Tell The World - Electronic Format

Here is the finished electronic book for the 2008 SoFoBoMo Project… Things didn’t work out the way I had really hoped, but this is just a beginning. I’m going to start on another book project in the next few days that will hopefully be much better based on what I have learned from this one.

Problems I encountered during this process:

1. When I discovered ISSUU via Gordon McGregor, I quickly learned that I wanted to use it. THAT little thought really caused me to ruin the design of my book for the most part. I had used drop shadows and some other effects that were not compatible with the format required to post on the ISSUU website.

HERE are my original photo designs before I stripped them down to become compatible with ISSUU.

2. Microsoft Word is not a bad tool, but I need to do my design work in something more robust for this type of project. I can’t afford to purchase expensive software. I have the latest version of Microsoft Office (Ultimate 2007) that I got through a student program for $60, and it includes Microsoft Publisher, so I might explore that avenue for the next project. Programs like Adobe Indesign or Quark Express are just out of my reach, as nice as it would be to have them in my posession.

3. It would be really nice to own Adobe Acrobat also for the purpose of making the PDF files. The freeware PDF tools are not quite up to par for making exactly what you want, but they can be poked and prodded to get something close in most cases.

In reality, I need to spend about $1200 on software if self-publishing books is going to become a preferred method of leaving my footprint on the third stone from the sun…

I finished my project. I have learned a lot of things during this process.

#1 - I can’t really do this the way I would like to without spending a lot of money on software.

#2 - I’m not as happy with my finished product as I had hoped to be.

One of the things I tend to do as a photographer is envision my finished photograph before I start shooting it so I can have a goal during the process. I had envisioned what I wanted this project to be, and my result is not entirely what I had hoped for. The good news is that during this process, I was shown some other similar ideas being done elsewhere, and I do want to try some variations on this theme that should produce more of the result I was looking for here.

The other good news is that I enjoyed this process. I’m not actually finished with this book, because I do intend to publish it as a printed hard copy. But as far as the SoFoBoMo project is concerned, this one is a wrap.

By the time this project comes around again next year, I’ll have a lot more knowledge about the design workup and what its going to take to do that part of it without breaking my bank :)

I’ll post the finished product soon….

Here we go! My SoFoBoMo book project is underway as of today. I actually started working on the project this afternoon and some during the evening. As shown above, I made my front cover design, which is quite simple. Simple will suit the theme of this book very well since photographic impact is not my objective. Hopefully there will be some interesting photos in the book, but fine art photography is not my objective. Hopefully this idea will start to come together as the photos are made.

I also wrote the introduction for the book tonight… Here is that part:

********

I N T R O D U C T I O N

Photography is an intriguing hobby. There are so many scopes of interest within the craft that it’s difficult to classify photographers into categories of subject and style. As dedicated photographers, we will examine many subjects and themes as we explore our interests and search for our personal direction. Over time, we find the subjects that inspire us the most and generally dedicate more time and effort to them.

Once we really understand our personal interests in photography, we begin to collect equipment and accessories required for the pursuit. We may spend thousands of dollars on cameras and lenses. A suitable tripod rig may cost in excess of $500. As we all know, equipment and supplies required for the pursuit of hobbies and professional interests are always relatively expensive. In the digital photography age, we are on a constant quest for more megapixels, faster lenses, advanced image processing software, and anything else that makes us feel better about what we are doing. After all the new and shiny toys are in our possession, we still lack one important item, and that is the knowledge of which direction and when to point the camera. The most expensive gear in the world won’t give us that critical bit of information. We are left on our own. We must learn to see through the lens. We must learn what constitutes a great photographic image. The two very basic elements that seem to define great are what and when. There are many additional concepts for consideration, but my personal belief is that if the what and when are not solid, nothing else really matters. Since our idea of photography has been around since the mid-1800s, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to find unique subject material. A lot of photographers tend to duplicate images they have seen before rather than to explore new ground. Exploring new ground often becomes difficult when a particular scene or subject has been photographed by many photographers over long periods of time.

During the short time I have been involved in the hobby of photography, my personal interests have jumped around quite a bit, but I believe I’m starting to settle in to some interesting subject material. I have spent a great deal of time learning technical and aesthetic issues through duplicating existing images and techniques. I’m comfortable with my knowledge of how the camera works and how images are created. I have photographed landscapes, still life, water splashes, and a lot of other stereotypical subjects. Each of these subjects can appear as a new image by photographing them at different times, from different perspectives, and in different light. What doesn’t change much between all those images is the underlying theme. What you see in the image doesn’t really change.

People, on the other hand, are in a constant state of change. You can photograph the same person time after time and get completely different images. Inanimate subjects only have a limited ability to emote. Most of my favorite photographs throughout the history of photography involve people in one way or another. Most of them are people who are not famous and have no real legacy beyond the moment in time in which they were captured by a photographer. Most of them are photojournalistic in their storytelling abilities. Most of them stir my emotions in ways that transcend the actual subject.

One of the more fascinating aspects of these various people photographs that I love so much is that the actual capture of the images was not dependent upon specialized camera equipment, lighting, composition, or technique. Their primary strength is the decisive moment… being in the right place at the right time… being ready to go with the camera. Sometimes, the simple snapshots are interesting in the same way, which brings me to the purpose of this project.

SoFoBoMo

The Solo Photo Book Month project was introduced by Paul Butzi in his blog on January 18th, 2008. After reading through the idea, I decided to participate. The idea behind the project is to create 35 images and publish them electronically or in book format in a 31-day period. The ultimate publish would be a printed book, which my project will include, but the required publish, if not a printed book, is a PDF file for sharing online. The project has no specific theme other than 35 images, 31 days, and a published product. The 35 images must be created within the 31-day period, and that 31-day period must start no earlier than April 1, 2008 and no later than May 31, 2008. I have chosen a specific theme for my project called Tell The World. I toyed with a similar idea once before, but was unable to complete it due to time restraints and other commitments. I’m resurrecting the idea for the SoFoBoMo project. The idea behind this project is rather simple. I find people who are willing to participate and give them a white board with a dry erase marker. I’ll be asking each participant the following question:

What short statement would you make if you knew the entire world was listening?

Each participant will write their statement on the white board with the dry erase marker and then pose for an impromptu photograph holding their sign.

John M. Setzler, Jr. – April 1, 2008

********

I have also written up my model release and information sheet that I’ll be giving participants. Even though there isn’t much to actually see yet, I have done a good bit of work on this today…