civilized ku # 3573-74 ~ my book of the year

(embiggenable) • iPhone

tomato on a plate ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

MY THANKS TO THOMAS RINK FOR refreshing my memory, re: blurb as a source for online photobook printing and self-publishing / sales. Consequently, I went to the site and discovered I had an account which was set up long ago (10+ years?). And, having already prepped files for book making on Shutterfly, I went ahead and made a book-2019 ~ The Year in Review-on blurb using those same files.

That book, as opposed to the 10x10 inch Shutterfly book (see above picture) of the same name which arrived today, is a 7x7 inch softcover book. I chose those size and cover options so the book would be affordable for those who might be interested in acquiring it. FYI, I'm not trying to make a profit with this book. I am just trying to make it affordable for those who are interested in seeing my iPhone created pictures in print.

That written, the print and image quality of the Shutterfly book-I selected their 6-color printing option-is really excellent-take that you iPhone skeptics. However, the cost (to me) of that book was $108.00USD. That cost was after a 50% discount! For comparison, the blurb book is selling for $32.00USD. I am quite certain that the print / paper quality of the blurb book will be comparable to that of the Shutterfly book. I will only know for certain after I receive my copy of the printed book. However, I am not losing any sleep over that issue.

click on this link to see the blurb book preview.

civilized ku # 3551-52 ~ and the beat goes on

sweepings ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

ships passing in the snow ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

OVER THE PAST 12+ YEARS I have written thousands, if not 10s of thousands, words about picture making, re: the medium of photography and its apparatus. In addition, I have read even more words about the same.

Over that period of time, my writing / ruminating about the medium and its apparatus, topics both general and specific (but rarely about my picture making), was undertaken, primarily, for the purpose of trying to figure out what I was doing and why I was doing it, picture making wise. Or, in a nut shell, trying to understand my vision. And, I am very pleased to write that I have accomplished my goal.

That written, that endevour has brought me to the point that I am somewhat at a loss for words to write about the medium and its apparatus. That is, I think that I have written, for my purposes, all I have to write.

Nevertheless, for as long as I have been riding that horse, I find myself rather reluctant to dismount inasmuch as there is always something out there, on the web / in books / et al, about which I will always find something to write about.

So, for better or worse, I'll ride on (into the sunset?) and let the words fall where they may.

PS and FYI, all of my past writing may be found not only on this blog but also, if you are interested, HERE. Please note that on this link there is, at the top of that page, a link to even more writing / pictures on yet another of my former blogs.

ku # 1442-44 / civilized ku # 3530 / screen grab ~ autumn harvest

still life ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

landscape ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

landscape ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

autumn color / urban ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

tangle ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

(embiggenable)

Inasmuch as the autumnal foliage season is falling off the trees, my out-and-about picture making is winding down as well. Consequenty, over the past few days, I have been editing Fall pictures with an eye toward making a photobook.

As can be viewed in the screen grab picture in this entry, I have narrowed (?) my selections down to 54 pictures (2 are not shown). My original intention was to make a single book with all of those pictures. However, after time spent viewing this collectionn on my screen, I am having second thoughts about that approach, along the line of TMI.

The other thought which has occurred to me is that there are actually 3 different picture making themes scattered in the selection, 2 of which already exist amongst my various bodies of work / themes - tangles and autumn color / urban. The 3rd theme is represented by a single picture, the still life picture in this entry. But even that picture could rightly fit in my still life (made) body of work .... however,

.... that picture has given rise to an idea for a new, separate body of work. That is, making still life pictures of natural things as found on the ground and making those pictures at the location, where those things are found, on a sheet of foamcore or matte board which I carry around to those locations. Got to think about it more but it could be a viable idea.

All of that written, I am thinking that what I will do, photobook making wise, is to do some more editing in order to narrow the field more. And, in doing so, look to create 3 categories: tangles (natural environment), autumn color /urban (human environment) and "classic" landscape. Categories that will be presented as "chapters" in the photobook. Inasmuch as the still life is an outlier of sorts, perhaps I will use that picture on the cover.

civilized ku # 3590(still life)-92(sports) ~ sorta chained to my desktop

(embiggenable) • iPhone

(embiggenable) • µ4/3 / 100-400mm equivalent lens

(embiggenable) • µ4/3 / 100-400mm equivalent lens

The first photo book, NEW ORLEANS, of my 3 book train trip trilogy is being printed. Working on book 2, Chicago.

Getting this all together has been a time-consuming challenge. My first edit resulted in 238 "keepers" divided into 3 folders - New Orlean, Chicage and Racine. Next step was to process/convert all of them into snapshot quality pictures. Then came the sequencing edit for the New Orleans photo book followed by adding the snapshot border to each picture. Finally, The book was put together and ordered.

Now it's on to the Chicago book followed by the Racine book. And then, finish the prep work for my July solo exhibition at the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts.

In between all the train trip work, I have been able to get out and do a bit of sports / action picture making at the behest of my grandson Hugo, the lacrosse goalie. As a high school freshman, he was a 2nd line forward on the varsity hockey team and is currently the starting goalie on the varsity lacrosse team.

civilized ku # 5309 (kitchen life) / diptych # 239 ~ duality

(embiggenable) • iPhone

(embiggenable) • iPhone

I have often descibed my picture making as an act of picturing the quotidian or what others might label as everyday or commonplace things / events / places. In doing so, I am especially fascinated by "life" of things which, either by nature or the hand of humankind (consciously or unthinking), have evinced a fleeting-my idea of a decisive moment-evidence of an artful arrangement.

Some of those things may be considered to be pleasing / beautiful in and of itself while others may incite a reaction of unpleasantness or even disgust. In either case, those things, when pictured in the appropriate manner and presented on the 2D plane of a print, are capable of evincing interesting / visually pleasing arrangements of shapes, lines, tones and colors which are independent of the depicted referents (things).

My intent in making such pictures is to create beautiful prints. That is, a print as an object of beauty no matter the actuality of the thing(s) depicted.

There was a time when I believed I was making pictures of the beauty to be found in commonplace things when, in fact, I have since come to realize that I am making decisive moment pictures which depict fortuitous events (arrangements) in the life of things. To my eye and sensibilities, the resultant printed pictures are transformative inasmuch as the things depicted when viewed for their inherent visual qualities, that is as carriers / conveyors of visual data (line, shape, tone, color), are transformed into / become "mere" visual vehicles-their commonly accepted identity is sublimated-in the service of the creation of a beautiful object.

still life problem / conundrum ~ selecting

sweepings with chipmunk ~ embiggenable • µ4/3

embiggenable • µ4/3

embiggenable • µ4/3

embiggenable • µ4/3

embiggenable • µ4/3 + iPhone

As mentioned in my last entry, it's time to select some pictures, min. 5 / max 7, for submission to the Still Life: Elevating the Mundane juried exhibition. After a brief look at my picture library, only through the latest additions (6 months), I came up with the 24 pictures in the above ganged grouping + 3 decay pictures. I also created a picture, sweepings with chipmunk, specifically for submission to this exhibition = 29 submission possibilities.

Making submission choices is always difficult and somewhat of a guessing game - will my choices appeal to the juror (as opposed to me)? I have my favorites but I am not certain any of them would be a good choice for this exhibition theme. Taking into account the fact that what I considered to be very strong submissions to some exhibition themes that garnered no selections and the fact that one through-in / after-thought submission was selected and given and Honorable Mention, making choices sorta comes down to like throwing stuff at a wall and seeing what sticks.

At this point in the selecting game, the only thing I know for certain is the chipmunk + 1 of the decay pictures are in.