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"There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs."
--Ansel Adams
While digital photography has lessened our tactile relationship with prints, it has also opened up new creative avenues for displaying our most beloved shots. Though our fingers rarely touch actual prints nowadays, our desire for sharing photos has only intensified. And the desire to not only share photographs but present them, has risen substantially.
One of the the most exciting online photo sharing tools to arrive on the scene is undoubtedly self-published photography books. Sites like Shutterfly, MyPublisher, BookSurge and others bring us back around to our tactile roots and let’s face it, the unequivocal thrill of seeing one's images on a printed page has never lost its thrill. Holy cow, where was this software when Kramer wanted to published a coffee table book featuring coffee tables?!?
When it comes to creating true bookstore-quality photography books, Blurb tops the list. It caters more to the professional photography, those who aspire to be and includes artists and hobbyists who relish a self-challenge. Blurb’s free software helps users with selecting design layout, provides low cost printing and provides an online store where folks can sell their bound brilliance.
To highlight “the modern photography book movement” Blurb is hosting a competition focused on these homemade photo books. They are not messing around here – forget about free t-shirts and canvas tote bags, first prize is $25,000. Plus, the winning photo books will be part of an exhibition stopping in San Francisco, New York, London and Cologne, Germany. No word yet on who sits on the jury but it will be led by Darius Himes, the founding editor of “photo-eye Booklist,” a magazine about photography books. There is a $35 entry fee per submission and the deadline is July 14, 2008.
There are two award categories:
General Photography Book: Portfolios, retrospectives - anything at all. This category is meant to “celebrate the sheer diversity of the photographic medium” while allowing for lots of flexibility to create.
Themed Photography Book: Focus on a specific topic, a concept or theme and tell a story. This category aims to appreciate “the photography book as an experience that is more than the sum of its parts.”
In an interview with the sharp-eyed folks at Photopreneur, Blurb’s founder and CEO, Eileen Gittins, explained:
“It’s a chance for people to think about their work differently in the context of a book – then be celebrated for their creativity. We’re looking for the high-end enthusiast photographers all the way up through the working professional. Fine art students are welcome too… If photography is your day job or you wish that it could be, submit a book and best of luck!”
Meanwhile, our very own Deb Roby doesn’t bother with formal competitions, she's too busy setting up challenges for herself. A crafty type if ever there was one, Deb took a walk one day and was sideswiped by an idea: The Sidewalk Series. Here are the basic rules:
- Take a photo of something you see from the sidewalk - something that may hint at the person who lives in the house.
- Do not step off the sidewalk to improve the composition. (Harder than it sounds, she assures me.)
Give it a try. I plan to. Just one question – what about driveways? They’re kind of an extension of sidewalks, right? I’m just saying, concrete is concrete … See? This is why I never win competitions – I CHEAT.
So, how did you spend February? Anything to show for it? Yeah, me neither. Some of those brilliant, crafty types, like Jessica over at SeedPod, got busy:
“Since February is the shortest month of the year I thought I could try my hand at my own project– a photo a day for the whole month. But, these won’t just be any photos. Though I love finding beauty in the everyday, I really want to put my collections of bird’s nests, seedpods, rocks, shells and sticks to use … I really love arranging my little treasures. So, what I’m going to do is set up a still life every day and take its picture. The one rule is that one object in each little set-up has to carry over to the next day. I’m excited to see how things evolve, and hopefully I learn a bit more about all those buttons on the back of my camera.”
Jessica’s shots of
