The Big Umbrella

Well protected with a big umbrella.

The Big Umbrella

Work in Progress

I've been piecing together a series of my favorite shots as I work to create my first book of street photography. 

One of the things I've pretty much decided on is the cover.  Here's what it looks like.  

Street Observations book cover

I also have the majority of the photos selected and placed.   I decided to leave out other favorites which didn't match the style, so there are no landscapes, and no street photography from other countries.  While almost all the pictures are from New York City, there are some that are from Los Angles and Philadelphia.  

The draft book sample I received pointed out a few things to me:  

• I need to add a foreward.  There should be a bit of explanation as to what I have in mind for the book and why I wanted it to exist.
• Online samples or PDFs do not look exactly like a real book.  That may be obvious, but when you have something tangible it becomes clearer.  
• Seeing a photograph at a larger size on paper makes good use of details.  It semed to me that simple, perhaps artistic photography may not be as interesting and can be a quick page flipper. I'm going to swap out a few in favor of those that might be a bit more complex. 
• Looking at a picture by itself is a good experience, but adding words beyond simple captions helps embellish the thoughts behind the photo.  I have a lot of words to create.  I expect this will take the most time.  It seems counter-intuitive in a book of photography that I need text, but looking at other books as an example makes this clear to me.  

So, I will continue with this work in progress until it cannot be improved any more.  That may take more time, but decades have passed without a book from me.  A few more weeks shouldn't be an issue.  I want it to be as good a book as it an be.