Do you know why I do what I do? I do it for you. Sure, that might sound ridiculous but it’s true, at least in great part. Much of what I do as a photographer, and certainly as a bookmaker, is for you. I look around, see something glaring, and think “Okay, I need to do that so that they know how to do it.” I’m no martyr. I’m no savior or saint. I do it because I like doing it. Remember AG23? I did that as a roadmap for you. I saw the potential in brand collaboration, community building, and self-publishing with print as the centerpiece and said “Everyone should be doing something like this, but I need to do it first.”
So, when I got an email from Brad Hamilton asking if he could send me something, I was intrigued. Brad mentioned he had attended the symposium I did with Mary Virginia Swanson and Darius Himes. A symposium hosted by La Luz Workshops. A symposium all about photography books. I gave my talk and went about my way. Brad said my talk made an impact and inspired him to take action. Again, this makes me happy and is the reason why I give talks, do projects, make books, make films and write blog posts. (Giving another talk tonight.)
The results of Brad’s inspiration is what you see here. One-Eighty. This is a gorgeous little publication. First off, for you skeptics, or those easily damaged by the idea I work for Blurb, Brad didn’t use Blurb. He used Conveyor, a service I’ve been raving about for quite some time. But I’ve also said that you should use every single platform at your disposal. (My guess is maybe 10% have done so.) Remember, there is always a reason NOT to do something. But trust me, you don’t want to be “that person.”
What do I love about this? Well, first off, he actually did it. He made a run of 200-copies, which I believe is the absolute sweet spot for most photography publishing projects. I see ego, tradition and insecurity ruin so many projects, not to mention poor financial decisions. Two-hundred is just right. Sell a few, place a few, then move on with your life for crap’s sake. No eighteen month publishing cycle followed by another eighteen months of desperately attempting to sell books. That is pure OWT. Old World Thinking.
Next, I love the design. Simple yet sophisticated. The reversal of the design halfway through, the elegant title page, and the easily digestible photographic layout. A commitment to black and white, also appreciated. Oh, before I forget, I like the damn images. Look how clean and simple. A point of view. Who knew if you found a style and held to that style you might end up with something of substance. Please alert the media.
Brad was an art director before he made the fateful decision of moving over to photography. I find most people who take this route end up being successful photographers because they can see beyond their own nose. They tend to have something called “perspective.” Look it up. The last thing I’ll say about this is that the trim size, materials and overall feel of the object are entirely approachable. This thing makes you want to pick it up. Too many Faberge Egg-style photography books out there. Everyone wants a Faberge Egg but you sure aren’t going to leave it out when your drunk friends come over. While this book, in all its elegant approachability, is there for the taking, no matter how drunk your friends or family actually are. If you visit his site you will see this baby goes on sale mid-August. Mark your calendars. And to Brad, thank you for thinking of me. Glad I could provide a spark. You did a wonderful job.
Comments 12
Looks like a cool book and kudos to you, Dan, for advocating the creation of actual books instead of mindless social media content!
Author
It’s a losing battle. Consequently, I find most people not that interesting. Thankfully, there are some good souls who remain.
I like it! I very much enjoy seeing people stretch and try new things, even though it’s scary.
If it’s not scary, there probably won’t be much growth!
Author
Yes, contrary to what online culture exudes, failure is a good thing.
I like the cover image a lot.
For a moment I thought Brad intentionally printed heavily blurred images on the left hand pages. I think you may have added extra blur to encourage our eyes to land on the right hand pages, though.
The photographs are also a nice size (to me).
Author
That’s just the falloff of my lens.
That book looks amazing. He did really awesome with the layout and images.
Author
Agreed. A super solid job.
In response to video: “Shifter: Update (No, I’m not back.)” If you primarily disliked the burden of comments on youtube, you could just post videos with the comments/ ratings disabled. I know the surrounding clickbait thumbnails all around are annoying too, but with youtube you will reach more people.
Author
Oh no. If you had been to my channel you would know I answered all my comments. I can’t see being on YT for real and NOT doing this. But I’m not on for real anymore, haven’t been in months. Like I said today, just a hosting platform now.
Thing is, you don’t need paper to play at designer.
My website has been partially converted to magazine format, but obviously remains digital. In other words, the pix pop up looking as if in a magazine: the sections/galleries come complete with “cover” image and the pages follow in various combinations of layout. As with anything, the more one plays around with such exercises the more they take on some sense of continuity, with less jarring changes in layout, page to page. This seems clear to me from my own case, where the first gallery I converted to the new format was the Working Years one, and the latest one the last under the little Projects umbrella, the Daidochromes, where by which time I’d long stopped dropping in logos etc. that really served no other function than to balance out awkward spaces. Better not to make awkward spaces.
I started out intending to turn the entire website into magazine format, but gave up when I got terminally bored working with old images. Fun at the time, fun when scanned, mostly, from Kodachrome, fun when first seen in the site. Now, I skip them all and just go to Projects, where I add anything I think fits existing ones, or If another notion arrives, so does another Project title and number, and thus a target for future snaps.
One can enjoy much the same buzz, but without killing a tree.
Author
Not me. Digital games are no match for a book. (or a blaster at your side.)