Time flies. Heard that one before, certainly. An oft repeated truism, because, well, it’s true. Always been the case, but now, as our lives keep accelerating into 2022 and beyond, those two words are more pertinent than ever. We live in a perpetual spin cycle of the news of the day. We flip through the internet with a relentless tap, tap, tap, as fast as our index finger can fly. According to a recent study, our attention span is now down to about eight seconds.
For photographers, always seeking those precious, fleeting moments the world presents to us, and we often miss, we know all too well just how fast time flies. Missed it! Desperately change the lens. Missed it again. Hey, over here! While something better is happening over there. While we talk or ruminate about “capturing the moment,” the moment disappears. Let’s face it. Our success rate of getting THE shot is pretty low.
A photo book of those captured moments, those successful slivers of a second, is a wonderful thing. At this time of the year, I look back on pictures from the past year that in some way shape or form were deemed successful and I add up the shutter speeds, roughly. It’s usually less than a second of total time. This year, given one time exposure that worked out alright, it’s a few seconds. A few seconds out of a year.
I sent my favorite set of seconds to Printique, and back came a beautiful book. The year in my hands, not on a screen. It’s a hard cover photo book, 10 X12.5, 42 pages, printed in rich tones on luster paper. (You have lots of choices for reproduction style, presentation, layout, etc.) Annie Cahill, who is possessed of wonderfully graphical sensibilities, did the arranging of pictures and pages, and enabled color correction. Tap a finger on the computer, it’s sent. A box comes back, bound with a ribbon. A few seconds on a series of pages.
Sit with them now. A wonderfully printed book. A repose. A breakwater in the roiled ocean of our lives.
The accessibility and excellence of Printique, not to mention their ease of use, has opened up a whole new realm here at our studio. In years gone by, I never would have gathered my Olympic images into a bound tome. They would simply sit, disconnected bits and pieces, on a hard drive, whirring and burbling in the background of our workroom. Now, they are together, on a coffee table, slices of color, grace and power to be remembered. A book. It has been said that a photograph can be a window or a mirror. A photo book is both, all at once.
Worked with two phenomenal athletes early in the year. Dan Anderson and Dasha Anderson, both martial arts teachers and experts. Monochrome seemed appropriate for this spread and the Printique repro held tones gracefully and well.
The POW and intensity of color made these two shots work next to each other, and also the symmetry of square format.
The Olympics was such a highlight of 2021 – had to include! Always tough to make the selection but like these two playing off each other because of the energy of the blue swirl on the left picking up with the roundness of the shape in the fisheye shot.
Another splash of color and a great memory of Coney Island as the summertime air breathed life into all of us.
Verticals and horizontals! Both shot with the Nikon Z 9. The templates provided by Printique give lots of options and freedom to pair dissimilar shapes on a spread.
With all the detail corner to corner, had to give these zombie friends full bleeds in the spread!
Same here with the lovely Marisa and having a landscape pic that lends itself to a full page bleed spread. Nice to break up the flow sometimes with different sizes/shapes.
Beauty and grace. Two remarkably talented and beautiful ladies I’ve had the privilege to photograph over the years. Mixing color and black and white renditions here on a spread I think works….wonderful way to pair these amazing personalities. Rita and Sharon. At our first meeting, photo subjects, now…dear friends.
More, and more, at workshops and industry gatherings, the questions come up about photo books. My friend and editor, Ted Waitt, of Rocky Nook Publishing, will actually come to our Wine Country Workshop this spring and talk with participants about the overwhelming power of the photo book, and how important it can be to have your pictures gathered, and printed. Static, enduring, indelible ink on paper. A book is a thoughtful repose from the frenetic chase of the capture. A beautiful reminder of those moments we succeeded, or came close enough. A gathering of our efforts that so dominated our sense of urgency out on the street, in the studio, on the playing pitch. It was exhausting, remember? An anxious and worrying process, going after these photos. Now, they are in your hands. Breathe. 2022 is upon us. The camera awaits.
More tk….
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