Book design in progress: Flow of Light Brush the Shadow

Untitled (PingHu) copyright 2008 Douglas Stockdale

I have completed the first edit for my photobook project Flow of Light Brush the Shadows and have embarked into the early stages of developing the book dummy. Thus I am giving a lot of consideration to sequencing and image pairing to establish the flow or narrative aspects of the book. For this investigation of memory & dreams I want to incorporate gate-folds into the design of this book. For some reason, the first set of gate-folds was just very obvious to me, almost like a no-brainer. The second set was not initially as obvious, but while being open to this design element, it seemed that the a specific pair of images worked in a similar way. So now I am looking for a third set, but I want to add a slight twist to it.

I guess that this is about when I should also be starting my interest list for those who want to acquire this photobook project when it is published. This may help me with targeting the quantity of books for the first run, whether this should be 100, 300 or more. So leave me a comment as to your interest and we will see where this goes.

cheers!

Project feedback

Untitled (JiaShan) copyright 2008 Douglas Stockdale

While at the LA Art Book Fair yesterday, I used a page from my own photobook development workshop, that is to obtain feedback from somebody you trust to review a project that is in progress.

I belive that an artists needs to obtain some self-checks during the concept development process. First is an idea bounce, does it seem congruent? Then time to work the concept, but then later some checks and feedback during the process; am I hitting my mark (intent)? For the concept I am developing is the work consistent with that concept? Sometimes I become too insular and perhaps while working on a project, the work starts to drift and all of sudden I realize that I am not where I thought I wanted to be. BTW, that can also be a good thing, so I don’t discount the muddling process of development, sometimes that can be essential part of the investigation.

And the feedback was very positive, so I am continuing to develop my concept for Flow of Light Brush the Shadow. In fact I am writing this while the printer hummmms in the background for some new prints for this project.

BTW one of the other reasons for attending the LA Art Book Fair (yes, I did bring back to the studio another arm full of photobooks, darn) was discussing with various publishers the projects that they have in progress to determine if there is a fit with my current project. Perhaps, as I realize that the concept of my project is dead-on with what the contemporary publishers are considering, but my photographic process is not.

Cheers!

Photobook design

Ciociaria copyright 2011 Douglas Stockdale published by Edizioni Punctum

I recently read a post from another photographer asking other photographers if they have any regrets with a photobook that they published. For me, three small details come to mind that I wish I could retrospectively tweak. 

First I would like to have listed my web site in the credits and regretfully I was offered a chance to edit this and I missed it. My bad.

Second, I should have deviled into more about how this project was a part of my ongoing investigation into memory and its preservation. As I wrote my essay, I have only myself to blame for what was stated. My advice, if you are considering the publication of a project and you intend to include your own essay, start developing it early, such that you have time to allow to mature. Then have others read it and provide feedback as to the message they perceive. (Yep, I did not do that well enough, as I had only one review of my written narrative).

Third and last, both Marco and I should have also taken credit for the design of this photobook. Marco agreed to this project while looking at my early galleries, but it was my book dummy that sold the final publishing, a direct reflection of my editing, image pairing and sequencing. For the final book design, fortunately I was provided the opportunity to again provide image pairing and probably 80% of the image sequencing, as Marco concentrated on the leading and first quarter of the photographs in the book’s photographic sequence. As you might suspect, photographers are not always allowed a say in the book design process by a vast number of publishers.

It was also my idea for the page layout for the paired photographs, with the left image surrounded by traditional white margins and the facing photograph a full bleed. For the pairings, I was able to provide changes as to which photographs were paired up and which side of the spread the photographs were positioned. I was able to provide input, if not approval, of the book cover and dust jacket design and graphics. Lastly, I also had a say in how the images were cropped if that became necessary, as it did with all of the full-page bleed photographs. So perhaps I was a bit shy about suggesting this change in the design credits, but looking back, I think that being listed as a part of the design team would have been fair.

I suspect that I will get these parts correct for my next book, but I will probably miss something else. Meanwhile as I work on my current photobook project, I have the book design that I want well in mind.

Cheers!

OCCCA Exhibition catalog available

copyright the artists, 2013 published by Orange County Center for Contemporary Art (OCCCA)

When I arrived at the OCCCA to pick up my framed photograph that was in the “Give Us Your Best Shot” exhibition, I found that an exhibition catalog was published and available. In due fashion, the catalog has the photographers listed alphabetically with their exhibition photograph and a brief statement. Nice.

The stiff cover catalog is available for $10.00 from OCCCA. As a photobook reviewer, I would have preferred that they included the date the catalog was published, the exhibition dates and perhaps some information about the theme of the exhibition.

But then again, this is my first publication for 2013, a great start for the new year.

Cheers

Photographic Abstraction

Untitled (RSM) copyright 2007 Douglas Stockdale

Okay, I started to write about abstract photography as it might relate to my image above, then I realize that all I was writing was bull dung. So I deleted it. All photographs are abstract. period.

This is an image that I made to investigate memory and probably appears “more” abstract than some of the others, in that it is more challenging for the viewer to read. Now my question is how does it fit within my project “Flow of Light Brush the Shadow”?

Perhaps a little more ambiguous than some of the other photographs for this project but at the early stage of my investigation, I think pushing the boundaries is fine.

Cheers!

Allowing a concept to develop

untitled (Riverside) copyright 2007  Douglas Stockdale

Always interesting to me as to if you allow an idea or concept to develop, what might become of it. A case in point was the project I was working on in China at the end of 2007 then became a means to a process that I continued to employ elsewhere.

In China, they do not allow non-locals to drive, thus you can not obtain an Avis or Hertz rental, but rely on either a taxi or obtain a car & driver. Maybe obvious, but in China if you are unable to read the Chinese characters (no English alternatives), you will become total lost, like in a New York minute. So I joined a car pool with my client and finally started taking photographs from through the windows at the back of the van. Nice thing about digital, immediate feedback! And although at times the resulting photographs appeared kinda abstract, the results were interesting. So I continued experimenting, adding a 2x and 3x neutral density filter to extend the exposure durations.

I then decided to continue this experimentation on another project that I was working on in the Inland Empire of SoCal, specifically along the I-15 in Riverside and the adjacent small towns.

Cheers!

Open to Serendipity

America, My Way copyright 2012 Matej Sitar

Perhaps without seeming too glib, but being open to chance and serendipity may as easy as keeping an open mind. I wish it were that easy.

This past weekend, there was a convergence of serendipity that it was even hard for me to miss. As I wrote yesterday, I have been working on one of projects that examine memory and its preservation, while this particular project seemed to expanding on how memory may be linked to dreams. Just as I was to depart for PhotoLA for the day, Matej Sitar’s America, My Way arrived. The quick essence is that Sitar is investigating a journey, but with three possibilities in three books that can also be mashed up to create additional narratives. Very cool and I immediately knew that this publication would require more time.

Then arriving at PhotoLA, I spend time with John Jenkins, publisher of Decode Books and one of his new books was an investigation that was in three phases, similar to chapters without the obvious markings and text that asserted this. Although this book was interesting and presented me with another option, it also gave me pause to think more about Sitar’s book as a more elegant and conceptual solution.

Right after my discussion with Jenkins, I ran into Chris Pritcher at his Nazraeli Press booth who was pretty excited about his new book series: 6×6. Essentially six boxes of books with 6 books per box, each box of books encased in a slip cover, each book by a different photographer.

hmmmm. So here I was with two, if not three, different ways I was investigating memory based on my time in China. It was becoming obvious to me that rather than one book with a really odd mash-up, breaking my concept into two or three books similar to Sitar’s was a plausible solution. So I am now re-editing this body of work to how this might look. And so far, so good. nice.

Cheers

Synthesis – allowing a concept to simmer

Untitled (LianYunGang) copyright 2007 Douglas Stockdale

I will have to admit; I have been allowing the work that I completed in China a few years ago to simmer for some time. I sometimes take a little longer duration to sort out how I want to present one of my conceptual investigations. Looking at my body of work from this period, it appears a little divergent and at odds, a mashup of sharply focused photographs amongst some very blurry photographs, with an ambiguous undercurrent with all of them. To help sort out my concept, I journey about them here, with the act of writing as part of my process.

As a result, sometimes it all kinda of gels, as this project seems to have this past weekend. Part internalization, part discussion, part observing and then serendipity seems to provide the glue. Not very rational, but I try to remain open to the process.

cheers

Memories & Dreams – #3079

Untitled (XiTang) copyright 2008 Douglas Stockdale

My photographs are my memories. At the time of exposure, this is not what I actually saw but much closer to what I was feeling in the moment. Over time this blurred image has become more closely aligned with my indistinct memory of this time and place.

It appears real to me.

Cheers

Memories & Dreams #1731

Untitled (PingHu) copyright 2008 Douglas Stockdale

As a photographer, I sometimes wonder that if in the process of capturing images, I sear these images into my cranium, creating a memory and subsequent dreams?

The photograph above, although I can’t associate it with any specific dream, is an image that I can easily recall. This was a city sculpture that announced that you had arrived at PingHu (China), which was in the late stages of construction. When we earlier drove past this location late in the morning, there would be a fascinating array of workers climbing this structure, reminding me of an image that Hiroshi Watanabe had published in his book “Findings”. Nevertheless, the following morning it was early enough that the workers were not yet crawling on the scaffolds and we passed close enough for me to create this relatively distorted and ambigious composition.

Now I am unsure of which project to associate it with, but I do feel confident that it will find a nice home.

Cheers