The Central Park book is finally starting to come together. But - phew - it’s a lot of work.

The MyPublisher software leaves a bit to be desired, and I ended up making full-bleed images in Photoshop so that I could do borders and a few other touches.

I had problems for about two weeks about how to organize the material; whether to have captions; and of course what to exclude. After three weeks of working almost every day on the thing, I began to wonder whether I shouldn’t do with SharedInk so my work would be of the best quality; but I still couldn’t deal with the cost difference. I might do a small limited edition run with them at some point.

Anyway - it is coming together - and I’m doing my best to keep my cost under $60 for the 8 x 11 hardcover. One thing I can say, you definitely don’t do this to get rich. I’m not even sure if I’ll recoup the all the money I spent on experiments with them and other PODs.

What I should do - is put a list of camera equipment used to make the photographs - so that I can prove that I’ve been foolish enough to use just about everything in the B&H Catalog.

Oh - and what have I learned: one thing is that it’s just about impossible to do a two-page full bleed spread from an uncropped 35mm ratio shot. Actually, it is impossible. Also, and this is obvious, it’s a bit tough to justify too many vertical shots in a landscape book. All in all I’d vote for square format (again that’s how I did the first SharedInk book). Everyone should offer square books or if not exactly square - as close as possible.

(next day)

Ah!  I figured out what I’m doing.  I decided that I’m going to do the MyPublisher Deluxe book.  This is 11 x 15 inches.  The paper is much thicker than the paper used in the smaller books.  When I started to work at this size, I realized quickly that I could easily put two images on one page, even three, and that they would compliment each other, and at the same time hold up size-wise.

Even though this size is much more expensive than the other sizes ($3 a page) - when you factor in the 40% discount; and the fact that I can include more images on less pages; it turns out to still be less expensive than the SharedInk 12 x 12 (and it has a bit more paper space).

So know I feel better - that all this effort will result in a book without too many compromises.  It will still cost more than the middle-sized book - but I think I can keep my cost to somewhere between $72 and $90.  I realize that this may seem like a lot to the average person - and maybe it is - but if you compare it to the cost of a single 11 x 14 print - maybe not that bad.  And I think that it will have it’s own intrinsic value.

Of course, I’ve fallen behind with print orders again - so that will keep me occupied for two days.  Oh - and one of the good things about doing the book is the number of old and forgotten (good) negatives I’m finding.  You know - you look back sometimes - rarely - and realize how much you’ve done.  This morning I give my self a big pat on the back.

Central Park Zoo

In case you’re wondering if there’s some back story to this shot - there isn’t. It is just as it appears, and I left them in peace rather than asking whassup with that.

Details requested:

Other details: they’re eating Lido Cookies; the bread says, French Bread; and oh, this is a nice touch, there are a pair of roller blades under the knapsack that’s directly behind them.

When it’s nice and sunny (today) I take my usual trip to Grand Central and back looking for musicians. Couldn’t find any today. For me, the subway is like Monet’s Garden in Giverny. People used to ask him - how in the world can you just keep painting the same subject over and over. Why don’t you travel. He responded that the garden was never the same. I feel that way about just about any spot in the city. I don’t really need to travel to find new subjects - the same subjects are never the same. And I’m neve the same either from moment to moment.

I’m spending all my time now with the Central Park book. I’ve been going from the easiest (catalog, done) to the hardest (Shadows of New York). Central Park should be smack in the middle. But I swear, it just ain’t easy to put the thing together.

My first crack at it I grouped things based on geography.  Uh - no.  This isn’t a tour guide.  Then seasons - uh no.  Not an almanac.

You’ve narrowed the collection to your best 75 photographs or so. And even with the limited choices of layout in MyPublisher - you notice stuff.

If you put a small image on the left page and a full-bleed on the right side (for example) you get this nice pop for the larger photograph. On the other hand, if all your pages (as I started with) are full-bleed, you lose the effect.

Which is to say that even in it’s simplest form, laying out photographs in a book is an definitely a craft. Then add the juxtapositions - and my own innate desire to have some sort of flow that makes sense (oh, the plot - the plot) - and it is hard work. Each pair of pages has a life of its own. I think it’s the movie maker in me that wants to surprise as you turn each page. But I don’t have any murders or love affairs to throw in.

Slowly, though, ideas are arriving. The first ten pages hang together.  That’s all I can say right now.

I use the image above as a mood icon for now.

One thing that’s had me puzzled for a while: if you ask an average person (who’s not a photo enthusiast) to name three photographers - odds are that the best they’ll do is come up with Ansel Adams. On the other hand, ask just about anyone to name three painters - and they won’t have an problem. Anyone who’s ever taken a fine art course could probably name 10 painters. The most famous would be Pablo Picasso.

Well, you could say that painters have been around much longer. But I don’t think that’s it. Photography wasn’t considered an art in the beginning - and although it’s accepted as an art form in the creative world - it’s practitioners are still a mysterious group.

My first thought was that it was because pretty much anyone can “take a picture.” Today, more than ever. So the average person who sees something fabulous says, “well, that guy is a pro. He’s got better equipment than me. And he gets to travel to exotic places that I never see. But if I were there, and if I had that equipment - I could’ve taken that shot.”

Painting - on the other hand - that requires talent. You could give me the same paints and brushes that Picasso uses and I could never turn out a masterpiece the way he does. Photographers — they’re just artists that can’t paint.

I think that’s a common enough view.

But I was thinking about other art forms and realized that it isn’t only photographers who are mostly unknown. Could this average person name three ballet dancers? (I can only name one). Could they name three symphony conductors. Three classical musicians? So these are all skilled art forms that not everyone could do - even with the best equipment in the world.

And then it hit me - photography is not a popular art form.

How can it be that there is so little interest in photographers when the population is deluged by photographic images?

The only contemporary photographers that are even remotely known, say Annie Leibovitz are like a comet’s tail. They are known because of the stars they photograph.

The other path to photographic fame is controversy (Robert Mapplethorpe). This is the clearest path. You’ll need to concentrate on human reproduction, religion, bodily functions and possibly politics. You just need to combine any two of the above. What happens then is that you jump to the top of the artworld list; followed up by interviews that make their way into the mass media; and voila - at least for a while you become known as the photographer that shocked the world. I’m not sure if this is strictly an American technique - or whether it will work in other cultures as well.

So the irony to the puzzle - is that there is simply so much photography out there - that only someone with an interest in the art - usually someone that is attempting it themselves in a serious way - get exposed (no pun intended) to the photographers rather than just their images.

It won’t be enough in the future (or even now) to take that one amazing picture that everyone in the world sees. The image will live on - the name of the person who pressed the shutter will continue to be obscure.

It’s a little bit like the screenwriter in the movie business. A lot of people still believe that the actors are making up the words as they go along (okay, sometimes they are). The directors achieve some fame; but it’s the star of the picture that is at the top of the fame table.

And if everyone could press a button (this may happen) and create a painting based on their dreams or thoughts - then painters will drop on the fame list as well because we’ll be deluged with paintings of the kids, pets, and vacations.

My advice, as far as fame is concerned, is to start when you’re very young - and make your way into a kid’s show. You’ll be directed by your parents on how to proceed from there.

They let me out for a while this morning. I never got the flurry of falling blossoms I wanted but this will have to do.

Editor: What - more bagels?  Has Dave run out of things to photograph?  Is he hungry?  What is going on with the guy?  I spoke with him about this bagel idea and we almost came to fisticuffs (sp?) as I tried to prevent him from posting bagel photographs - but he couldn’t be stopped.

Dave: Look.  I’m busy.  I don’t get around much anymore.  I’m spending the day printing and matting and then I walk to the Fedex location and I stop off at the bagel place on the way.  And besides - Weston could photograph peppers all day - why can’t I photograph bagels?

Editor: I knew Eddy Weston - and you’re no Weston.

Dave: Very funny.  It just so happens that there is a large market for bagel pictures.  Have you ever been to the bagel museum on the bowery?  They’ve got 10 foot paintings of bagels.  This is the food of my ancestors.  It has evocative connotations for me.  And for others.

Editor: Right.  Sure.  Well - if that’s the best you’ve got right now - I would advise readers to just go looking somewhere else for meaningful photos.  And that’s the last word — I’m going to take away your blog rights for the day.

The background: I did one 6 x 8 hardcover with black linen cut out cover. Used the exact same files as I used for the MyPublisher books.

***** The printing is excellent. To see any color shift at all I have to hold it directly under a tungsten light and even then it is minimal. Under normal house lighting there is no color shift. Also, the printing is a bit “richer” than the MyPublisher books. I think it’s the same paper. Although there is a Picaboo logo - it’s not printed inside the book - it’s stamped and less noticeable on the back of the cover. ****

I should note that there were two pages in the middle that stuck together a bit, and there’s a little blemish there but you’d have to be looking for it to find it - and I suspect it has to do with the black background.

The general communication is not as continuous as you get with MyPublisher. They sort of keep you abreast of what’s going on with the process; i.e. you get an email when the print goes into production. And of course when shipped. And when available on the bookshelf.

With Picaboo you get an email confirmation when the purchase is complete and an email when the book is shipped. Still - they stuck to their schedule of 4 or less days to produce.

I’m going to do some calculations as to cost now.

As mentioned before - their software is better than MyPublisher in terms of fonts, and number of backgrounds and layouts; and they’ve got true “borders,” that look better than the borders I did in Photoshop (because those were eventually resized) but I’m still not sure if there’s a way to have page numbers printed automatically. I’m going to try and find that out now.

[Just chatted live with their support — answer is no. You need to do it manually in the text boxes]

So I’m up in the air until I can figure out the cost comparison. Again, as mentioned they have a 20% professional discount - but their prices are higher to begin with and they’re never going to match the usual 40% discount that MyPublisher offers.

Let me get my calculator out.

The basic deal is that Picaboo starts off where extra pages (pretty much everyone gives you the first 20 pages in the base price) are twice as costly as MyPublisher. So the larger the book - the greater the differential. On top of that - MyPublisher gives larger discounts.

MyPublisher also offers a Deluxe edition with heavier paper - and this costs $3 for each additional page. I haven’t figured out the costs for that book.

* * * MAY 2 * * *

Confusion over. I was in contact with Picaboo and it is possible to get discounts with bulk orders and the professional program - but just not enough to make the retail selling of POD books feasible for me. So I decided to stick with MyPublisher. In essence, the printing was ever so slightly better with the Picaboo book - how much you’d notice - I don’t know. But the prices are essentially twice as high, and the discounts are twice as small. So that’s not going to be a go.

On the other hand - I’ve had a little distance on the process - and what I see with the MyPublisher books is good - and can be tweaked with a bit of work. At about half the cost - and with excellent customer service and turnaround time - they’re going to have my business for the foreseeable future.

For a really high-end book - I’d stick with SharedInk.