists gather. I really like the look and feel of the paper too. I might have to try the Adox Fineprint Classic (so much to try, so little time).
ccross, the flowing water, the black border, the paper negative experiment, it all works out great.
mooseontheloose, Tiger's nest monastery. I can't begin to describe it. If I would have any fresh HIE, I would send it to you; you do wonders with it. I hope you still have some stock and will continue to surprise us.
hpulley. You really make an everyday scene look special. The way you printed this... I love the colours and the contrast.
Trond, beach. An interesting perspective, a different look at the subject.
George Nova Scotia, cold steel. The subject, the lighting, the exposure, it all comes together, great shot.
Valerie, art car. Strange how the human mind works; to me, this is a B&W photo with lots of colour in it.
drpsilver, country church. The light falling on the church, the dark trees behind; great combination.
hwv, Eiffel Tower. It's not easy to get an original shot of such a landmark, but you have managed! I like the angle, and the dramatic effect. Danke schön!
ndrs, self portrait with bricks. This is one of my favourites this round. So simple, yet effective. I just keep looking...
andrew.vartabedian, also a shot to keep looking at. Every now and then I turn the card another 90 degrees, and another. I think I know the correct orientation, but it works either way.
Allen Friday, Dry Falls. Trees grow upwards, don't they? The shot also works when rotated 180 degrees. Interesting. And just the right shutter time.

And that concludes my first (hence biggest) update on cards received this round. And a great round it is. Looking forward to the remaining cards.

[Mike Wilde]

The 'uncommented' pile has reached a critical mass for my tatses, so I decided to act. My most recent round of comments follow:

andrew.vartabedian – Trestle, Duck Hollow. A nice low key image. Good symmetry, and nice placement of detail in select shadow areas of the print. Excellent deep DOF. I am left intrigued as to what there was to stand on to take the picture, given what the frame shows in front of the camera.

Allen Friday – Dry Falls – A nice abstraction, presented in mid tones. In reality I suspect it was an out of focus willow tree blowing in the breeze, or something like that.

Drpsilver ‘St. Pauls, Salt Spring Island’ This print shows the expert use of a field camera's movements to correct for converging straight lines. The exposure shows a great range of tones, and there is great detail, as you would hope to find in a 4x5” negative contact print. Well done.

hpulley- ‘Night Clings’ A fine example of a copper toned picture, and using an image that suits this strong image tone. There is an almost solarized look to parts of the image, and I enjoy the neat tonality of the reflections in the water, all of which I think works very well as a whole. There is still a good range of tones visible, even with the full toning, which from my past dabblings with copper toning, I know is not always an easy thing to do.

Hwv Eiffel Tower This print shows the great use of the placement of all of the image elements within the frame. The linear distortion resulting from sharply tilting the camera up is effectively mitigated by the rendering of the already curved surfaces that are being photographed. I quite like this image. A good match of negative density and paper contrast as well.

Mooseontheloose – ‘Tigers Nest Monastery’ Wow, ‘The IR Gal’ rises again. Rachelle, another excellent image. It shows expert use of the unique rendering capabilities that infrared film offers.

Ndrs ‘self portrait with bricks’ I enjoy the very neat echo of the shape of the silhouette in the spalled area of the wall, where the parging has flaked off. A nice low key image. All elements of it are placed well, and there is good tonality in the rendering of all surfaces where detail is expected to be found.

Trond I enjoyed the wide white border used as a part of this print. It acts like a matt , as though this small print was ‘framed’ The image itself works well also. I enjoy the parallel lines that result from the board in the sand being aligned with the water line. The space between these shows a neat fill of footsteps. A nice mid toned print.

Valerie – ‘Though the Gift Shop’ A proud square image, printed in a manner that echoes that which Polaroid prints of days past showed. A very cool subject. I enjoy the way the image spills at the edges of the negative carrier also.

[markrewald]

Cards went out in yesterday's mail. Sorry for being late, again.

[ozphoto]

Finally back home, and I'll be mailing my cards this week.
Hope they're worth the wait - I'm looking forward to sorting through my mail to see all the hidden gems.

[piu58]

I got two more cards:

Skiing at Mt. Hood from Anikin: Astonish scenery!
Sun and clouds study from Marius Hauge. A real great photo!

[mooseontheloose]

Two more cards to comment on:

Allen Friday's Dry Falls, NC. Like others have said, this works many ways -- I always try to figure the orientation out on cards like this before reading the details in the back!

labcoat's blue polaroid made with Fuji FP-100C. I don't know what the original colour shifts were like, but I definitely like the calm feeling this image evokes, despite the subject matter.