APUG book of photos

[guitstik]

So, I am sitting on the front porch this morning enjoying a rare cool breeze and a cup of coffee perusing APUG as is my normal routine, when this thought hits me. We have a ton of talented photographers here covering a wide range of formats, styles and processes, what if we compiled a bunch of the best by submission and then have members vote on about the best 100 or so and make a book. We could break it down into categories with sub- categories in each, limit the number of submissions a photographer can have in each and then every subscriber has a vote on the best of the lot. In the case of having to many for one book, we could do a volume two.

I don't know about anyone else but I know that I would buy such a book because there are so many pictures by a bunch of members that I would love to own. We could offer it for sale here and if it could be run through a major publishing house, it could be sold through B&N or such. Proceeds could be used to continue to grow APUG or even help with a charity of some sort. I may be a bit optimistic, but I think it could work.

 

[perkeleellinen]

I had a similar idea about a year ago of an annual APUG photo magazine or book. I thought it could be printed on demand by a firm like Blurb or Magcloud. I raised the idea in a couple of threads and the response was decidedly cool. I hope reception is better this time. I'd certainly buy such a thing.

 

[guitstik]

As I stated, there are several members here who submit works to the gallery that I would happily hang on my wall. I figure that a few here feel the same way. A magazine would be a good idea as well, having something that I could hold and reference back to from time to time would be beneficial. I can not imagine why you would have gotten such a luke warm reception from such a good idea. I enjoy APUG and the people I meet here are, for the most part, out standing. Being able to enjoy their work and show case it in my home on a coffee table would be an honor in my humble opinion.

 

[David Brown]

Having been a member here for a while, I'll take a stab at this:

You're willing to buy a book. Fine. For how much? A similar project has been successful on a similar website, but the book is in the $40-50 USD range.

OK, you're willing to pay that much for a book. Now, are you willing to manage the selection of the photographs (including dealing with all the competing egos) and creating the book? Do not underestimate the time and stress (and skill set) that would be involved!

For several years, I did a monthly newsletter for a local church. Thirty to 40 hours (a work week!) just to gather all the copy and produce that silly 12 page newsletter. That did not count distribution, which was done by others.

There is a bit of history on APUG with the magazine idea. An "APUG magazine" was discussed in multiple threads, and finally started by a member. Subscriptions were collected, but then the magazine never got published, and some people may not have ever gotten their money back. It turned out to be a much bigger job than the willing apuggers had imagined, and then on top of that, the principle became ill. This is not to say anything bad about that person, but stuff happens. Sadly, it created a great deal of ill will on the forum.

So, a project such as this can be done, but it must be planned and executed with much thought and planning. It will require much time, patience and diplomacy on the part of some members.

 

[guitstik]

I realize that there would be some problems to overcome. I like the idea of a magazine as that would allow for more admissions from a larger group of people. As far as selection, that is where a vote by the majority would come into play. A jury of peers would keep things on an even playing field and egos could be kept to a minimum. Applicants would send into a responsible party their submission and those would be put up to a vote on APUG and the winning submissions would then be printed for the subscribers. I realize that with any undertaking such as this there would be some bugs to be worked out and this is just an idea. As an after thought, subscriptions to a magazine could be coupled to the subscription for the APUG web site.

 

[Monito]

Photography-on-the-net http://photography-on-the.net/forum/ has done this in the past, apparently with great success.

Volume 3: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=761427 with links to 1 and 2.

They are preparing Vol 4 now, voting on the back cover image.

 

[Keith Tapscott.]

The Film & Darkroom Users forum members have had photographs published in two yearbooks so far.
I am very surprised that APUG hasn't done something similar considering the fine contributors who submit images regularly to the APUG Gallery.

http://www.blurb.com/search/site_search?search=FADU+yearbook&filter=bookstore&commit=Search

 

[guitstik]

I would gladly pay an extra fee for my APUG subscription to include a bi- annual magazine or even every two months. I realize that a monthly mag would be to arduous.

 

[M.A.Longmore]

.
Next Year Is APUG's Tenth Anniversary !

Maybe that would be an appropriate milestone to be commemorated.
That Would Be Ultra-Sweet !

Maybe an APUG Non-Book similar to David Carols',
" This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things "

DavidCarol.Com

I will gather some information on how that was accomplished.

Ron
.

 

[Diapositivo]

Using a self-publishing site such as blurb.com would make things easier, but, mind you, you have to send digital files.

In general I don't think that peer-rating would work, IMO certain social mechanisms would begin to operate, things like exchange of votes, clans, roped parties, people asking their aunts and girl-friend and next-of-desktop to join APUG to vote, there's people like that everywhere, I would be very surprised if there was not on APUG. Who of us has never attended a forum where somebody asked to connect to another site and cast a vote for his work, "if you like it"? It's legitimate, but at the end of the day those with more internet footprint gather the votes and this makes for some disgruntled feeling.

I think the thing could be done if there were an "official editor" (somebody Photocentric ) and the book would be "APUG work by APUGers, selected by Mr Grade".

This would work "photocentrically" because, I am sure, it would vastly increase the number of subscribers. I don't need to specify that copyright should rest with photographers, credits should be clearly expressed, and whatever profit should be duly shared between publisher (Photocentric in the most normal case) and photographers involved.

A word of warning: proper publishing requires 300 ppi or not much below that. Flatbad scanners might not be up to snuff if it is planned to do it in a digital form.

Fabrizio

 

[removed account4]

at the large format forum they have put together a book ( or 2 ? ) of submitted work
make and sold through blurb --- from all accounts came out pretty good. the large format group
is a smaller forum though and i would imagine the compilation / assembly / submission of works from an apug group
would be a huge task seeing that it is gigantic by comparison.

few questions though ...

would the publication be curated? or everything submitted would be published ?
would someone inside apug put it together ( would they get paid seeing how much work it is ? )
or would an outside group have something to do with it ? ( like the fraction magazine curated show )

there is a lot of great imagery in the gallery, and i agree it would be great to see it all between two covers

 

[Ian Grant]

Back a year or two maybe longer I put a mock APUG magazine together, PDF format, I did post the links etc at the time.

Anything with an "APUG" brand would need to be curated, but that needs a small group ideally to even out personal biases etc. I'd be prepared to put it together and have 30+ years graphics experience at a professional level. In addition I've curated many exhibitions.

Ian

 

[guitstik]

They way you keep "Bubba Joe" from voting for his pal in the next cubicle is by requiring subscribers only voting. So you can't just join and vote using the same idea that limits the gallery submissions.

Instead of a vote system, we could charge a small fee and just let everyone in. Yeah, I see that working. We could put together a small group to wade through the submissions and put together a magazine every two months.

I would not expect to get paid as a photographer submitting work. I make what little money I do by selling through my site, what a magazine would do is give me expossure to a different segment of the market. I learn more about different photographers not from the net but from magazines that I subscribe to.

 

[photomc]

Not a bad idea, and one that has been tossed around previously...would suggest reading those threads as well.

First off, I would get Sean's take on this..it is his site. Next I would NOT use a voting system of work selected...no matter how well run, it still becomes a popularity contest.

There are a few art directors that are member here, seek them out and get their feedback. There are also, some that have published books - their feedback may surprise you.

Books are not selling that well right now - even short runs have trouble selling out. Reproduction quality can become a real issue with a book or magazine.

Maybe consider a Monograph - or even a Web based item first to determine interest.

I know of at least 2 sites that have done this - Alt photo and the Large Format , then visit Dead Link Removed and read/listen to some of Brooks thoughts on the subject...like what he says or not, he knows the current trends in the business.

Not trying to discourage, rather point out some of what is involved...and be prepared to have less time free time as this can become a consuming endeavor.

Most of all, good luck

 

[glbeas]

Any images submitted would have to be put to a blind vote so the images can stand on thier own qualities.

 

[hoffy]

I run a motorsports photography forum and we produce a book each year, via BLURB. Unless you have an investor, this really is the only way to do it, as the only cost to produce the book is time. For the book that my forum produces, we accept images from anyone who is willing to submit and ensure that everyone who submit's get's the same amount of space as each other. Obviously, the forum is small, so this is not a hassle (I think from memory, last year each person could put in 4 images).....so doing one for APUG may not be as straight forward as that!

That being said, how many people would actually submit photos? I suppose you would need to decide whether this is an exercise where as many people are represented as possible, or whether this is a 'The best of APUG'.

For this to work, though, you really need one committed person to co-ordinate the whole project. Sure, they can deligate tasks to willing participants and find other ways to decide who gets included or not.

 

[Colin Corneau]

I think it's a great idea. Would love to participate, but it has to have a specific parameters (the more specific the better) and I'd like to see the many pros (in various fields) here have their skills guide it.

Why not have the proceeds cover the costs, with any extra going towards either APUG (and keep this invaluable resource going) or else a charity like the Red Cross, for instance.

 

[Sean]

Hi All,

I always think such ideas are great but over the years tend to keep my distance on such ventures (whether conferences, books, magazines or fund-raising events). My comfort zone has always been the forum itself and those times I ventured into other media or events many turn into nightmares. With limited time and enough stress in my life I don't want to commit to being a driving force behind it. That being said if anyone wants to take the reigns and see this through I am happy to play a very limited role, and stamp it with the APUG seal of approval.

 

[mooseontheloose]

I love this idea.

However I think there are numerous issues that would need to be considered. Here are a few off the top of my head:

1. Is this open to all APUG members, or just subscribers?
2. Should subscribers have been members of APUG for a certain amount of time to be considered?
3. Who gets to decide? If it's a small committee, who chooses the committee?
4. Will this feature only black and white work? What about colour, lith, other alt processes, toy cameras, etc.? Is it worth considering different volumes for different kinds of work?
5. What will the guidelines be concerning submissions? Digital copies based on prints and slides? Will people have to provide proof of final analog print?
6. How many images will people be able to submit for consideration?
7. Will it be the "best of the best", or will there be space for relative newcomers and amateurs?

I'm sure others will have other issues/suggestions concerning such an endeavour.
And in the interest of being helpful, although I'm not a professional and have little experience in this kind of project, I would be willing to help whoever oversees the project (if it gets off the ground).

 

[Newt_on_Swings]

The Film & Darkroom Users forum members have had photographs published in two yearbooks so far.
I am very surprised that APUG hasn't done something similar considering the fine contributors who submit images regularly to the APUG Gallery.

http://www.blurb.com/search/site_search?search=FADU+yearbook&filter=bookstore&commit=Search

Their 2010 version looks fantastic. I think APUG can do just as well!

I would defiantly buy a copy if it turned out as such! 2 if my own prints were in it! lol

 

[perkeleellinen]

FilmWasters are also in the process of making a book and the flickr group Dead Link Removed are onto their second. Perhaps APUG is the only online film forum that hasn't made a book!

 

[photo8x10]

Great and intesting Idea...
I like the idea of a Blind vote... and I'm sure if this project will go on, I would partecipate...

 

[guitstik]

Ok, we have Sean's seal of approval.

Pretty much everything depends on how many participants want be involved with this project. I figure the first step would be to see how many folks will contribute images to determine space availability. I will do some investigating into different print options and find out if there space limitations. In the mean time I will start a thread to get an idea of the numbers involved.

 

[Richard S. (rich815)]

Has on-demand B&W printing for books gotten any better recently? Last ones I saw a year or so ago the results in hand are god awful.

 

[guitstik]

As far as the selection process goes, it will be hands off. I do not feel that I am qualified enough to make those types of judgments. I have a few ideas at this point but one was to gather a collection and take them to the College of Art here in Memphis and have them judged by a panel. I will have to approach the administrator about this and get her take on it. Another item I would like to put out there, I have been receiving a lot of offers to assist in this and I welcome as much help as possible if this is to go anywhere, but be forewarned, anyone involved in putting this together will be exempted from submitting any works. I don't want any bad feelings floating around and I hope this doesn't keep anyone from wanting to help. If this goes the route of all entries being used then ofcourse that rule would be lifted but if it is a selection process I would not want any accusations of favoritism.

One rule that I feel needs to be included is that all entries should be from APUG subscribers only. I think that is only fair. It is not expensive to subscribe and I would like to see this site grow even more. Sean has done a fabulous job and I would like him to continue doing so.