my favourite photographer and yet I do not have one of his books, and I have plenty of books.

Robert Frank took 27000 frames with his Leica for his book The Americans which contains 83 of those pictures.

I'll be back in a while, SoFoBoMo starts tomorrow.

"The American reading public is fast becoming not even a looking public, but a glancing or glimpsing public."
a quote from an essay by Lincoln Kirstein in American Photographs, Walker Evans, published in 1938.

available here, http://5b4.blogspot.com/ and very highly recommended. Having such close access to material like this is priceless.

I've been meaning to write about this book for a while but as usual other things always seem more important.

The book is a hardcover book with generous page sizes of 28cm x 28 inches, the well printed pages have a B&W picture per page of which there are just over 100 and each being 24cm along the longest edge. The book is just edging on the slightly to large size to hold comfortably while seated on the lounge but just right to have on the kitchen table, our kitchen table having more even lighting anyway so the place of choice for my picture book viewing.

As a part of a highschool project David and Peter took pictures, using one camera between the 2, of Mclellan Street and managed to capture a friendly neighbourhood, a place where friends play in the streets, neighbours swap gossip and live life through all of its sunny and rainy days.

There are many pictures of people that seem to have a relationship with the photographers even so David and Peter did not live in this neighborhood. Evidence of the comfortable relationship the brothers had with the people livin in the street is that pictures have been taken in front yards, inside peoples homes and from their upper windows of the street below.

While this book is about people living in a poor area it is not a book about poverty. The pictures show happy groups of people just getting on with life. If you are interested in pictures of people, pictures of life in public places (the street) this book should not be passed by.

As Mike Johnston has written, this is a book that every young photographers should take a look at.

Errata Editions have their first 4 books on books series published and are taking orders for the limited edition set.

If in Australia I'd suggest watching the exchange rate.

I'm keen to see the books.

Today I received a package from Jonathan of i like to tell stories. Jonathan asked me to send him a picture of the package when it arrived and with my wifes help we did just that.

LOL, he posted on his website today the picture I sent him, love it Jonathan, thanks.

More tomorrow on the contents of the package.

Kjell and I swapped prints 2 weeks ago and I received his print last week. It is a tranquil scene of ice, water and tree, it is a picture I wish I had taken.

Print swapping is something I have done in the past with other photographers and would like to continue doing. It seems that I stumble from time to time on a photographer that is willing to swap, several openly say they are willing to swap.
Since there is no print swap register that I know of (let me know if you know of one) so I thought I'd put in a brief list here.
Colin Jago
Lentic Photography
Eric Jeschke
If you know of other photographers then please comment here so I can add you to the list.
BTW, Robert Hoehne also print swaps.

As of issue 75 Lenswork will no longer sit on magazine stands at the newsagents, not that I have ever seen a copy in Australia on a newstand.
Looking at the Lenswork website they have a statement here.
You have to wonder how they will get new business but then I can across this sample offer. Amazingly you can order a copy of both the magazine and extended DVD for US$5, free shipping within the US. That is amazingly low.
If you want to see some of the best photographic printing and read about what it means to be a creative photographer then I would recommend at least one copy on your shelf.
Over time I have found that the better the printed pictures and books I have in my library the better my own prints have become.
As a side note, I have 4 copies extra that I am willing to sell, 3 no longer available as back issues. I have copies of 24, 38, 46 and 75 all in great condition.

from the yet to be printed book, Toowoon Bay.

So I have been thinking about the type of book I will be making for SoFoMoBo.

I am not totally new to the idea the of a book, it has been on my mind for a few months now. During 2007 I got to visit and stay on the central coast (Toowoon Bay) of NSW one night a week for work. During that time I amassed hundreds of pictures and sharing them with others seemed like a good idea and what better way than a book. The book is going to be 36 pictures in total, 36 being chosen because the Hahnemuhle photo albums were 40 pages in length. That allowed a title, introduction, index and colophon pages and 36 pictures.

The book size in this case was chosen by the default number of pages in the album, the layout and amount of pictures were chosen based on that as well. SoFoMoBo stipulates 35 pictures which is darn close to the 36 pictures for the Toowoon Bay book. So to quick track my decisions on the layout of the SoFoMoBo book I will follow the same layout as the yet to be printed Toowoon Bay book.

To share the book with everyone online there will be a pdf version made, it will be made first since that will be the only way you get to see it unless I ship paper copies to you. I was thinking of making the pdf version similar to the Lenswork pdf versions of their extended portfolios but those do not look like the printed version of Lenswork. It would work best if both versions had a similar feel and that if you read one version you get a very good idea of what the other is like.

Paul Butzi posted back in January the announcement of SoFoBoMo, Solo Photo Book Month. The idea carries on from similiar projects for novels and musicians.

I have known about this project probably since its announcement as I read Paul's site regularly. If it wasn't from there then many of the other authors of blogs that are on my daily web surf would have alerted me as many seem to have taken up the challenge.

Up until now the whole idea seemed a bit difficult, still does, but what the heck I'm taking up the challenge. What better time to take up a new challenge than when you have no time, many projects on for both work and home, no preparation, no plan, no idea. Should be quite a learning process!

Quite some time ago I worked within a company that got a new manager, nothing special about that but I remember him explaining why he asked so many questions. he said "I do not know what I do not know", a line I will never forget and is how I am feeling about this whole SoFoMoBo.

What will the 35 pictures be of that go in the book? what will be written in it? how will it be set out? what software to use? what format? what other questions should be asked when you start to create a book?

The project is a 31 day block starting April 1, 2008 and ends by May 31, 2008, There had better be some answers forming for those questions soon.

Mike Johnston on his TOP site has mentioned the book today as well under What Leicas Do.

"after half a century, it remains seminal, original, darkly lyrical, instructive, subversive, eloquent, heartbreaking, harsh, I hope no longer controversial"

There is nothing I can add to that except how much I enjoy the book.

I was lucky enough to be able to buy the book The Americans by Robert Frank recently, it arrived 2 weeks ago and I have been enjoying it so much. The pictures are fantastic, gritty views of American life in the mid 1950s.

An article on Robert Frank came my way today which I read enthusiastically wanting to know more about Robert and his pictures.

28,000 pictures taken from 1955 to 1956 while traveling across America on a Guggenheim grant, a final edit of 83 for the book. That is over 350 pictures taken for each one selected. I don't feel so bad now when I take many pictures only to have a handful that work.

And when it comes to the recent spate of stories of photographers being harrassed for just being a photographer, here, here and here and comparing it to Robert being jailed and run out of town for just taking pictures, sounds like not much has changed at all in 50 years.

What do you do with your prints? I've wondered what I should do with all of mine, they are everywhere. I have a draw in my office full of prints, a plastic bag with more and a box in the garage as well. That is not counting all of those I have made that are hanging around the house.
A lot of them I have printed for local competitions, they may or may not have received an award, and then they are shoved in storage. I'm sure a lot I won't see again for a year or two, maybe more. That begs the question of whether they were good enough in the first place.
A fellow photographer I spoke to about the this subject suggested I pack them off to friends and realtives as surprise gifts. The receiver is happy because you thought of them and I regain storage space for some other dust collecting items.

On Douglas Stockdale's blog here he has mentioned a group he is involved with that exchange pictures.
I tried something similiar within a club here in Sydney but it was not an organised event and relied on an interested party asking a photographer for a print swap. An organised event sounds like a great way to get people together and discuss pictures and have the opportunity to own someone elses print.
If anyone in the Sydney region is interested in such an event I'd be happy to organise a venue and date, get in touch and let me know.