Image selection for forthcoming book

Just back from the isle of Harris, after a workshop. What a nice group I had! Thought I'd share the image selection for my forthcoming Iceland book. Click to enlarge.

Be back in a few days, after I've had some time off. Away to St.Kilda in a week's time to do a personal photography project. More to come on that I hope.

Feel the need to go exploring in a different direction. Thinking of Ladakh for August. Portraiture images only.

No landscapes.

Been too long doing landscapes and there's a whole big world out there. Been speaking to Matt Brandon and Gavin Gough in Asia - both very fine photographers and worth looking at their sites. I think some time out there later this year may be on the cards.

What are your inspiration plans?

New e-Book - Personal Exposures

Last thursday I released a new e-book and notified everyone who subscribes to my monthly newsletter about some special offers on the entire set of 10-ebooks that I offer. The special offer was a great success and finished last night at mid-night. If you'd like to be kept up to date on new workshop announcements or special offers, then please do subscribe to my newsletter - which you can do on my home page.

Over the past four years, I've been writing on this blog about the photographic process - which I feel is mostly to do with ourselves, rather than the equipment. It's been a really enjoyable process - putting to words, what I've been feeling and thinking.

So I felt it would be really nice to collate some of the best entries from this blog into an e-book. Inside, you'll find entries about finding inspiration, ways to approach editing your work post-shoot, the use of ND-grad filters on a range-finder camera, working out the dynamic range of a scene for correct exposure, and many other distractions from every day life :-)

I have to thank Mike Green (who has a very interesting blog) for suggesting it. I was talking to him just a few weeks back about some new e-Books that I'm writing. They're quite intensive to complete, because there's a lot of 'soul' being put into them - a lot of though to how best to describe some technical and logistical information. Mike asked me if I was ever going to do a compendium of entries from my blog. I didn't really think I've ever had much to say (feign mock modesty, etc, etc - I know I perhaps have too much to say at times). It was only when I went through my blog and had a look at what I've covered, I realised there was a lot of material, buried here, that if it was put together into a nice presentation, could make for a really nice e-Book.

I think it's turned out to be more than just a collation of blog entries though. The entire e-Book, in some ways, feels like something that is greater than the sum of its parts.

If you're interested, you can get it here.

Book design complete

A few days ago, I was down in Nottingham, working on the final press book design for my 2nd book. If you've not been reading my blog of late, then maybe you don't know that I'm planning on releasing a 2nd book this Autumn / Winter. The book is about Iceland and it's mostly a monograph, but it does have a few stories and experiences from my time shooting there.

I'd like to say a big thank you to Darren Ciolli-Leach at 22:22 Design for his invaluable assistance and experience. Darren has been instrumental in turning my mockup's into something more professional looking. He says - in his own words that he's a 'font-aholic'. I particularly like the fonts that he suggested for the book covers.

I'm intending to release the book in a few variants:

1. Basic edition

2. Book with special limited (to 300 copies only) slipcase.

3. Book with slipcase and limited edition print (125 copies only)

4. Deluxe version with slipcase and three prints that make up a triptych (45 copies only).

There will be more details about the book and my special guest photographer who has written the preface for the book in this month's newsletter (due out on the 27th).

If you don't subscribe to my newsletter, than you can do it on my home page. Each month I always notify people of new workshops and special offers firstly through the newsletter, so it's a good idea to subscribe if you want to be one of the first to know about workshops before they sell out, for instance.

As for my current book, the limited edition print versions of Loch Lurgainn are almost sold out now, so if you were thinking of getting a copy with one, then time is running out :-)

More cover mock-ups

I'm heading down to Nottingham on Monday to work on my 2nd book layout. Darren has been sending me some ideas on the cover and slipcase, and these have been feeding back into my own mind and resulting in more changes.

The choice of a font, can really make a huge difference to how a books is received. We conjure up expectations based on how the cover of a product looks, and in these mock-ups, the font is more 'modern' than the one's in the previous mock-ups.

I find this all very exciting, and full of surprises. I've been living with the previous mock-up in my mind for some time, and was imagining the book sitting on my bookshelf, and now, what was becoming 'real' is now becoming fiction for me again... something fluid, changeable. It makes me wonder just how different the book will actually look once we've got the design complete, which I would imaging, should take a few more weeks of fine tuning once Darren and myself have gone through setting up the initial look.

The other good news is that the preface has been written by my very special guest photographer. More news about this at the end of the month in my monthly newsletter.

Book Review

Every now and then, I'm informed about a review of my first book. Noeleen Hargan has written perhaps the most objective review of my book that I've read so far. I say this, because in her review, Noeleen considers what I had to say in my text and she gives the reader an idea of what to expect, if they were to purchase the book.

This would seem to be an amazingly simple objective that a reviewer should have - to give the reader an idea of the content of the book. But as I said a few months back - I don't tend to read the reviews now, because most of them lack research - it's clear to me from the content of the review that they haven't read the text (I'm sure this is very common - and one of the many reasons why authors don't read reviews!).

Anyway, I felt that Noeleen's review of my book was very considerate. She's clearly read the contents, thought about it, and makes some points based on what she's read. Noeleen has kindly allowed me to reproduce it here for you all to read.

The lure of endless possibilities

Book review: Bruce Percy, The Art of Adventure – 40 Photographic Examples. Half Light Press, Edinburgh, 2011.

No, a photograph is not a simple visual report of “what was there”. In Bruce Percy’s words, photography is “an emotional response to what we see and feel”. His first book, The Art of Adventure – 40 Photographic Examples, its format and title paying homage to Ansel Adam and Galen Rowell, lends substance to this view.

The book’s 40 images are each accompanied by a one-page commentary providing insights into the image-making process. While the locations vary from the photographer’s Scottish homeland to further afield – Argentina, Bolivia, Cambodia, Chile, Ethiopia, Iceland, India and Nepal – before long, the book’s underlying question becomes clear: Why this photograph?

The backstage insights shared with readers include descriptions of the setting in which each photograph was created. Percy talks about his fears and worries, mishaps and coincidences, makes technical and compositional observations, and interprets the sense of his work while reflecting upon the role of emotions and the unconscious in image-making. Above all, he tries to convey to readers what drew him into an image, why that particular image was made, how he feels when he has made a good image.

Percy loves the fact that photography in general “gives us a reason to get out there and experience new locations and new people”. The “endless possibilities” offered by photography are themselves a source of inspiration, he feels. At the same time, he knows that “one of the biggest mistakes a new photographer can make is to keep moving and not spend enough time in one location”. Slow down, he seems to be saying, and think about what you are doing, why you are doing this. Or at least, this is what he seems to have said to himself at some point along his own photographic journey.

Percy knows the joys of making landscape images “at an unearthly hour, in the silence, just you and your camera.” Perhaps this is one reason why his photography often has a mystical, meditative quality about it. These days, he tells us, he is striving for an “otherwordly” mood in his photography, along with simple shapes and tones.

One unexpected component of the book is the portraiture. Until now, I had associated Bruce Percy exclusively with evocative landscapes, but now am intrigued by his assertion that “portraits should be landscapes in their own right”. He sees portraiture as “very similar” to landscape photography. As he puts it: “I’m looking for an aesthetic that is pleasing in terms of composition, light and tonal balance. But I’m also looking for a spirit, and that is not too different from landscape photography after all”.

Knowing what you’re looking for may well be half the battle or more, but photographers keen to make the most of photography’s “endless possibilities”, should perhaps take their cue from Percy’s account of finally succeeding, on his 4^th attempt, in making the sunrise image he wanted at the Laguna Torre in Argentina’s Los Glaciares National Park. As in the legend involving his namesake Robert the Bruce and a spider, Bruce Percy simply tried and tried again.

But perhaps some of the book’s assertions shouldn’t be taken too literally, such as “there appears to be no such thing as bad weather”. Try telling that to a sodden, bedraggled group of photographers from Italy, on a week-long trip to the Highlands, while they are sheltering from the Scottish wind and rain under a low stone wall near Rua Reidh lighthouse;-)

The Art of Adventure – 40 Photographic Examples is an absorbing read for anyone interested in photography, and a compilation of beautifully-reproduced photographs that you will want to look at over and over again.

Review © Noeleen Hargan, 2012

The original review can be found at Noeleen Hargan's blog here: http://www.respirolestelle.it/html/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=240:recensione-the-art-of-adventure-bruce-percy&catid=34:recensioni-letterarie&Itemid=55

And of course, if you want to buy a copy of the book, you can find it at the Half-Light Press website.

A journal of Nocturnes

Nocturnes - a composition, or piece of music that is inspired by, or evocative of the night.

My 2nd book project has been evolving over the past two months.

Initially, I just knew I wanted to do a second book, and had slated some time in for a trip to Iceland this December / January with the hope that something might come out of it. I had no idea at the time if the 2nd book would be about Iceland, but I did hope that it might be.

I've learned, that things don't always pan out the way you intended them, and to have a fixed idea of what it is you want to do - is too rigid. Certainly, having something to focus towards is a great motivator, but I also need to leave some room for change, and be able to consider that what I'm working on might not be the right fit, and something else might be better.

My 2nd book is taking shape quite strongly now. I originally had the idea of putting a book together about the south coast of Iceland and my ventures there to photograph the black sand and ice bergs. This brought me on to think about how to merge two different shoots - one from last Summer when I created a lot of very dark, monochromatic images of the black sand and ice bergs, and the more recent shoot this December/January, where the images are much more optimistic, light in tone and as a result - have a very different feel. This created a bit of a problem for me, and I felt the book was not gelling as well as I'd liked.

I felt that I wanted to add in some stories too, and give the viewer of the images some context, an idea of what I was feeling at the time. So over the past few months stories - some almost like poetry have been creeping into the book. It started to feel like it was coming together, gelling in the way I'd hoped. So until maybe a few weeks ago, I felt the book was on the right track and that it was mostly done, just the finer points like spelling, grammar, layout to be worked on and finalised. But the peace didn't last long. I was aware over the weeks that I felt a little like something was missing from the book, and I didn't feel it was complete. I can only get to this point if I give my work some time to sit, let it be absorbed and get comfortable with what it truly is, as opposed to what I think it is. In other words - a sense of distance is required, and so I'm always happy to give things some time, to see if they are indeed ready or maybe need some work.

Someone asked me if I were going to put some of my older images from Iceland into the book. I'd be hesitating about doing it, because I feel they represent who I was in 2004, and don't really have much correlation to how my photography style has moved on. But I reconsidered, decided to have a go at putting them into the book, and found that I was wrong - they worked. So much so, that the book is a sandwich of three parts - the first section starts of with coastal shots that were shot during the night, while the middle section deals with inland areas of iceland shot during the summer months and much warmer light. The last section goes back towards the coast and deals with a more lighter ending feel to the days work. It was conceptual and I didn't even know it until I'd put the thing together and a friend commented on how it seemed to work more as a piece now.

So the book has been retitled too. I had never really been happy with the title, but since I now have a collection of images, all mostly shot during the nocturnal hours of the day (I'm a low light shooter mostly), and since all were created during pre-dawn, post-dusk, even sometimes around 3am for instance, I feel the images have an otherwordly feel to them. The stories that I've written have been put together from the journal that I sometimes write in. So all this kind of wraps up to give me the title of 'a journal of nocturnes'. Nocturnes is defined as 'a composition, or piece of music that is inspired by, or evocative of the night'. I feel my images are compositions that are evocative or inspired by the night, so I feel it's a perfect fit.

I feel the book is much stronger now. So all that needs to be done now, is get the preface written - as I type this, my special guest whom I've asked if he will write something as a way of an introduction to Iceland has responded and said yes. So I'm delighted by the news.

I'll be traveling down to Nottingham this April to put the book together with my friend Darren, and expect to have something finished and ready for release later on in the year.

I hope my posting today has given you some food for thought regarding the creative process. It is always flowing, changing. It is never static and when someone says the work is done, what they really mean is that it has reached a conclusion for the moment.

ISBN Registration of 2nd Book

Today I just registered with Nielsen's (the ISBN people here in the UK), my second book. Here is a mock-up of the slip case cover for the book. I stress that it's a mock up, because I'm scheduled to go down to Nottingham to see my friend Darren Ciolli-Leach (who should really have a web site for his work), who is a graphic artist. Darren helped me put my first book together in Quark Express. It was a very enlightening experience for me to watch him do things very quickly, and his input was invaluable regarding layout, typeface and overall presentation. So I'm sure there will be some changes to the look and layout of the book once I've spent time with him (and his terrific two little boys), in April.

But I'm pleased to let you know that this book is similar in size to the first one, will come with a slip-case to protect the actual book. The slipcase will have a photo on it, just like the mock up you see above. The actual book will be 60 pages in total.

I'm not going to give you any more detail about the contents just yet, as it's quite different from my first book. But suffice to say that there is text in there, but it's more of a photographic journey diary than the first book.

On the subject of making books, and the finances involved in putting them together, If you knew how much it costs to put something of this quality together, you might have a mild heart attack. But the process of seeing your own work beautifully presented is such a nice thing to do. Books, in short, do not make money, but they are a very beautiful way to present what it is that you do. So if you've ever considered it, be aware that you won't get rich, but the project itself is a great way to give some closure to a particular project or perhaps make you see that you had the material for a 'theme' all along.

The first book has sold really well. We were able to recoup the costs of the book within six weeks of publication, which was a complete surprise to me, as we originally thought it might take around two to three years to do that. Sales are really steady at the moment and I think we're on target to sell out the entire edition in a year or two (my original plan was to try to sell out the edition over three years). Time will tell.

Anyway, the reason why I tell you all this, is that I felt that doing a 2nd book would only be a viable option if we'd had good success with the first one. As it turns out, that's just what's happened, so I'm really excited to tell you about the plans for this one.

Of course, things can change quite dramatically between now and the end of the year, but at the moment, everything is pointing towards a November release.

For the preface, I have someone very special in mind, but they're proving rather difficult to track down just now!

I will keep you posted.

2nd Book Project

Dear all, Last year was a terrific time for me. Had someone suggested that I would have a book out, of some of my best material, and that the book would be as beautiful as it turned out to be, I wouldn't have believed them. Add to that, that the preface would be written by Michael Kenna, and I would have laughed out loud.

But as much as I'm always surprised by how things go from strength to strength for me with my photography, I'm aware that everything is a stepping stone. By that, I mean that one thing leads to another, and by taking the first step, the next step comes into sight, and I'm able to visualise where I'm going.

So I'm pleased to announce, that my 2nd book project is under way. I feel that if I am to continue to produce books, they should be very high end, art books, each with a particular topic in mind. I can't think of any more engaging topic right now (out of my current portfolio) than my Iceland images, for the catalyst for a 2nd book.

So right now, I have the above and below 'proto-type' design's in mind. The image above is of the dust jacket, while the image below is of a proposed clamshell casing for the book.

I have a very strong idea about what it is that I want to create. But I'm sure, as with the previous book, the designs will change over the period that I work on the book. I just want to share this with you, so you can see that creative ideas are never fixed, but things are always fluid, in a state of change. Even right up to the last minute, anything can change, and I just love that.

Creativity requires freedom to do what it's going to do. For that to happen, you need to have confidence in your decisions, and be able to be objective about what you're doing, and happy to change direction if things aren't working. Of course, this does not stop me from having a very strong idea for the book - on the contrary - I have a very strong sense of how this book will look - but I'm flexible enough to understand that ideas evolve, things get more finely tuned as time moves forward, and ultimately, I will produce something that seemed to take on its own identity.

I'm aware that this might all sound rather philosophical, or even 'preachy'. I'm no preacher. Just someone following his own 'instinct' or 'drive'.

I'm not too sure what it is, but I do tend to visualise final ideas in my head and once they're there, it becomes much easier to move forward. I have a visual to work towards. This of course, is something that can (and should) be applied to all aspects of our lives. So if there's something you want to do, visualise it, draw it, imagine it.

Think about it and dream about it.

I'm convinced that the effort directed in this way means that you move towards your goal, without really knowing it.

I'll be in touch about further news about this book. It gives me great inspiration and excitement, and that alone, is worth it.

Perhaps the nicest Iceland photographic book?

I'm just home from Iceland. It was a great trip, with lots of snow, ice, and hardly any rain. On my way home, whilst sitting in Reykjavik airport, I came across Daniel Bergman's new book 'Iceland Landscapes'. It's a beauty.

I've known about Daniel for some time. He is perhaps Iceland's most prominent landscape and nature photographer, but I've never met him in person. I do however, know a lot of workshop participants who have been on his trips (and mine), and have said very good things about him. I must add, that this is quite rare: I seldom hear good things about most photographic tutors, which is a shame, but it does mean that the good ones stand out. Daniel by all accounts, gives a good expedition throughout Iceland, and since it's his homeland, I've always thought he must know it very well.

So it was with little surprise that I found this book sitting on a shelf in the duty free tax shop in Reykjavik airport. I knew of Daniel as primarily a nature photographer, so I wasn't prepared to see a really beautiful collection of images, covering the entirety of Iceland, so well presented and laid out. Daniel it seems, has been working very hard the past five years gathering this fantastic collection of images together.

For me, it did several things;

1. It made me realise, that being a non-native of Iceland, it would be very hard for me to collect such a great collection of images of Iceland that cover everything from the south to the west fjords, and also the interior, displayed through all the seasons.

2. But because of this acknowledgement, his book gave me a lot of inspiration to realise that I've only just touched the surface of Iceland, and I really must return as much as I can in future.

3. Iceland is an *amazing* landscape. No two ways about it.

Daniel's book is beautifully presented. It is a lovely showcase for Iceland, and if I were in the position to be thinking about venturing off to Iceland to find out more about it, I would consider this a great introduction, with coffee table substance for repeat viewings. It's a beautiful, book.

The foreword is by David Ward, who is, in his own right, a very talented Large Format UK based Photographer. Daniel has chosen his introduction writer well for his book.

If you'd like to order a copy, Daniels' book is self published, and can only be obtained from his web site here.

I recommend it very, very highly indeed.

Thank You!

My first book has been selling well. As of a few days ago, we 'broke even'. We've so far sold quite a lot of the limited edition 'Loch Lurgainn' prints, and quite a number of the Deluxe editions too! For those of you that don't know just how much of a big deal that is, I'd just like to say that it costs an extremely large amount of money to get a book printed, and that's just the printing costs. Shipping cartons, printer proofs all add another dimension of costs to the project, and then there is the amount of time spent on writing, designing the book, and all the additional fine tuning that has to be done. But ultimately, it costs a small fortune to get a book of this quality printed. So breaking even, in just over one month of putting it on sale on my web site (the book is not for sale anywhere else), is a pretty huge deal to me.

so I just want to say a big thank you, to those of you  who bought the book so far.

The entire project has been a huge learning curve for me, and I took a lot of time looking into paper types, quality of cloth, and the layout of the book. I've had a lot of very nice comments from buyers about the book being a piece of art in it's own right. I'm very pleased with that.

The biggest worry for me, was the reproduction of my images. I did a lot of research into this area, and made sure I have a very tightly calibrated system to work on. This year I feel I achieved that, and I now also, as a result, have a very nice printing process at home too. But I went with a printer that I knew does excellent reproductions for other artists, and I think that was the biggest bonus. The print quality did not disappoint me one little bit, and I'm very picky.

So I just want to say thanks once again for supporting my 'art', and buying the book. I'm very pleased to now have a very nice book to offer people on my workshops, and future talks, and also, those that can't manage either of those, but would like to see my work in better reproduction than is possible on the web.

Now off to think about the 2nd book, which I'm already hatching a plan for. Keep your ears pinned back for news of a 2nd book, sometime later in the new year.