Seeing Everything

OK, OK, I admit it. I severely underestimated the amount of work needed putting together the Norfolk project book. This week i added more images to the gallery for the project on my website, and it suddenly dawned on me the task that lay ahead. It’s pretty damn big.

I want to do a good job on this book. No, actually i want to do a fantastic job on this book, and it seems only right for me to take my time doing it. I have hundreds of images to go through, and i have to choose a total of 100 for the book. I can’t really do that without having some idea of what i’ve actually got. The images i’ve shown so far are just a fraction of what i shot. I haven’t really gone through the work in detail, apart from the occasional quick scan through the negatives and digital image files. I really need to collate all the work. I thought i could do it all in 3 months. Ha!

With that in mind,  i’ve decided to delay the release of the Norfolk project book until early 2013. It will give me this year to thoroughly go through the work and see everything, every last bit of the project. It seems pointless to rush the book, and I already have a book planned for later this year with images of Scotland, so i will produce a book in 2012.

I’m looking forward to exploring and producing images in an area of the UK i’ve never been to before. Scotland looks fabulous. I’ve already started using the impressive power of Google Earth to help me spot the best shooting viewpoints, check out the surrounding area and plan what images i want to take.

Retrospective Book

I’m about to start on another photography book release via blurb.com that should take me most of the winter to put together. This is going to be a big project and an important landmark book (at least for me!) that completes the first phase of the Norfolk project.

Ten years ago, i decided that i needed a long term photographic project. What began as a loose kind of photography exercise in Norfolk, ended up gathering pace and direction. After ten years, it’s time for a break and some contemplation of where to take it next. I have lots of options open, plenty left to photograph in the county, and after a year or two i’ll return.

Over the next few months I’ll be putting all of the photography  together, around 80 images or possibly more, to make a retrospective book that , I think, will be the perfect way to present the first ten years of work. The majority of the photographs that have been released online have focussed on the landscape side of the project, however, the book will stay true to the original idea with a broad mix of landscape and documentary photography. I aim to release the book on March 21st 2012.

Rest in peace

Is the dedicated bench, commemorating a life, purely a British thing? Do other countries do it? I assume they do.

I love these seven benches at Sheringham. They were all dedicated to people who holidayed there and loved the place. A nice touch that at least gives the sitter a small personal detail about the memorialised person. I know Arthur loved this place.  Would i get that from a headstone in a cemetery? I very much doubt it.

I  hope i get a bench one day. Some weary photographer, carrying too much gear, may need it!

Book Delivery!

Yay! My copy of Sea, Sky, Sand and Street arrived by UPS just now. I’ve had a look through and i’m very pleased with the results. I’ll be posting a review of my Blurb book making experience, and the results i got, in later post, however i thought i’d post some initial thoughts.

First of all the quality is excellent. Better than some photography books i own!

Good print tone (a slight green tint but OK) with deep blacks and plenty of detail in the images. The premium matt paper i opted for looks and feels good, adding that extra weight quality to the book pages. Text is crisp and accurately placed on the page.

The layout and whether it would survive the book printing and trimming process was a slight concern but i had little to worry about. There was a degree of flexibility in the design and the resulting printed version is around 98% true to the screen version.

A more detailed review will be posted on the main photoblog later this week.

Book: Sea, Sky, Sand and Street

It’s with a great deal of pleasure that i can announce the launch of my first photography book release called Sea, Sky, Sand and Street available from blurb.com.

Based on this year’s Solo Photo Book month project, this brand new 7×7 inches (18×18 cm) photography book has been completely redesigned from scratch and features a new layout design, over 70 photographs including a number of new images and more.

For the next sixteen days (check out the book preview to spot why it’s 16 days) the soft cover version of book will be available to buy for the introductory price of £16.95 plus £4.99 postage. The sixteen day period will end on midnight September 10th when the price will return to £18.95. A hardback edition of the book is also available.

The new Sea, Sky, Sand and Street book in softcover and hardback can be purchased HERE

Candid Camera

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The iPhone and its photographic capabilities may have a lot of critics but as a candid street photography camera I think its pretty darn good.

The ability to take a photo in the blink of an eye is just one benefit to using a mobile phone as a image capturing device. The small size of a phone also helps you avoid attention. Critical when shooting candid street photos.

OK, the iPhone & other mobile phones are never going to replace the Nikons and Canons of this world but as a separate tool for capturing images quickly and quietly it’s ideal.