Inspiration To go

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If your spirits could use a boost, check out this post by Moose Peterson guest blogging at Scott Kelby's Photoshop Insider:
http://www.scottkelby.com/blog/2008/archives/1470

The Verdict Is In For Me

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Today, I received from Shutterfly the book I ordered last Thursday and, while there are some advantages to working with Blurb and overall I like the book I got from them, I prefer the paper stock used by Shutterfly. For now, this leaves me with no solution for publishing a book with a layout as complex as the one I used for my SoFoBoMo book. Furthermore, the better grade of paper comes at a cost. Still, I like the Shutterfly paper that much. When I loaded my pictures for this book, I made a point of turning off VividPics and, at least for this book, that made the big difference. This time around, I had no devastating color shifts or any other disturbing changes in my prints. That's not to say I didn't make a few goofy mistakes in my frantic rush to throw the thing together, but it was a terrific learning experience and none of the mistakes resulted in a book I could never show anyone. I consider the money well spent.

Toys Are Me

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I hadn't thought too much about upgrading my 20D, being keenly aware that what I most needed was to improve my skills rather than get a better camera. The 20D is a great camera and it wasn't exactly letting me down—more the other way around. Actually, what I found myself longing for was a 5D, and for quite a while I watched eagerly for news of the update for the 5D which would give way to the wait for the reviews to come in. I have utmost respect for my limitations as a judge of anything mechanical and wait for the far more experienced to find the bugs. I lack both the expertise and the nerves to serve on the front lines.

In the meantime, I went to Samy's one day knowing full well that these casual pilgrimages to the giant candy store for photographers will be a thing of the past if, indeed, we ever get to move. I made the mistake of "just looking" at a 40D. The huge (to me) screen and the perfectly beautiful viewfinder were a revelation. It was love at first sight. The story is a familiar one to most photographers. One thing led to another and I am once again coping with the learning curve that results because, of course, they always move all the buttons.

So far, I am happy with the decision. With decades old eyes, just the larger screen and better viewfinder were enough to convince me. But, there's more. I suppose I will blather on about the new additions to the gear in the next few weeks—yes, that's a plural. I didn't stop with the camera. But, right now I have to explore my shiny new toys and accustom myself to the considerably larger files.

Making Photo Books—Lots of Them

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Last night, I fell into bed exhausted and realized that I have made four photo books in four months. If I didn’t know better, I might think that sounded impressive—but, I know better.

After all, the first photo book was just a test book thrown together in March. It was a rush job to catch a free Shutterfly offer and it’s extremely simplistic. I wanted to see a sample book including the type of images I planned to shoot for the SoFoBoMo project. The virtual book I made in April for the SoFoBoMo challenge, was a product of many hours of work and much unnecessary—but typical of me—angst and completed as a PDF, not printed at all.

The May book was a special gift for a friend and contained photos taken over many years rather than any new work. This friend is from the endurance racing world and I have had the distinct pleasure of photographing many of Liz’s horses. When I got the invitation to one of the big barbecues she and her guy throw at their horse-haven a few miles south of us, I decided to make a photo book for her. (That was the secret project I worked on last month and, fortunately, it was a hit.) Naturally, I couldn’t just deal with the profile/gamut nightmare for Blurb. I had to get fancy. I created a map, wrote a dedication along with a fairy-tale type opening to the pictures, and I just had to include some photos I had never processed.

When I finished the book for Liz, I had no intention whatsoever of making another book for quite a while, having already confessed that I felt drained by facing all the self-imposed deadlines one after another. Alas, it was not meant to be. Yesterday after receiving some encouragement from another friend who has seen Liz’s book, I began to noodle the idea of making a similar book for myself. After all, I had barely had time to glance at the gift book and some of my personal favorites of all the equine images I had made were in that book. So, I casually popped into the Shutterfly site to remind myself how much money an out-of-work no-prospects person looking at two mortgages that threaten to drain resources indefinitely would have to spend to actually pay this time for one of their photo books. Whoops! Why didn’t I get an e-mail? The photo books were discounted by 20% and the offer included free shipping. How could I pass up that invitation? There was only one rub: the deadline was June 5. Right, yesterday. Of course, I did it. I couldn’t directly use any of the Blurb work, because I had no idea what havoc that profile would produce at Shutterfly. Back to the drawing board. It was a long day—mostly because I brought in a number of additional images and edited out a few, but I did it. I know I will have some regrets, and it most assuredly is not the The Book I want to make with my equine images. But, it will be a book even though with a very small b, and it’s a start.

It would seem I am officially over the major anxiety produced by the challenge of producing a photo book. The thought no longer gives me a severe stomach ache and blurred vision. It’s not exactly a yawn, but it certainly isn’t overwhelming anymore.

How About the Blurb Paper, Folks?

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I won’t be able to get back to this for a couple of days, but just wanted to throw this out this question to SoFoBoMoers. If you went with Blurb to print your book, are you happy with the paper? I got one back from Blurb a couple of days ago and, while the paper is all right, I don’t think I would go with Blurb again. Just before the beginning of SoFoBoMo, I threw together a test book and went with Shutterfly for that one. Now, I have to be fair and say that I must have let it slip through a crack somewhere and given them the go-ahead to “enhance” my photos, so I wasn’t fully satisfied with the end result. Still, I much prefer the paper Shutterfly uses and the look it gives my pictures. In my opinion, that first book has a richer look.

As a side-note for anyone who hasn’t yet printed, I also discovered that all my desperate efforts to get everything in gamut for the Blurb profile backfired a bit. I knew the images looked a little light, but trusted the profile. Unfortunately, the prints are lighter than I would like. I certainly am looking forward to Doug Stockdale’s report on his experiment with sharpening for Blurb.

Later, I will have some more comments about my experience with SoFoBoMo, but the rest will have to wait for another day. One quick note: seeing a finished book didn’t give me nearly the thrill that the experience of making a book delivered. I suppose it makes sense, since this was not my first time to see my name on the cover of a book. I guarantee you the first time around I had to drop in to every bookstore I passed by to check the shelf and see if it was there. Those books weren’t photo books and they certainly weren’t pretty, but what a kick that was—almost as exciting as when that first monthly check rolled in. This time around the real buzz was in all the learning and the sharing. Without a community effort such as SoFoBoMo (can’t stop saying what a brilliant idea it was), making a book is a mighty lonely enterprise. I’m not proud to say that I might never have made a photo book without Paul Butzi’s challenge. Now I think I may be hooked.

Memorial Day

At a site I usually check once or twice a week, Weekly Photo Tips and Tricks, I found this slideshow honoring Memorial Day . I am posting a link and I hope you will check it out. http://www.weeklyphototips.com/ It takes a couple of seconds to load, but it's worth the brief wait.

I wish we would all take time between our barbecues, trips, marathon viewings on TV, etc. to remember why we have this holiday weekend. Viewing the slideshow certainly didn't cheer me up, but it put some things in perspective.

Drained

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I have completed my second special project in two months and feeling totally drained. Yesterday, I received notice that the order has been shipped. Now, by the first of June, I will know how the venture turned out. Besides being absorbed in that job, I have been hiding out lately—feeling overwhelmed by circumstances. If I am going to post anything for the next few days, it will have to be just some images without words.

Looking for the Crystal Ball

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What I would most like to do today is reflect on the SoFoBoMo experience and continue my learning—goodness knows there is still so much to learn. However, The Husband wants to move some things up to Bear Valley, and I feel I should support him. After all, I skipped the last two trips up there. So, I am going along, even though I am not much help with this sort of job.

Today, we are moving mostly equipment from the boarding stable and more items from the storage unit. Since this whole plan is in serious jeopardy, there is no joy in moving anything up there. Within a short time, it may be coming back. Where did I leave that blasted crystal ball anyway? It would be nice to know where we are going to end up.

Blurb Blues

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Between the nasty complications that have arisen in my life, this project I have taken on, and the time it is taking to recover from SoFoBoMo, I am not getting out and shooting much and not finding much to say that seems worth sharing. I'm still keeping up with my favorite bloggers and catching up on some additional reading.

I am looking forward to beginning a project that is more about shooting and less about this business of preparing files for Blurb. Gordon McGregor left a comment on Paul Butzi's site that spooked me a bit. He mentioned having "over-corrected" some photos for his book. Now, I am second-guessing myself on my understanding of what it takes to prepare a file with that profile.

Projects and Letdowns

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I am in that state that, for me, always follows a massive project. Inevitably, my whole system is thrown out of whack by the sudden withdrawal from the extreme doses of adrenalin that coursed through my body during the encounter. While at work on the assignment, my concentration is honed to a fine point. Everything I see, read, or hear seems related to the endeavor and I exist in a heightened state. Distractions either become another way of seeing what must be seen in order to complete the task, or they are dispatched and forgotten. Physical problems are suppressed and I reach down deep (or way up high) someplace beyond the problems for strength, or freedom from pain or diversion, and forge ahead. Real-life problems and worries get pushed under the proverbial rug. The reserves of energy and clarity that are called in to play produce a sense of heightened abilities and an increased awareness that, for a time, make almost anything seem possible.

Finally, when the work is done, the plunge back to normalcy—that let down or falling back to earth—many of us feel after completing a sizable creative endeavor is very real for me. You would think I would be better at managing it, since I have lived with it (off of it, for it, whatever) most of my life. Unfortunately, I am only marginally better at managing my energies now than I was when I first began participating in theatre and enduring the letdown that inevitably ensued as soon as the curtain fell on the final performance.

SoFoBoMo has had that effect on me. This isn’t a complaint. I am thoroughly delighted that I took part and wouldn’t take it back for anything. What I learned was, for me, the equivalent of a one-month crash course through a year’s worth of information. I will be profiting by the experience and blessing it for years to come. Still, it’s there—the sense of being a bit at loose ends—that space where all that energy was created and spent feels particularly empty right now.

This time around all these feelings are compounded by some other issues. Since we are in limbo—neither here nor there—moving supposedly, yet there is no movement—the lostness is intensified. Having only recently given up running my studio plays into this, of course. With teaching those very personal classes, I always had several creative projects I was juggling. After all, each actor was a work in progress and my contribution in guidance was part of a long-term creative project that was never really complete and produced a steady stream of challenge and frustration tempered with satisfaction and encouragement. Thus, for me, another project is a matter of survival. I can’t control that potential buyer out there who is going to buy our house. I can’t begin the next adventure until I am physically in that place.

My way of dealing with this lostness, was to begin a project and see if I can make something. (I have already mentioned my secret.) Sure enough,the work—the intense focus is pushing me through this period and taking my mind off things I can't control. Somewhere along the way my family came up with a silly saying when I was growing up. I have no earthly idea where it came from, but when someone was doing something not really responsible, or even harmlessly foolish, one of us (in the beginning one of my parents, probably) would say with a grin, “Well, at least it keeps him out of the pool halls.” So here I am. At least I won’t be hanging out in any pool halls for the next couple of weeks.