Canyon Tracks, Nevada from the series Bad Trip – Sad Trip & published in LensWork #74
I just recieved my advance copy of LensWork #74 and it looks wonderful!
I am one of four photographers, the others being Josef Hoflehner, Ann Miller and Barry Wolf. There are 21 images from my series in the print edition, the full series will be in the DVD LensWork Extended along with my interview.
One of my biggest interest in this publication was the image selection and image pairing. Some surpries and some good guesses based on the interview I had with Brooks and the images that he wanted to discuss. Obviously, the image with this post is one of the images selected! When this issue becomes available in on the magazine racks or you receive your subscription, I’d be interested in your feedback. I’m going to reserve my comments for now;- )
Second interest, is to evaluate the printing of the LensWork glossy images to my own matte printed images.
I do need to add a couple of images to my web site to ensure that all of the LensWork print images are available. Meanwhile I am vasalating over what to do next with the series, with my book draft already in progress, but now reviewing the folio concept as another alternative. When I order the folio covers for my Editioned folio Foundations, I think that I am also going order a portfolio box to evaluate.
Best regards, Doug
After the first of the year, I will be returning to China for another two to three weeks. This time I will be at PingHu in the Zhejiang Providence, which is actually near JiaXing where I was at in October – Novemeber. You have to know which Providence for PingHu, as there are about six cities in China named PingHu, which means Placid Lake. Ping can also mean Calm, but I like the Placid Lake translation better at the moment. Since I will be there in winter, I don’t know how calm this lake will be, as I hear that it can be very windy during this period.
This image, Country Road, was made in the foothills in Hangzhou and incorporates a number of memories of China, thus another reason I like this image; that of the fields, the people, the small tractors and the presence of cars, the new affluence. The foreground ‘metor’ on the road was a nice accidental find, symbolizing the speed of change in China in this region and China as a whole.
As I near the completion my first Editioned Folio, Foundations, I now find myself thinking about the images that I made on the first two trips into China and what I may photograph on this next, and create another Editioned Folio about my China experiences. I need to name this Editioned Folio and while I am in PingHu or Shanghai, I will have another chop (stamp) made of the Chinese characters for the Folio title so that I can incorporate it into the Folio design. Sweet!
And I know that during that time in China, regretfully I will not have access to this blog. Double Darn.
Best regards, Doug
Palm Lane is another image that is being considered for my series Transitional Seam. And I find myself reconsidering what my intent is for this project as I keep proceeding. I had expected to create an equal amount of images of the new homes and businesses in this area. But lately it seems like I have become more of a preservationist of capturing (documenting? No I don’t think so) what is here now. But that is not my intent, rather I find my self extremely interested in the ‘western’ country look, the architecture, the context of the homes with the land and the feel for this area.
I also like the individuality of these homes and neighborhoods and lately the early morning and late afternoon light and the resulting forms and shapes that are created. Well, I am not going to re-write or edit my artist statement for this series just yet, but I am going to start penciling some more thoughts as I have here. Yeah, I do use a pencil, becasue I like the feel of it as I make a mark on paper. And yes, I did a lot of drawing before photography and that was what I did a lot of when I was very frustrated with photographic papers in the mid-1980’s. But I degress.
So I will take more photographs and do some more thinking about why I take the roads that I do and make the photographs I do. Anybody know a good shrink??
Best regards, Doug
Old Snow, Big Bear Mountain, 1978 (from the folio Foundations)
Well, slowly everything is coming together for my first folio. I have almost resolved the folio cover issue, as I will use the really nice folio cover from Light Impressions (LI). My hand made folio covers were really awful. Really Awful! As to how to identify the folio with the LI cover, I recalled the art pens for writing on material. The lenin material of the folio cover is fairly smooth, so should be okay for me to write directly on the folio cover. Now to figure out which color and pen tip style, but I am leaning towards a silver ink with the medium or fine tip. So in the next couple of days, I will be back at Aaron Brothers art store to consider my options.
I continue to update my web site with information about the folio, my reasons for making this folio in an Edition and making sure that the images of the folio have been updated to reflect how to best display the image. When I first developed my web site at the begining of the year, I was very inexperienced and since I have learned a couple of things of how to put my best foot forward regarding my image display.
I still continue to consider making the print size of the 7 x 9″ images (on 8-1/2 x 11″ rag) being only available through my folios.
As to the folio pricing, I am thinking that I want to make these more affordable as a collection of my work. And make the cost of the covers and the shipping inclusive of the folio price. I am also thinking that the first printing of the the Foundation First Edition Folio will probably be ten sets.
So now I am working on printing the artists proof (A/P) for the folio and making sure that the final presentation really reflects what I want to make available. When the A/P is done, then off to purchase the paper and order the folio covers and interleaving tissues. So this may be my printing project for that time between Christmas and New Years.
Thank you all for your support in this project, as the interest list for this Editioned Folio is growing!
Best regards, Doug
Pending Development is another image that I am considering for my series Transitional Seam.
Last week, I was driving around the Lake Elsinore area again, some what fasinated that near this large man-made lake that there are some very undeveloped areas, if not usually in some state of disrepair. In the neighboring Orange or San Diego Counties, this would be really prime property, with little area left to develop. Must be some other things going on here that are not readily apparent.
Best regards, Doug
This image is potentially going to be in my series Transitional Seam.
I have noticed that since returning from my recent trip, that I am starting posting an image a day and putting the words “Photo of the Day”, but then realized that was kinda of dumb. It is the photo that I blog that day, so no sense stating the obvious, thus I droped that part in my title.
And before my last extended trip, I was writing more about what I was experiencing with making the image or what it might mean to me. And I seemed to have stopped doing that too. I feel that I am in more of a “let me show you what I created, and then you decide what you feel and think about what this image means to you” mood. Then I go on to write something else without posting an image. Just some things that I am noticing recently.
Best regards, Doug
Lake Elsinore Heights (my name, maybe not their name for this hillside region overlooking Lake Elsinore in Riverside County) and this image is potentially going to be in my series Transitional Seam.
Best regards, Doug
Potentially in my series Transitional Seam.
As I contemplated an Editioned Folio as an alternative to my privately published book for Bad Trip – Sad Trip, it dawned on me that I have another option.
I have a number of images from my earlier landscape work, which dates between 1975 to 1985 that I have been thinking about lately. So why not make that my first folio? More about that soon, but I believe that I will name the body of work Foundations.
I think that a smaller 12 image project like this will be a better way to work out the Folio kinks versus a large series of 48 images like Bad Trip – Sad Trip.
And I realized that my web site and image files needed a Photoshop CS3 update and I wanted to give the folio images my current warm tone.
And now I need to think about e-commerce, probably PayPal, folio covers, pricing and all that good stuff;- )
Best regards, Doug
Opps! I forgot to state that this image, Icy Creek, Big Bear is one of 12 images that I am going to include in my Editioned folio Foundations.
From the series: Transitional Seam
