6/27/2006
6/26/2006
Coney Island, Rain
"I have had my fun
And if I never get well no more
I have had my fun
And if I never get well no more
Yes my health is fading on me
Yes, I'm goin' down slow"
Howlin' Wolf, 1964 Goin' Down Slow
And if I never get well no more
I have had my fun
And if I never get well no more
Yes my health is fading on me
Yes, I'm goin' down slow"
Howlin' Wolf, 1964 Goin' Down Slow
6/25/2006
6/24/2006
Mermaids and More
Turned out to be an excellent day for shooting at Mermaid Day. First I visited the ocean and it was nice and misty. I shot a lot with the red filter. The parachute jump had been painted bright red. Maybe it was that way last year but I didn't notice. Lots of crusty characters around. Fortunately, the roller coaster wasn't running so I didn't take my ride. The train ride out was fruitful, as was the ride back. All in all - a magical day.
6/23/2006
Prints on Display
30 of my prints have been installed at the Palace Restaurant - 2nd floor - 122 East 57th street. I had lunch there today and took a few shots which I'll post after the weekend. This is not exactly gallery representation - but they looked damned good. In case you do stop by - they are not on the Silver Rag paper. I didn't have enough of it at the time - but either on Ilford Pearl or Epson Luster.
6/21/2006
Cinematographer
In 1982 I worked as an all around production assistant, bag carrier, dolly-pusher etc. on a film called Wild Style. It was produced / directed by Charlie Ahearn - and mostly shot in the Bronx. There was a lot of work done in small hip-hop clubs and this is a shot of one of the cinematographers - John Foster. The film was either the first or one of the first films to combine tagging and rap. I can assure you that I had no idea that it would document something that would go on and on...
You can read more about the film here: IMDB.
I did take pictures of the rappers and writers - but where they are - no idea. Fab Five Freddy gave me a nickname of "Animal" which stuck with me for a few other films. Animal was the slovenly photographer on the Lou Grant show. And as was - and still is - usual for me - I had grown a scruffy beard by the end of the shoot and wasn't very good about wearing fresh clothing.
You can read more about the film here: IMDB.
I did take pictures of the rappers and writers - but where they are - no idea. Fab Five Freddy gave me a nickname of "Animal" which stuck with me for a few other films. Animal was the slovenly photographer on the Lou Grant show. And as was - and still is - usual for me - I had grown a scruffy beard by the end of the shoot and wasn't very good about wearing fresh clothing.
6/20/2006
Bookbinding Fini
Also - as an aside - Hahnemuhle has a new paper out: Fine Art Pearl 285gsm (another let's emulate a darkroom fiber print paper). I'm very happy with the Museo Silver Rag - but frankly the more the merrier. Maybe that will drive prices down. You're talking about a buck fifty per letter-size sheet for the Hahnemuhle Pearl. Ah - the niche market. When we (the inkjet people) take over the world - we will abolish glossy paper and force the world to conform to our traditional fiber print-looking ways.
* * *
I have come to the end of this adventure. My conclusion is that it is going to be very expensive and time-consuming to make a high-quality inkjet photo book with say 40 - 75 photographs. It can be done on a limited basis as a prototype to show a prospective publisher, or as a portfolio - or for the wedding couple, but to do this in any quantity for selling to the public is too expensive.
Whether you use the Innova Opus Album, or the new Hahnemuhle Album (which I can't find in the states), or just buy a beautiful scrapbook and paste your pictures on it - you are making something to show your art or ideas to a couple of people.
When you introduce fine-art inkjet printing with hardcover bookbinding - if you include the labor - makes the book way too expensive to sell - unless it's just a small album book with 20 or so prints in it.
So for me - I think the idea is to make prototypes of books - postbound so the pages can be changed around - and see if I can interest a publisher.
Maybe the secret is to just buy a three-ring binder, I've got a nice hole-punch, and just put them in there. In other words, don't try to look like a "real" book. The spiral or the 3-ring binder is actually the best way to view many prints in a certain order. I could even get those little ring reinforcements. And sell each as a one-of-a-kind item.
And with that said - I will go back to my usual line of work - making photographic prints.
* * *
p.s. The process reminds me of the time when I was making hand-assembled photo cards. They were very nice. I sold them at about $4.50 each, which was the most anyone would pay for them. It was a tedious process, but you could somehow convince yourself that it was worth your while when there were only a couple of orders. And one day an order comes in for 700 or 1500 cards. I don't remember the exact number but it was large. and there I sat for the next 2 or 3 weeks making cards. When the cards were finished; and I had switched during the process from one broken printer to one that was working; and filled the house with cards that were drying and flattening under weights; and that some were sticking together because the glue hadn't been put on right; when everything was straightened out - I sat down and figured out that my profit was about half the current minimum wage.
This latest project has the same feel about it. Do it as a means of presenting your ideas to someone, but not as a sellable item (unless you find out that you are indeed famous. You'll know that if other photographers are interested in getting shots of your newborn baby).
* * *
I have come to the end of this adventure. My conclusion is that it is going to be very expensive and time-consuming to make a high-quality inkjet photo book with say 40 - 75 photographs. It can be done on a limited basis as a prototype to show a prospective publisher, or as a portfolio - or for the wedding couple, but to do this in any quantity for selling to the public is too expensive.
Whether you use the Innova Opus Album, or the new Hahnemuhle Album (which I can't find in the states), or just buy a beautiful scrapbook and paste your pictures on it - you are making something to show your art or ideas to a couple of people.
When you introduce fine-art inkjet printing with hardcover bookbinding - if you include the labor - makes the book way too expensive to sell - unless it's just a small album book with 20 or so prints in it.
So for me - I think the idea is to make prototypes of books - postbound so the pages can be changed around - and see if I can interest a publisher.
Maybe the secret is to just buy a three-ring binder, I've got a nice hole-punch, and just put them in there. In other words, don't try to look like a "real" book. The spiral or the 3-ring binder is actually the best way to view many prints in a certain order. I could even get those little ring reinforcements. And sell each as a one-of-a-kind item.
And with that said - I will go back to my usual line of work - making photographic prints.
* * *
p.s. The process reminds me of the time when I was making hand-assembled photo cards. They were very nice. I sold them at about $4.50 each, which was the most anyone would pay for them. It was a tedious process, but you could somehow convince yourself that it was worth your while when there were only a couple of orders. And one day an order comes in for 700 or 1500 cards. I don't remember the exact number but it was large. and there I sat for the next 2 or 3 weeks making cards. When the cards were finished; and I had switched during the process from one broken printer to one that was working; and filled the house with cards that were drying and flattening under weights; and that some were sticking together because the glue hadn't been put on right; when everything was straightened out - I sat down and figured out that my profit was about half the current minimum wage.
This latest project has the same feel about it. Do it as a means of presenting your ideas to someone, but not as a sellable item (unless you find out that you are indeed famous. You'll know that if other photographers are interested in getting shots of your newborn baby).
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