Shelfies… an eclectic mix:
I have always loved books – another trait I gained from my Father, former Head of English and former Headmaster who collected T.E. Lawrence 1st Editions. He used to read Tolkien’s books to me at bedtime when I was a child, and as a result I now collect Tolkien 1st Editions – somewhat of a costly hobby! The ‘shelfies’ activity reflects some of my passion for books and publications.
I absolutely love producing publications and have a number under my belt, primarily related to the school at which I work. I am very much a control freak where this is concerned, insisting on handling every single part of the process up until I hand over the publishable PDF to one of my trusted commercial printers. The most recent work was for a school trip to South Africa – I am already working on the 2019 edition having overlooked Apartheid and a section on reptiles in this one: South African Adventure
Time willing, my project will feature a publication either as a guide to compliment an exhibition, and/or a tourist guide to the stained glass of Oxford chapels. While there are two out of print similar publications, it seems about time for something more up-to-date. The 1979 publication contains no images and the 1994 publication has rather too many tiny images – albeit of pleasingly good quality.
Of course, today a publication does not have to be a physical entity and Oxford already has a number of self-guided tours driven by mobile phones:
Perhaps this is a more sensible route to take where a tourist guide is concerned, saving on having to rely upon outlets stocking and selling a guide book. The advantage of using a mobile device is that it can manage the navigation from location to location: too few people seem to cope with printed maps!
Whatever publication path I decide to follow, I will want to produce something that is well designed and pleasing on the eye. I see neither point nor reason for a poorly produced publication.
It would make sense for a tourist guide to follow a sensible trail, minimising the distances involved (not that these are huge) and maximising the visual impact both in terms of the book and the chapels. This would be an occasion to omit less appealing locations – not least because it would take many hours to visit all 40+ chapels!
I have yet to carry out the Week 7 Forum: Sorting Images mini-project, but hope that I might have a moment to address this prior to the submission deadline.
I hardly need any opportunity to prompt me to create a publication, so it has always been a plan to follow that route as at least part of my project. Rationalising the various options has proved helpful. Most of my publications have been perfect bound which looks very tidy as a finished article, but is definitely not the best solution should a double page spread be desired as it is difficult to open such a book flat. Careful consideration will be needed as to the size and format of any publication.
Photographic work for my project development during Week 7 has been non-existent as a result of being located in South Africa. Further information HERE.
I want you think about who your audience and your market are. Are they the same? If you haven’t got a market yet, think about who you want your future market to be. For this week’s forum I want you to sell one picture, in whatever way. You might sell an image through a picture library, a print to a relative or a stranger on the street, or a current affairs image to a newspaper.
Use the space below to tell us more about how you chose the image, how you sold it and how you negotiated its value / price.
Anna-Maria Pfab
The Photography Show always brings welcome opportunities. One I always appreciate is the ability to have 24″ prints produced FOC by a number of companies selling their printing technologies. At this year’s show, I took the opportunity to experiment with different paper types in order to identify the print solution most appropriate to my stained glass images. Consequently I have a couple surplus, identical, high quality archive prints, each on a different paper type. Having helped me to decide upon the preferred paper, these duplicates now serve no sensible purpose. Not wanting to jump into more significant marketing just yet, it is these two prints that I shall proffer for sale… with all monies being profit, in this instance, I have nothing to lose!
Perhaps a little bit of a cop out, but they are each perfectly good, archive quality prints that deserve more than to sit in a portfolio folder.
Additionally, the image predates my current Research Project portfolio (albeit featuring a window that I will inevitably revisit before too long) and can definitely be improved upon in the future.
As you have heard in this week’s lectures, the markets for photography have changed and are rapidly continuing to do so. For this week’s activity, please imagine you are able to erase all of your knowledge and ideas about how to present a photograph or a photo story. You have never heard about newspapers and magazines or prints and photo books. But you have a brilliant photograph, or photo story, and you want it to be seen. So you will need to find a new way of communicating this to a chosen audience.
First, ask yourself which audience you want to reach – this can be anything from another country to your family. Then, think about the most effective and innovative way to bring your image or story to that audience. A few things are now allowed: you are not allowed to make prints, you are not allowed to make a publication, and you are not allowed to publish it in a magazine or newspaper. And you also cannot publish it online.
Try to find a new way of distributing your image or story: everything else is allowed, from peanut butter jars to license plates.
Anna-Maria Pfab
This is going to take quite a bit of off-piste effort to sort out and is thanks to a fantastic idea from Tessa Huff: Stained Glass Cookies
A discussion with our Head Chef has ensured that this is the most appropriate recipe. However, the images are stock and do not compliment directly my particular field of stained glass windows. It is my hope to produce some cookies of a more appropriate and fitting design in due course. My concept for this challenge is to produce a number of small card boxes containing a number of cookies of a design befitting stained glass windows – ideally linked directly to the image being marketed. The box would be printed as an advertisement for my image. The boxes could then be left in the reception area of an appropriate location (be it the Porter’s Lodge of one of the Oxford Colleges, for example).
Stained Glass Sugar Cookie Recipe
& 200g bag boiled sweets (Fox’s Glacier Fruit, for example) for the ‘glass’.
© Food Network Canada (2018) filling-stained-glass-cookies-with-candy
© Food Network Canada (2018) stained-glass-cookies-on-tray
© Food Network Canada (2018) Stained-Glass-sugar-Cookies-on-plate