Postcard Exchange Round 62 Comments and Feedback

[Don_ih]

I received @krnow 's cyanotype - and it lives up to the praise everyone else has given it. I did cyanotype years ago but never really got the tonality you achieved in this print. It's very very nice. Thanks!

 

[ARS]

All,

I have finally delivered my postcards to the mailbox; please forgive my tardiness.

Here are the images I've received so far:

AnselMortensen - "Window" This image has a nice balance to it that is disrupted by the broken glass. Simple yet effective. I really like this one.

Ben_P - "Mt. Washington Cog Rail" Cinematic quality with a real sense of movement, well done!

Don_ih - "Sliding Door That Covers a Door" I love these old industrial buildings, can't help but wonder what sort of work was carried out and who the folks were that worked there.

drpsilver - "Tailgate Ornament" A cooperative subject indeed!

j wilson - "Rockwood Tree Trunk" Lots of detail and interesting shapes, not entirely sure which way is up

jvo - "most dangerous block…" I've been to this very spot, stayed at the New Yorker off to the left, and saw a couple of Eric Clapton shows at MSG. Thanks for bringing back the memories, never would have imagined this location was notoriously dangerous!

krnow - "Redbud Leaf" This is really beautiful. I've never actually seen a cyanotype in person before now. Very inspiring, must try this myself.

KyleMika - "The Point" The neon light appears to jump off of the print. I'll have to buy some P3200 and explore the city at night.

mfohl - "Fill 'er Up" Crisp, nice detail, great tonality. Well done.

Michael Howard - "Spring Bloom - Zion National Park" I like how the foliage softens the ruggedness of the mountain beyond. Nice range of tones here.

mshchem - "D'oh" Three things I enjoy: Homer, graffiti, and panoramic format.

Rob Skeoch - "Red Pepper #5 with Orange Filter" From garden to grayscale, nice work.

Thorsten - "Great Falls" A very lovely, well executed image.

Todd Barlow - "Angles and other shapes" Aptly named, the way the elements are composed the image almost appears to be a collage.


Thanks all!

Best,
Adam

 

[Ajven]

There is another "batch" of received postcards:

5.8. - @jvo - Most dangerous block in NY - this is excelent work. The postcard is "negative" and it gives an extra mood to the picture - white silhouettes of people, dark sky, gray graphic lines on the buildings.... Great work!
8.8. - @drpsilver - Tailgate Ornament - very nice portrait of the gull
31.8 - @Ben_P - Mt. Washington Cog Rail - attractive view in attractive location!
10.9. - @krnow - Redbud Leaf - cyanotype - definitely not a traditional postcard and I admire anybody who is capable to make these alternative techniques. Thank you!
10.9. - @Michael Howard - Patriarchs - excellently managed contrast of the picture of three rock monuments
10.9. - @mshchem - D'oh - this postcard looks like digitally created and printed, but... this is real color photo made using color film, enlarger and color paper. Very interesting!
10.9. - @Todd Barlow - Angles and other shapes - very calm atmosphere and very well printed!
16.9. - @Simon I - Olympia 5 - excellent lith print and excellent composition. Big thumb up!

I'm sorry I have no exact delivery dates for all postcards due to my traveling.

 

[mfohl]

I received ARS's "Robin's Nest", a very cool shot of a nest on the sill of a brick building. Two robins actually in the nest. The rest of the wall is totally obliterated by depth of field. Or lack thereof. The robins even have catchlights in their eyes. Very nice, thanks Adam.

PS - hi neighbor

 

[mshchem]

Received @gbroadbridge photo "Old Tunks Farm" very nicely done, old barn, beautiful stone foundation, light streaming through the old shed. Looks like it could be just down the road.
Thanks!

 

[mshchem]

I received a beautiful card from @Simon I Olympia 8. On fiber base Fomatone, one of my favorites! A lith print, beautiful tone, great composition. Slight abrasion on one border, no problem.

Thanks for a great print.

 

[mfohl]

I received two nice cards today, both sent as cards, and neither with any postal scuffs.

First is gbroadbridge's "Old Tunks Farm", a large storage shed, almost a barn, that's on a historical site. Very nicely printed. Is this an original shed, or has it been restored?

And second is Simon I's "Olympia 9", a very nicely printed lith print on Fomatone paper. Really nice rendering of the communications tower through some mesh - a ceiling perhaps. Excellent execution.

Thanks Graham and Simon!

 

[Don_ih]

I received @Simon I 's "Olympia 7" - are they different images or a count of how many prints were made? The lith is very nice and makes the image more alien than I think it would be if untoned. The photo itself is quite cool, too. Thanks!

 

[gbroadbridge]

I received krnow's wonderful cyanotype. Beautiful work and the kozuke paper is amazing. Thanks!

 

[Don_ih]

I received the Robin's Nest card from @ARS - very clear shot of the robins. I always find they look angry. I've had a few robins nest on my house in various places over the years. Once, I walked around a corner and scared them so much one of the fledglings jumped out of the nest -- but it still couldn't fly -- so it couldn't get back. The parents fixed the situation by moving out, though.

 

[mshchem]

@ARS I received the Robins in the nest. Great shot. Thanks for your neat print!!

 

[Jim Christie]

A few more cards have come in since my earlier post:

- A fun panoramic “D’oh”, from mshchem. This one mural seems to cover at least a couple of decades of popular entertainment.

- Tailgate Ornament from drpsilver. A seagull striking a pose on someone’s car. Hope it didn’t also leave any presents behind…

- JVO’s most dangerous block is an interesting reversal image of an intersection near Penn Station in NYC. Like you, I worked very near there years ago and never ran into any issues either. It seemed to me that the presentation of the image in ‘negative’ form perhaps mirrors perceptions of those who’ve not actually been there.

- Patriarchs - Zion National Park arrived from Michael Howard. I like how the sharp peaks of the rocks in the background contrast with the smaller, rounder hills in the foreground.

- Todd Barlow sent Angles and other shapes. The layering of shapes and structures is really effective here.

- Olympia 5 arrived from Simon I. The tower in the background is perfectly framed by the overhead structure (not quite sure what that is). The lith processing gives it an almost graphic-art feel.

Thanks to all for sharing these great images.

-Jim

 

[Rob Skeoch]

These are the two I've recently received.
Olympia 8 from Simon; Nice print of a well done graphic. Thanks.
Robin's Nest from Adam; great photo of those cute little guys. Nicely done.

 

[Rob Skeoch]

I received these two a couple weeks back but hadn't commented.
"Doors to other places" by "bedrof"; You mention that you shot with the Olympus OM4 but didn't mention which lens you used... do you recall? Looks like a very interesting place and you did a great job capturing the essence of it. Lovely tones, great composition, very well done, thanks for sending it along.
"Redbud Leaf" by "KRNOW"; I don't really understand the process... do you make a digital negative and contact print it?? This is lovely. What an interesting photograph. Very special.

 

[drpsilver]

15 Oct 2024

These card arrived in my mailbox over the past several weeks.
"Robin's Nest" from ARS is nicely done. The use of depth-of-focus to draw the view to the nest is very effective.
"Olympia 6" (?) from Simon I takes abstraction to a new level. I like how the subject is recognizable, the colors are not real. I have never tried with printing, but now i need to do some reading about the process.
"Old Trunks Farm" from gbroadbridge is a well done portrait of this old farm building.

Thank you for sharing your work.

Regards,
Darwin

 

[jvo]

I have a small box near my desk with envelopes of the recent rounds or three for the postcard exchange. Every once in a while I pull out and envelope and go through the images and marvel. I actually think, someday I'll write my comments about this round, then get lost looking at them until life calls me back. So I say I'll do the comments some other day. Finally today's the day!!!!


ansel mortenson, "window" - very appealing patterns angles and lines, broken by the irregular shapes of the broken glass
ben p, , mt washington cog rail - drama, well seen... not you standard rail pix, the undulating track leading to a multiple layered terrain, a real joy.
don_ih, door ajar - a paradox, what in the dark, the lines and shapes are interesting, then what's behind that door.
simon i, olympia - a thought provoking contradiction, a roller coaster, a bridge, an art piece, a building - sometimes unsettling.
gbroadbridge, old tunks farm, - well built and maintained, solid like an early settler would make it, wonderful lines pointing guiding the view.
todd barlow, angles and other shapes - also lines and contrasts, a counter-intuitive composition that keeps you coming back to the benches and table
kylemika, the point - very noir! all the elements are there and done pleasingly, you have to look at the picture, no 1 second view - very nice
drpsilver, tailgate ornament - and very proud!
jim christie, gallery seating - planes, angles and tones! and textures! fascinating and poetic view.
john wilson, rockwood tree trunk - if trees could talk, what would this old guy tell us?
ars, robin's nest - isolation and contrast, "how'd he get up here????"
rob sheoch, red pepper#4 - beautifully done in all it's dimensions!
mfohl, fill'er up - the lonely centurion staring sternly ahead, as he has done for many year - no longer young.
michael howard, trail gloom - maybe gloomy but certainly inspiring, stately and tall.
michael hayslett, do'h - an engrossing pano that makes you smile
bedrof, concrete love - on brovira!!!! oh those wonderful days in the darkroom with portriga rapid and brorvira!!! the angles, shapes, textures combine with paper in timelss fashion!
thorsten, great falls - breathtaking! a bit of a shock to find this "postcard" in the mailbox, then to get lost in the image - a superb experience.

Thank you, senders of joy.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Couple of cards from this round arrived in the last week.

I guess they must have missed a couple of boats as they're both postmarked in Mid September.

ars, robins nest - What an interesting place for a Robins nest. Vigilant as ever.
simon I, Olympia - An intriguing lith image.

 

[Todd Barlow]

PCX#62 cards received as of Jan 9, 2025: (catching up!)
June 13 - Don_ih - Tire in a ditch - Well done, I feel the same way about a couch /chesterfield or chair left on the boulevard!
June 26 - Thorsten - Great Falls - I admire the photograph and shear amount of work to finish it the way you do, thanks!
June 26 - mfohl - Morning Tree - Well seen, captured and printed, the fence completes it.
June 28 - John Wilson - Rockwood Tree Trunk - I was there too! Was a great day cut too short. Rocks and Trees never get old!
July 2 - Daniela - Untitled - Great shot!, to me it conveys motion of the birds and the tower / smoke stock. I also like the corner of the roof of another building in the lower left it makes the photo more three dimensional.
July 11 - Jim Christie - Gallery Seating - Well seen and well done, I love it!
July 23 - Rob Skeoch - Red Pepper #4 with Orange Filter - Very nicely done Rob!
July 23 - KyleMika - The Point - Well seen and executed, gritty and urban.
July 23 - Ansel Mortensen - Window - I like the photograph, window & siding neat and tidy, with an acknowledgement that it may not remain so (hurricane fencing over the window) and failed protection resulting in jagged broken glass.
July 31 - Ben_P - Mt. Washington Cog Rail - Beautiful photograph, great tones and detail.
Aug 10 - Michael Howard - Trail Gloom-Zion National Park - Feelings of oppressive (light and heat) and impressive (rock structure), I like the white blob in the lower left, opposite to the fence & parking lines and the dark rock tower. Nice!
Aug 10 - JVO - most dangerous block - Way cool! The capture and the treatment!
Aug 10 - DRPSILVER - Tailgate Ornament - Gives the impression of a portrait of strength and power. Also the bird looking down saying to itself, "do they still make film for that?"
Aug 14 - Mshchem - "D'oh" - Great use of a panorama to capture a wild story, I like the floating doughnut.
Aug 23 - Mtoma - Pick one - I really like this, the soft light, soft focus, contrast and composition.
Aug ? - gbroadbridge - Old Tunks Farm - Nice capture, seems to have a bit of a halo effect that adds to the photograph!
Aug ? - Ilya - Concrete Love - Well seen and well captured!
Aug ? - KRNOW - Redbud Leaf - WOW!

 

[mshchem]

Received last week a beautiful print from @bedrof "Inside an Old Silk Factory" . Luminous window light, terrific print on fiber base paper. One of the nicest prints I've received over the years!

Thanks so much!!!

 

[mfohl]

I received two nice cards, both from PCX62. Do not apologize, I like receiving them.

First is Ajven's "Track in the Snow". a nice winter scene with some new snow. And a track (or two tracks?) going into the distance. Nicely exposed, nicely printed. Are those posts part of a road? Thanks Ivan!

And second is bedrof's "Concrete Love", a good catch of concrete block structures with handles. The handles and their shadows make nice hearts. I like the humor, and I *love* shadows! Even little ones. Thanks Ilya!

 

[Ajven]

@mfohl Thank you for the confirmation that the postcard landed in your postbox.

"Are those posts part of a road?"
No, definitely no. These posts are the plastic posts to support newly planted small trees. I think it had been planted using some machine. Surprisingly the tracks lead across the planting, but they could have been there before, only the snow made them visible.

 

[jvo]

I rec'd Ajven's "Tracks in the snow" - it matches the cold temps, (relatively speaking ), in sunny florida!

My suspicious mind makes me suspect the tracks were made by an alien craft as no posts or plants were damaged! My clear headed mind, and growing up in cold country, recognized it as the tracks existing before the snowfall.

An interesting picture, well done!

 

[Rob Skeoch]

This week I received the image "Tracks in the snow" from Ajven. Nicely printed on a very interesting paper. Thanks for sending it along!!

 

[AnselMortensen]

I received Ajven's print this past week also.
Nicely done, I like the mood and composition. Well done!

 

[drpsilver]

13 Feb 2025

"Tracks in the Snow" from Ajven landed in my mailbox. I like to composition because it draws the viewer into the photo. The "high key" tones are well differentiated. Wee done and thank you for the photo.

Regards,
Darwin

edit: format changes