riverrun

[David Hedley]

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4153/4951392037_19d9867de3.jpg

I have put together a collection of 38 landscape photographs - all 4x5 or 6x17 - in riverrun (http://www.blurb.com/books/1546197), using Blurb. It's my first publication, and a full preview of the book is available.

If you decide to buy it - thanks - and I hope you enjoy it!

[Capocheny]

David,

Very nice images... looking forward to seeing more in the future!

Cheers

[David Aimone]

Congratulations...nice job!

[jim kitchen]

Dear David,

Congratulations... :)

I must check that process out, and get a copy.

Just curious, did they send you a sample before you made your decision to complete the process?

jim k

[David Hedley]

Thanks for the feedback and comments.

Jim - the sample was effectively the first copy I bought. If there had been errors or mistakes, I would then have corrected them in a new version, or if the quality had been poor, I would not have proceeded further and made the book public. As it happens, I am impressed with the quality of reproduction of black and white images and decided to go ahead and make it public.

[jim kitchen]

Dear David,

Thank you for the information... :)

I was asked recently by two new galleries to present some of my images, and I was asked by one gallery whether I had any publications, which I do not, other than two published images in a fabulous California gallery issued last year.

This avenue looks very effective and quite cost efficient, where I shall look into this avenue a wee bit deeper.

Again, I wish you great success.

jim k

[David Hedley]

Hi Jim,

I did look at different options. The attraction of this route is that you don't need to invest a significant amount of money in a minimum order quantity and inventory - but it's only attractive if the quality is good, and to my eyes it is. It would certainly be good enough to support sales of a book associated with an exhibition, for example. I used the BookSmart software that Blurb offers, and altered their standard template to get a larger image on the page.

I'm only making one version of the book available - large size, on premium paper with a dust jacket. That pushes the price up, which probably accounts for the low level of sales so far, but I wouldn't want a lower quality version of the book to be available.

I'd be interested in your views if you try this route out as well,

Cheers

David

[Michael Rosenberg]

David,

I got a copy of your book this week. I really like it! The images are fantastic; they all fit well with the title of the book. They are beautifully seen, and printed. I think your design for the book is very very good. Text choice, position of text, and general layout is well done. This is the best output I have seen for blurb, including a recent reorder of my own books (done on standard papers).

The only downside of the book is I would have liked to have seen an introduction by you on the title and collection of these particular images in the bool. I would have also liked to have read a short biography - that could be done on the inside of the cover. Believe me, if I did not think your book was so good I would not be curious to learn more!

I highly recommend people purchase this book - you won't be sorry!

Regards,

Mike

[Kirk Gittings]

Holy crap David! There are some nice images in there.

[David Hedley]

Michael - thanks very much for buying the book and for taking the trouble to post your comments here - I very much appreciate that. Kirk - thank you also for your comment.

On reflection, a short biography on the inside cover would probably have been a good idea, and I'll think about this for the next book. I did consider writing some form of explanation of the book and its title. The underlying structure of the book and photographs is a palindrome; the last image connects back to the first, and each pair of images is complementary. There are some specific literary and musical references - Joyce's use of language and Bach's fugues and variations, which I borrowed from heavily in choosing the photographs and structure. However, all of that scaffolding has to fall away at some point and hence I chose not to include a description of it; it only works, I feel, if the viewer can sense it him or herself, and of course the photographs have to stand or fall on their own merit.

Good to hear that the printing quality seems to be consistent across different copies.

Cheers

David

[David Hedley]

I received the first payment from Blurb in respect of book sales earlier this month. The amount is pretty modest, but I'd like to thank again those who have bought 'riverrun', several of whom are from this forum.

David