Richard Vanek - Black and White Photography

In the first twelve hours after my web shop is reopen two free prints are already gone! I have expect that free prints will be quite the thing, but not this fast.
There are still three of them available.
---
Yesterday we had very nice evening with friends. We spoke, among other things, about photography. It was quite nice discussion and at the end my friend order from me two big prints.
After that I was wondering, maybe the whole point why people do not buy more from Internet is really the fact that they can't really see how such a print look. It is maybe difficult to imagine how such a thing will be looking at the wall of their living room.
I have also set prices now much lower that it used to be before. Some people are telling me that it is not good move. That people will not look at it as they should of price is too low. Well I shell see. I mean, now price can't be the problem, if somebody like to buy a print it is possible. And you can have one for free as try out!.

Time is flying. When I was small boy, two month of summer holiday was never ending time. Today I have look at this picture I made six years ago. It looks like yesterday. Is it because of monotony of our live when we older and activity of discovering when we are young?

I was thinking about similar idea a bit earlier. Similar to what I have listen in one of the Brooks Jensen's podcasts (yes, I am again driving to work so I have time to listen) today morning. I was planning to publish separate prints once a month which would create a calendar for 2007. It is a bit late now, but it is never late to start next experiment.
What Mr. Brooks Jensen is suggesting as idea, is to create series of photographs, similar to series of stories in magazine. These parts are together creating one piece of work. Something like you subscribe to magazine and every Sunday you read a story. Those stories are creating small novel as many did and I guess also doing now.

I am curious what you, as possible buyer, think about it. please let me know.

Well as my memories comes back I have discover that I borrowed my friend digital camera at that night as well. I took few shots and forgot about it. Just in Christmas time I remember that and here is one more shot where you can see Kazinski. I do not like that look!

I hope I didn't sound too serious from start of this year. All this talk and journal entries about shop, selling prints. You know by re-opening my web shop I only like to make available my prints to who you like it. For me it is also way to see if my work is appreciated and little income to support my next steps and projects.
For who you like to have even smaller prints, I am thinking to produce some 15x20 (6x8") prints for even less. You can see them as cheap way to see every of my photo if you like :-) But I really didn't decided yet. Let's see first how it goes like it is now for a while. And if you think that it is a good idea, just write to me.

Almost on day exactly I have written few lines about Czech photographer Taras Kuščynskyj. I have three postcards of his prints on my wall. I visited exposition in summer where he has few photographs. I know his work for long time. He is not between us anymore, he died in 1983 on deadly illness.
I met his images here and there when I was younger. I always like them very much, so lyric and gentle images always full of great feel. I never did any nude photography, but still I enjoy his work. Look at first two photographs. Don't they look like great painting? They both are date in seventies. More than any of these I like the last photo on this page from 1963. It is made the way I really like, It is exactly something I would love to make. Image has showing only gentle symbols. Few beam of light makes all we need to start our imagination. This is what I like on great photographs. They showed you hints, they trigger your imagination and your own creativity is doing rest. Isn't that great! Observer need to give something from him/her/ He/She is the person who should create, be active when viewing this artwork.
Not like a consumer, who is expecting not to think, who is expecting to consume and acts as pre-programed by media.

The other day I have very long telephonic conversation with my friend from childhood. Among the other things we also spoke about this. How our children are exposed to the culture of mind driving by media. I hope I will get one day with my photographs into the stage when my work will trigger active creation in other people's minds.
Taras Kuščynskyj is doing this for me for years. Thank you very much!

Today I have received today print named Cape Perpetua #32, Oregon Coast, 2005 from Brooks Jensen. I order as I liked the print and I also was curious how print from him look. Packaging was great. I received big box where one print with hard carton was placed in nice transparent sleeve and all was wrapped in that kind of air bubbled paper. I must say packaging perfect.
The print was rather small, well exactly as advertised, 6.8x9" warm-tone image on 11x14" paper. But it feels anyway too small for that paper size. And quality? As you look first time, nice print. After little bit more detailed look you notice no details in black, where one would expect them and at the sky on top of the picture I can see traces from printer or maybe it is some other pattern, but it is surely there.
I do not want to judge and not like to look as super hero, but I can tell you I surely can make better print. I am glad that I have seen how print from him look. Now I am bit more confident about my work :-)

Sweden, Stockholm, Södermalm, 2005.

it is while I have wrote or update my article section. So I have decide to do something with it. Today I refresh description how do I develop negatives. It is rather simple description, but maybe can be used to find what I do and maybe find some useful hints.
I am still listening old podcasts from Brooks Jensen. Now I am at the first month of 2006 :-) Slowly I am starting to having little different opinion on these podcasts. Seems like he was at that time a bit loosing breath or maybe he said all he had in huge urgency and now it slowly going to normal daily chatting. I mean it is not a bad, but I was so excited with first year and half of his texts that now it feels like a bit diluted tea :-)
Nevertheless some of them carries quite strong opinions and with some of them I fully agree. For example the idea why he didn't put passe-partout (mat) on his prints. The reason is the same why I stop with it even before I listen to his podcast about it. I can do nice prints, but when I put it in passe-partout it is loosing a bit. I can't do this work that perfect. So why not leave it for people who can do that best? You buy print for me, perfectly crafted, perfectly packed. Than you take it to professional who can perfectly frame it.

After rainy ride on bike, it is now resting with the friends. Doesn't need to ring anymore. He can enjoy the silence...

As a small boy I loved summer clouds. In hot summer days after whole afternoon of burning sun, suddenly clouds came and half hour thunderstorm cool down whole meadow. We were dancing in the rain and enjoying its smell.

Well, it seems something has happen last night. My site has lost google rating. I use to have 5 from 10 now it is on zero. I have no idea what has happen. I hope it is only some kind of mistake. I didn't like google very much for quite some time. They juts become too big and concentrating too much information. And a lot of people are using them. So sites actually depends on google to be found. If something like this is happening, your site can become completely forgotten and lost.
I am curious if this happen only to my site or it is more common. Do you have any experience with such a behavior? If yes please let me know.

I have received couple of notes from friends on my last journal entry. Today morning I noticed PR rating of my site in Google is back. So some strange things are happening. Also Alexa rating is fluctuating, probably as a result of Google drops.
Dirk asked me, I hope he doesn't mind that I mentioned it here, why I am so bothered by these things. Well, frankly I am not bother very much, but as the web site is the only medium, so far, by which I present my work to public, I like to be found as easy as possible. And good PR rating and good position in search engines in general makes that possible. I mean it doesn't have effect on my work or my artistic feelings :-), but I find it nice if my work is seen by others as well.

There is a dawn on the other side of the wall. We all now it, we feel it, it is surely there. We dream about it, never saw it. Something we never had, something they have every day, something we love to have, something they do not care about...

All these games, we had fun. No matter what the weather, it could rain old the time if we had a friends and we were out. We did everything and give a shit about TV.

I would like to thank you all for your comments and nice email. I must tell you how much I appreciate that. It is rather heavy now when I change work and have to drive 30 minute there and 30 min back. Not only that, most of you do that I suppose, but as a new job it requires little bit more energy. I have to say that I like it a lot. Feel very nice, like back at university time with little bit more professionalism than before. I am still learning a lot.
--
I have received first order after reopening my web shop. Nice on it that is order for two big prints. I would like to thank that person as that way he supports me very much and I appreciate that a lot! Thank you!
--
Last week I have made little change on top page. That one is not directly visible, but I get rid of javascript which was loading haloscan comments and my delicious links. I like it now much more as it contains the text directly and therefore is searchable and visible to the search engines.

I do not know what is happening, I just expect something else I guess. From five free prints for January I still have two. It is more than two weeks and only three people asked for free print. Tell me why is that? Is it difficult to find that I give away prints? Or is it just more simple and people do not like my photographs?

Some year ago I lived for over year in Wien. Great city! I love it! I spend a lot of time there with my very good friends Stefan and Thomas. One summer was so hot that you had to leave window open all the time. We lived in rather old kind of guest house. We had a great times there! This picture I made on completely different place reminds me that time a lot.

It is interesting how things can suddenly get moving. I have just printed two orders and pack one order for free print. (BTW: last one from January's free print is still available :-) One of the orders is for two big prints, it is first time somebody order big print. I used Ilford Smooth Pearl paper for it. Both of the big prints look very good.
Yesterday I have also ordered new A3+ pack of Epson Premium Semi gloss paper. I was already using it in small format and some people like more its semi gloss surface. I personally really prefer matt surface. For A4 prints I am using PermaJet Alpha paper. I liked to buy pack of A3 size of it, now after these last orders I can do it. Thank you all who bought prints for me and this way allowing me to go further. It is great to see that other people like my work! Once more thank you!

Winter dull day, walking in a quiet place. Time is running fast, days are shade and quiet...

Nothing is going to help, even forced group sessions, nothing. As far as it based on money, nothing is going to help people...

One of the first shot I printed using carbon pigment inks back in 2003. Over this weekend it come to me again as I have got order for it. I was printing it again after three years. Very nice experience and interesting to see how different these prints are. Note from 2003: This shot was done in those two hours I was renting 21/4 Color Skopar lens from Voigtlander. I can't see any distortion of lines or anything similar. Shot is quite sharp as I can see it also on print. It was done on Ilford Delta 400 in xtol 1:1.

Sunday early morning, cold autumn weather with sharp sun. Most of the people are still sleeping. While walking with camera around some old school I found this boy skating on the U ramp while his dog was running around in grass.

Sitting outside in a dark after midnight. Absolutely quiet cold night. dimmed light, Moon behind clouds. Nothing is moving, no sound. Feels like void.
After seeing Krótki film o zabijaniu (1988) directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski I am empty. Nonsense of killing for any reason goes through whole movie. All images are clouded like views from darkened mind. This movie is not only about killing is about ending of existence of a human been. About ending of existence of your own you. Why is that? Why all has to end, is there any sense to all this? I am very skeptic. Is this all only waiting room for the end? And as a time goes we are pretending with the smile that there is a sense, that there is a reason? Reason to use our time, is it really?

I really need to switch to UTF-8 encoding, seems more and more often I am using characters which just do not fit into 8859-1 encoding. I will have to really look at it.

I am restoring all my software and setting on new computer. The old one which was running from year 2000 was recently loosing breath. I had opportunity to buy other, also second hand machine but few years younger than my old one. It is not more powerful, but also much more quieter and that seems to be one of the most important features these days.

After moving my DVD burner, USB 2.0 card, 160GB hard disk with all my image DB I started to install all the software I need for my photos. One of the most important is Picture Window Pro (pwp). Most of the people are using Photoshop, for me Photoshop is too complex and too expensive. I am happy more than enough with pwp. I bought it long time ago some time in 2000 I guess. Last year I have bought upgrade to the new version and already that time I had problems to read my old install CD to confirm my upgrade license. This time old CD is totally unreadable. I know it is only bit more than six years, but you see, it is just empty when I place it in my DVD drive.

As a result my license serial number for upgrade was no accepted as old CD didn't work and I do not have email from 2000 with my old serial number. So what is the nest step? Well I wrote to Digital Light and Color company which produce pwp. I didn't get it too much chance so I was busy with installing other software, vuescan, IMatch,... and I have got to the point I like to make image of my installation for emergency situation when I need to restore whole computer. But I would love to do it when all soft is correctly installed and configured. But pwp was not running. As I wild action :-) I check my mail. And? Kiril from www.dl-c.com answered my email 15 minutes after I send it and it is Saturday and he provided me with my old serial number!!!

Isn't this great. I really enjoying software from smaller companies, who really cares about their products and customers. Where one customer is important. Software is great, support is perfect and you do not feel like one from millions. So pwp, IMatch, vuescan, all this software is made by small, sometimes even one man companies. I am using them for years and still happy. Todays experience only insured me even more that this was good choice.

Can you see what I think?

After rather longer period of time (few weeks) I have developed six rolls of film again yesterday evening. I must say it was very relaxing experience and how I hate it sometimes when I have 40 rolls to go, same way I loved it yesterday. I still have about ten more rolls to do and I am planning to develop them this week.
My new old computer is running now, but sometimes things which were working before gave me bit of a headache until I find again the way I configured them before. Like yesterday I can't really figure out why script for uploading from IMatch to my web site giving me errors. It was access denied. Well it took third fresh look until I found out that I didn't import my web site certificate, as I am using https connection for my XMLRPC code.

Now it is early at the morning and I am running off tom my daily job. I wish you nice Monday.

Long long time ago summer day. We two sitting on the hill above the town. We were talking while I was taking pictures. Great day, sunny day, future in front of us. We never saw each other anymore, Now over twenty years ago I have found these negatives. Where is she???