FYI ~ a photo book project
Tuesday, November 1, 2011 at 03:08PM Click here to view this photo book larger
Contained in my "finished" picture folder are 3,450+ ku ("pure" landscape) and civilized ku (signs of man) pictures. Needless to say, it is nigh unto impossible to print all of them, although I have been working away at doing so.
The pictures could easily be divided into sub-categories like, say, as an example, a category labeled twigs. I am also engaged in creating a few categories and organizing the pictures into such categories. Again needless to say, it is proving to be time consuming and I am do it a little bit at a time. Maybe by early nest year I'll have it done.
In the mean time, I have decided to start printing pictures categorized by month - not every single picture made during a given month but rather the "highlights" of that month presented in chronological order by date of creation. However, when I say "printing" what I mean is printing a photo book (8×8 inch soft cover) for each month.
My first edition (seen above) - October 2011 - contains 48 pictures. The book also contains the text of 1 featured blog entry from October. Each successive edition will also have a featured entry from that month as well as an expanded caption index.
The purpose of this exercise is 2 fold: 1) to have a printed record of my picturing activities, to have and to hold from this day forward, and 2) to offer them for sale to followers of The Landscapist.
The photo books for sale will be limited to 20 pages with approximately 15 pictures - the best of the best - and 1 featured blog text entry + expanded caption index. The reason for the smaller picture number is simply to make the books affordable - $30.00US (+ shipping) - as opposed to the cost of my personal copy which will end up costing me around $50.00US to print.
To further reduce the cost for Landscapist followers, I will be offering a subscription price of $300.00US (+ shipping). That price is for 12 monthly editions although it is up to the subscriber to pick any months they wish - they do not have to be successive months. Skip a month, or 2 or 3, if you like - it's up to you.
Part of the reason I am offering these books for sale is to let people see how my pictures look in print as opposed to on screen (which may calibrated / accurate or not). Simply stated, there is nothing to compare to seeing pictures in printed form. To hold it - a book or a print - in your hand and take the time to really look and per chance to ponder. Not to mention the ease with which you can return to it time and time again.
My photo book collection - books by other picture makers - is like a collection of old friends. I return to them again and again, often "seeing" more than I did previously and always learning something new. Nothing, I repeat, nothing on the web comes close to matching that experience. In fact, seeing something, picture wise, on the web makes me want to see it in print in order to really appreciate it.
In any event, the reproduction quality I get from Shutterfly is remarkably close to my original photo prints. If all I were ever able to view were photo books of my pictures, I'd be a very happy camper. Which brings to mind another thought ...
Anybody else tempted to create a similar undertaking. There are more a few of you out there with whom I would more than willing to swap subscriptions.
Reader Comments (1)
I would really like to own one of your books. Will the 1st edition that is for sale have 48 pictures as per the example above or be limited to less? Either way, I'm still interested.