Black & White Photos of New York

I was down on 34th to buy ink for the 7800 (ugh - $750 worth of ink) and here was this shot. When you’re shooting sometimes you tap the nail in quickly - one shot - and then figure you’ll get a chance for another few taps but the bucket was moving, and although I tried moving to line it up again with the Empire State it never happened. So this is the first tap of the nail - so to speak.

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I receive a lot of e-mails with similar sentiments - but there was something about this one that I thought was worth posting:

Mr Beckerman,
I would like to congratulate you for your talent. You know how to see things and people should pay more attention to what is around us just like you do. I know I have no experience and I am only 18 years old but I’m impressed by your work. I don’t know if you read your emails but thank you for bringing more beauty in this world.
Aida

Or: Another couple on another corner.

It’s online now. Hasn’t been shipped yet - but here it is. (Click to view).

I don’t know man - sometimes this just seems like a crazy way of living. If you go back into subway history, there was a time when they had “pushers” to cram you in. I think this still exists in some foreign cities. It can’t be good for you. Early on - I experienced a fear of crowds - especially on the subway.

You’d be crammed in there and the train stops between stations and you can’t move. Start to sweat. Get nice and clammy. And I’d think I was going to faint. If I did faint, I wouldn’t be able to fall so that part was okay.

I was cured by doing all the photography on the subway and would suggest it as a cure for anyone else who has this subway-phobia. Photographing your fear is a great way to remove yourself from the situation. This was pretty much the only phobia I had. If I haven’t been on the subway for a long time - it comes back a little - but I just point my camera at it and I feel better.

I don’t know if there’s a specific word for this fear - since I’m okay in crowds so long as there’s a way out. Subwayitis? I love flying when I get a chance - because - and this may seem idiotic - I’m not afraid of dying. The flight to the ground will be quick and painless. But the “sick man on the subway,” is a horrible fate. Can you imagine if you do faint - and tie up the entire line - and get carried out before your fellow citizens on a stretcher. Ugh. That’s my worst fear. Humiliation.

So as I say - it’s ironic (and not ironic) that I’ve done so much work on the subway - because that cured me - at least for the time being.

I’ve been doing these photo-paintings for a while now - but don’t toss them into the blog very often unless I haven’t been shooting much (the book kept me off the streets for about three weeks). The idea came from a Rimbaud poem I was reading - After the Deluge. (In the poem, the streets are paved with jewels - I haven’t figured out how to do that yet).

The pieces come from about ten different negatives. The guy on the bench is using a blackberry. The sign doesn’t belong in the picture. The walkway is from another shot, etc. etc. They’re fun for me to do and just about the only time I feel like playing with colors.

Ah - a sleepy time. When - middle of a weekday. I rarely see anyone in this quaint shop, but they’ve been around forever.  I doubt if any upper east side ladies are frequenting the shop.

I finally finished the Central Park book; just uploaded. It’s the 11 x 15 size (deluxe) which means heavy paper stock. It was more work than I thought, but I’m happy with the layout. My cost, with discount (MyPublisher) is $74 not including shipping and NYS tax. 41 sides. Mostly one image per side, but I did a few collages in the middle.

I could do the exact same book in the classic size (8.5 x 11) with the normal paper for about $35 (and frankly it’s just a push of a button using the same layout as the larger book).

The reactions I’ve been getting from people who have received the hardcover (classic) catalog has all been good so far.

I suppose that I could offer both sizes of the Central Park book.

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Dave,

We’ve all been following your publishing adventures. I’ve used My Publisher before and found them to be quite good, also. I’ve also wondered about selling these books POD, as you are, but the cost of purchase is high. Have you calculated a retail price for a book that costs $74 up front? Can you share your thoughts on this?

Brent

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Brent,

Frankly, I don’t think there’s any way to make any money from a book at this price point.  Which is why you need to be slightly crazy to spend all this time doing it.  But — my first idea is to offer the book at cost, and let the buyer order it directly from MyPublisher.  So what does that do for me?  Well, it helps get the book into some sort of minimal circulation.

If someone is a collector type (I have a few out there) then I sell the book signed for say $90 - $100.  Believe it or not - when I was doing the SharedInk book - I sold about 15 @ $300.  (I think my profit on that was about $30).  Almost all of these were bought as wedding gifts.

On the other hand, I can offer the classic size version and sell that for $50 or so.  In short - there is no profit in this - for me it’s just a way of getting a nice collection of my work into people’s homes.

Another possibility is to start sending the book to offset publishers and see if I can get any interest in it.

I suppose I can also get it listed with Amazon.

At any rate - if the idea is to make money from the POD enterprise - the only way I know of doing that is if you are a wedding photographer where you have built in buyers.  If you or anyone else have any better ideas - let me know.