More Book Publishing Logistics

OK...I made a small book in Blurb and will finish this weekend to send out for a physical sample.  I am curious to see how good the quality will be.  The problem is that if I want to make a book with Blurb for print on demand, I can't make a PDF of the same book to post on sofobomo.  Which means I would have to make a second PDF file gallery to upload on sofobomo.  Not very good but a worst-case outcome.  Blurb's website states that their "business model" does not accommodate PDF/POD output.  Quite possibly, my "business model" will not accommodate using them.

Lulu looks like a good service.  Unfortunately it's book formats are pretty simplistic/album looking and the regular book templates are not very photo-friendly.  Issuu looks like a very classy site but then I would be on my own for publishing/layout software.  I am tackling enough in one month to attempt top-quality work without having to learn a full-featured layout program.  If anyone has any ideas, I am all ears........................

Start Date and Project Thoughts and book publishing options

I am starting my project on May 15th. I am going to use the extra time to finish my planning for this project. I tried to make a very fast book in blurb two nights ago..when I saved it as a PDF, it was unusable with watermarks, etc. so I am not sure how this will work. I will mess with it more this weekend and see how it goes. My goal is to make a seamless book that I can have available POD and PDF for the site and my family/friends and people who I photograph on Route 15 as part of the project.

The project...why/how/what? I feel that the best part of committing to sofobomo is that it forces you to put aside all of the reasons why you inevitably delay (life gets in the way) and forces you to push ahead. I know what a genuine photograph of mine looks like, feels like, but it takes repeated effort to weed out the merely good and produce enough work for 35 quality images that hang together.

I chose this section of Route 15 between Leesburg and Gettysburg because I love driving it so much...it is quiet, scenic beauty, some small towns, some important history. this will be good fodder for the way I photograph the world. I try to capture the "otherness" that see when I am out there (though I am not successful often enough). my website is www.georgepappas.net.

The other important aspect of Route 15 is that I have to get out there often enough during the month to say and capture what I want to say..it will take repeated trips, different times of the day, etc. By pushing, we grow and learn.

I took this image of my daughter this past weekend. While a "family" image, it is also about the light/mood and much more. As I was walking down the hallway, I saw her there and the light and arrangement just screamed at me ..PHOTOGRAPH THIS NOW. so I did.

. In the end, light giveth and light taketh away....

Some Production Logistics

I have spent some time this weekend working with some alternative methods of B&W conversion and image management.  I am trying to get and simplify a small list of techniques to produce the kind of images that I want for the book.  The power of digital is its extreme flexibility and productivity - the challenge of digital is its extreme flexibility - too many choices. 

Below is an image converted to B&W using Nik Silver EFX pro.  The original image was taken in color - I like this conversion; it maintains the airy feeling of the day and the crispness of the sea air.  This dune was on a lovely stretch of Rehoboth beach..

The Planning continues

As I think about the story that I am looking to tell, I also have to consider how it fits with the way I photograph. I have developed a style that works for me. I am also looking forward to being pushed outside of my comfort zone on this project. What do I mean by that?

First, because I tend to make landscapes, and images, that are about people, not of people, I

will force myself to be more engaged with the people I meet during this project and do more portraits. I have always tried to meet, not be bashful, bring back prints, etc. but I want to take this to a newer level for this effort. Second, I will have to be my own best ruthless editor to produce 35+ quality images for this book.

Here is an image from one of my reconnaissance trips made last weekend. A somewhat mediocre, but competent image of a nice house bursting at the seams with springtime....

The Book Project Begins!

I signed up for Sofobomo and have been mulling over some concepts for the book I am going to produce.  After taking a couple of drives I arrived at a subject that I have been wanting to explore more deeply for some time.  The area of the Virgina Piedmont along Route 15 from Leesburg through Frederick M.D. up to Gettysburg, PA.  This is at once, a beautiful, rural, pastoral, yet encroaching suburbia type of place.  There are several towns along the way that hold good opportunity and I feel have a story to tell.

Since I will be shooting and producing the book in a month, it is important that the subject be accessible enough so that I can make many trips to shoot enough and go back enough to produce good work.  this is my first blog on this kind of project.  We'll see how it goes.

I plan to use blurb to produce the book layout and have the book available for on-demand printing.....

According to the rules and intent of Sofobomo, I have to do all photography, editing, writing, and layout for my book in one calendar month.  Pre-planning is encourged.  I am planning right now and will try for a May 15th start date.