These are two book covers for projects I’m currently developing.

I create visual reminders for projects I’m currently working on. Then I place them in my working environment. They constantly prompt me to consider the work I’m developing at many times and in many moods. I sleep on it. I collect sketches and notes. I plan trips to make new exposures and list what I kind of material I’m looking for. I assemble relevant finished images in the series. I look for connections between images currently being made and images made in the past. I list many ways to develop the work.

What projects are you developing?
What kinds of visual reminders would be helpful to you?
What other things can you do to develop the work you want to do right now?

Find more in my free creativity ebooks here.
Learn more in my digital photography workshops.

Category: Creativity
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“Have you played with Google Labs’ Ngram Viewer? It’s an addicting tool that lets you search for words and ideas in a database of 5 million books from across centuries. Erez Lieberman Aiden and Jean-Baptiste Michel show us how it works, and a few of the surprising things we can learn from 500 billion words.”

Try Google’s Ngram Viewer here.

View more of my favorite TED talks here.

Category: TED, Video
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Get $10 off all Blurb books with this code BIGTEN.

Offer expires Nov 20, 2011.

Preview all of my Blurb books here.

Visit Blurb today.

Category: Blurb, Books
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Darius Himes and Mary Virginia Swanson’s book Publish Your Photography Book offers clear cogent advice that will help anyone interested in navigating the waters of book publishing. This is true whether your goal is to work with a major publisher or to self-publish or both.

The book covers everything you need to know; concept and mission, financing and contract negotiation, editing and sequencing, design and production, marketing and more.

The countless case studies in this book give it a flair unlike any other. David Maisel, Daniel Milnor, Alec Soth, and Alex Webb are just a few.

The voices of experts in the industry give this volume a broad diversity you’re unlikely to find anywhere else. Eileen Gittens (Blurb), Michelle Dunn Marsh (Aperture/Chronicle), Rixon Reed (PhotoEye) are just a few.

I can’t think of a better duo than Himes and Swanson to help you understand the world of book publishing.

I can’t recommend this book more highly.

Find Publish Your Photography Book here.

Visit Darius Himes’ website here.

Visit Mary Virginia Swanson’s website here.

Find more bookmaking resources here.

Category: Books
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“Pro photographer and book designer Mat Thorne presents an introduction to book design principals. This webinar covers an overview of typography, essentials of cover design, and laying out front & back matter. Mat also shares examples and offers inspiration from published photography books.”

Find more bookmaking resources here.

Learn more in my digital printing and digital photography workshops here.

Category: Blurb, Video
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“Landscapes Within presents selected images highlighting John Paul Caponigro’s many collaborations with nature.
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The artist’s life’s work is a call to connection. It’s a call to connection with nature – the matrix from which we are born, which sustains us while we are alive, and to which we return when we die. It’s a call to incite conscientious creative interaction with our environment. It’s a call to connection with us – with ourselves, with each other, and with the larger world surrounding us.
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These images function simultaneously as windows onto exterior landscapes and mirrors into interior landscapes. Pointing beyond objectivity and subjectivity towards intersubjectivity, it reveals how deeply involved we are in our experiences of the world. This work presents a series of invitations to look, to look again, and to look at looking.”
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Landscapes Within is a catalog for a traveling exhibit.
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Find more information about traveling exhibits here.

 

Category: Blurb, Books, Exhibit
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Now you can seamlessly flow the photos you edit in Lightroom 3 straight into your Blurb Bookify™ books with our new Lightroom plug-in.

Here’s how simple it is.

- Flow edited Lightroom images into Bookify™ (online).

- Choose your book’s layout and style from within Lightroom.

- Stream photo captions automatically into your book’s text boxes.

- Automatically capture file data for the images in your book.

Blurb’s BookSmart is also coming soon to Lightroom.

Find out more about Bookify.

Read more with my Bookmaking online resources.

Category: Blurb
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Blurb recently updated their free bookmaking software BookSmart (3.0).

New feature highlights include …

Change book sizes automatically with one click, making it smaller or larger.

Create two-page spreads automatically.

Read more about the update here.
Watch more about using Blurb in these useful videos.
Learn more in my Bookmaking lessons.

Category: Blurb
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As a fine artist, I advance my career with personal projects. Personal projects also create a clearer direction for and develop greater meaning in my life. My life would be unfulfilled without them

You don’t need to have a fine art career to benefit from personal projects. Many commercial photographers find personal projects reenergize them, add purpose to their lives and quite often lead to new assignments or whole new streams of income. Many amateurs, making images purely for the love of doing it, find greater satisfaction and personal growth through personal projects.

As an artist who mentors other artists in workshops and seminars, I’ve often been called to speak about the importance of personal projects; how to find them, start them, develop them, complete them, present them, and promote them.

Here’s an overview of what I share.

Personal Projects

Defining a project is one of the single best ways to develop your body of work. When you define a project you focus, set goals, set quotas, set timelines, create a useful structure for your images, collect accompanying materials, and polish the presentation of your efforts so that they will be well received.

Focusing your efforts into a project will help you produce a useful product. A project gives your work a definite, presentable structure. A finished project makes work more useful and accessible. Once your project is done, your work will have a significantly greater likelihood of seeing the light of day. Who knows, public acclaim may follow. Come what may, your satisfaction is guaranteed …

Read the rest on scottkelby.com.

Learn more in these related digital photography ebooks.

Develop your personal project in my digital photography workshops.


Category: Creativity
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“Getting your Canon Speedlite to produce the light you need can be a real challenge. For those new to flash photography—or for anyone who has previously given up out of frustration—Speedliter’s Handbook is a revelation. Photographer Syl Arena takes you on a journey that begins with an exploration of light and color, moves through a comprehensive discussion of the Canon Speedlite family and all of the accessories and equipment available to the Speedliter, then settles down to crafting great light in one photo shoot after another. Whether you want to create a classical portrait, shoot an event, or simply add a little fill light to a product shot, Speedliter’s Handbook shows you how.

Illustrated with over 500 images, Speedliter’s Handbook covers:

•    how your camera sees versus how you see light
•    all the buttons and dials of the entire Canon Speedlite family
•    the basics of on-camera flash…and getting your flash off the camera
•    how to beautifully balance flash with the existing ambient light
•    all the equipment necessary for great Speedlite shots
•    how to get amazing shots with just one Speedlite
•    how and when to use E-TTL versus manual flash
•    the use of color gels to balance color, as well as create dramatic effects
•    how to tame the sun—or any really bright light—with hi-speed sync
•    and much, much more

Whether you’re shooting portraits, events, or sports, Speedliter’s Handbook is an essential resource that teaches you how to craft the light you need for any type of shot you want.”

Find out more about Syl’s lighting seminar and workshop series.

Get the book here.

Learn more at Speedliting.com.

Read more

Category: Books
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I don’t make new year’s resolutions. I make those kinds of commitments at any time of year, whenever it becomes clear they’re necessary. But I do make plans at the beginning of every year. I review my mission, goals, projects, and actions lists. Doing this helps me clarify where I want to go, make sure I’m on the path to getting there, outline the steps necessary to get there, and set realistic timelines.

Read more

Category: Business
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Industry insiders Darius D. Himes and Mary Virginia Swanson demystify the process of producing and publishing a book of photographs. They survey the current landscape of photography book publishing and point out the many avenues to pursue and pitfalls to avoid. Himes and Swanson provide an overview of the publishing industry; an intimate look at the process of making a book; a close review of how to market a photo book; a section on case studies, built around discussions and interviews with published photographers; and a final section presenting a wealth of resources and information to aid in the understanding of the publishing world.

Their forthcoming title Publish Your Photography Book also includes a number of additional interviews and contributions from industry professionals, including artists, publishers, designers, packagers, editors, and other industry experts who openly share their publishing experiences.

Read more with my Bookmaking resources.

Learn more in my Pro Portfolio and digital printing workshops.

Read more

Category: Books, Business
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“Collectors are willing to pay steep prices for the world’s finest photography books. Rare editions from the likes of Robert Frank, Hennri Cartier_Beesson, Irving Penn, and Ansel Adams are among the most sought-after of all art books. Sometimes these books have captured an era or a location, sometimes they have helped to coin an artistic trend, sometimes they are simply the finest work of a particular photographer.”

Richard Davies comments on the 10 most collectible photo books and 5 more.

Find my recommended photography books here.

Category: Books
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Manage color with Blurb’s PDF to Book workflow.

Learn more in my online Bookmaking resources.

Learn more in my Professional Portfolio workshop.

Category: Blurb, Books
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Go beyond the basics of BookSmart. This intermediate webinar explores several design ideas you can use in your books. Part inspiration, part instruction, you’ll get some great tips straight from Blurb’s designers.

Learn more in my online Bookmaking resources.

Learn more in my Fine Art Digital Printing Workshops.

Category: Blurb, Books
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Learn how to: create your book; work with photos, text, and layouts; upload your book; and more.

It’s surprisingly easy to do!

Learn more in my online Bookmaking resources.

Learn more in my Fine Art Digital Printing Workshops.

Category: Blurb, Books
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Mat Thorne, pro photographer and design whiz, shares his secrets for great book design. Mat was the Art Director at the prestigious Maine Media Workshops and has designed books for some notable figures in contemporary photography. In this webinar, he walks you through book design and layout essentials and touches upon tips and tricks to help you with every aspect of bookmaking, from workflow to typography to final layout.

Learn more in my online Bookmaking resources.

Learn more in my Publish & Exhibit workshop.

Category: Blurb, Books, Video
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The cover of your book is your best chance to catch someone’s eye. In this webinar, photography book editor Alan Rapp uses examples from iconic works and Blurb books alike, and shows how the cover draws the viewer in.

Learn more in my online Bookmaking resources.

Learn more in my Fine Art Digital Printing Workshops.

Category: Blurb, Books, Video
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You won’t believe how easy Getting Started with Blurb BookSmart (2:12) is. If you’ve ever made a book traditionally you’ll be amazed. If you haven’t you may be tempted to take this new found ease for granted. The mechanics of making a book has never been easier. The art of making a book (editing, sequencing, designing, etc) has never been more important.

Learn more in my online Bookmaking Lessons.

Learn more in my Fine Art Digital Printing Workshops.

Category: Blurb, Books, Video
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Blurb’s Bookify

October 22, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Blurb recently announced it’s new online bookmaking tool Bookify.

“Some projects are simpler, just begging for a streamlined solution. If what you want to create is a beautiful photo book – tonight – then you really should give our new online bookmaking tool, Bookify, a spin. It’s a fantastic new way to make books at Blurb.
Bookify features a specially curated set of our most popular layouts – or you can just drag and drop your photos and the page will design itself. Amazing. Plus, the whole thing is online so you can make a book from wherever you are.
So while PDF to Book is great for more involved projects, Bookify is ideal for simpler work.”

Here’s why:
•    It’s streamlined. Curated layouts and our most popular fonts.
•    It’s convenient. No download necessary. Simply import your photos from Flickr® or your computer, and start making your book instantly. You can even work on your book from more than one computer.
•    It offers all the Blurb goodness – professional quality, stellar image printing, great paper choices, hardcover or softcover, and five of our book sizes – and all at affordable prices.

Make a book with Bookify by November 2 (11:59 p.m. PDT) and save 25%.*

Just type in the appropriate promo code at checkout and you’re set:
•    USD $ coupon code: BOOKIFY
•    GBP £ coupon code: BOOKIFY1
•    EUR € coupon code: BOOKIFY2
•    CAD $ coupon code: BOOKIFY3
•    AUD $ coupon code: BOOKIFY4.

Find more resources in my Bookmaking lessons.

Learn more in my bookmaking workshops.

Category: Blurb
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