I went through the business with Lulu of creating a calendar yesterday - just a quick run through only uploading one image - but it does seem pretty straight forward. Now - what to call it and what images to select?
It's tempting to just put images that relate to the season as a first go round:
I sort of wanted to call it: A Season In Hell (Rimbaud) but thought better of it. Though that might be the second calendar. I also ordered someone's b&w calendar so I could see what it looks like (which was stupid since I could have made my own and ordered it).
Of course they've got two types: premium and regular (gas pump analogy) and I'm going full hog for the premium one first. Might as well start at the to and work my way down.
You get into the usual funk about what to call it, but at least you've only got 12 images to select assuming that you use one of the monthly images for the cover.
Look - at some point - after I reach a quarter of a million page views per month (which will be soon) without making money - I'm going to get myself a nice hot-dog stand in Central Park - and hang my pictures or books or calendars from the awning. And if anyone asks about buying one - I'm going to say - oh well - you see they're not for sale anymore. I've become a Zen hot-dog vendor. I will concentrate fully on the making of your hotdog. Do you wish mustard on that?
What, hotdog vendor - you can't make any more? Not for sale!
No, sir. You see these hotdogs, sir. Each one is made with the same rapt attention that I once put into images. However, these sell better. Go ahead, try one. Come back soon.
I digress - so calendar names. Should be easy enough:
NEW YORK - 2006 - Central Park Edition
NEW YORK - 2006 - People Edition
NEW YORK - 2006 - A Season in Hell (Photographer's Edition)
NEW YORK - 2006 - Papaya King (Gourmand Edition)
NEW YORK - 2006 - Pet Edition
NEW YORK - 2006 - The Winter Edition - just people suffering in the snow
Now I'm not sure about this - legally - but you might be able to use a line from a popular song for captions - and maybe the lawyers out there would know - just one line per picture. Something from Dylan would be first of course: "I'm walkin' down streets with no names..."
Stuff like that. It's endless. Let's see what I come up with. It is one of the pleasures of all this - how you have to keep coming up with ideas to stay afloat - and that some of those ideas are exciting. I think I first learned photography by studying a very good quality Ansel Adams calendar.
Sometimes - it feels like you're standing still, not making any forward progress - only to discover when you look back that you were in fact speeding along at the time.
4 comments:
I guess there are poet's in public domain that I could resort to: the bard had a couple of good zingers that might work for me. Or will Will's descendents sue me?
When you puncture me - do I not deflate like the other bubbles?
Barrett - when you order a Zen hotdog, you get what you already have. Nothing more. Nothing less.
Thanks Jeff. I'm startig to come out of the funk I've been in for the last couple of weeks. You can't tell from the journal probably - but I let off a lot of steam here.
The truth is that I probably need a partner who would handle the marketing aspects of this - and allow me to concentrate on shooting and printing, but I don't see that happening. These types of people are called "agents."
The other plan is to get all my friends to strip and ride the 6 train naked and photograph them. I'm sure that would give me some major publicity.
Looking for volunteers now :)
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