Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Fifteen Exercises in Perception: Table of Contents

Here is the Table of Contents, with a summary of each chapter. The book can be used alone, or in a group. The structure is also suitable for a high school or college course in photography, with assignments appropriate for a semester's worth of work. 

I. Introduction  --how to approach the exercises
II. Almost an Island    --observing while varying your types of movement
III. Windows  --using the windows of your home to learn about perspective
IV. Poem for a Terrace: Words into Photo Maps --thinking spatially about the landscape
V.  Oracle –answering inner questions by noticing metaphors in the outside world
VI.  Duet –learning from the different vision of a friend
VII. Interpreting Stones –examining an element of the world around us                             
VIII. Running Poem –experimenting with how speed affects perception                            
IX.  River Hikes –noticing the difference in your perception in a group vs. when you’re alone
X.  Urban Wanderer: Twelve Photographs –finding out how limiting the number of pictures you take changes your results—or if it does
XI.  Urban Wanderer: No Limits –discovering if taking unlimited photographs alters your themes or results
XII. Photographing Nothing, and Writing Down the Sound Between Words –approaching negative space, and honoring silence and the opportunity to hear
XIII.  My Neighborhood –understanding what you think and feel about where you live
XIV.  Animal Search –getting to know an animal’s world, which is also your world
XV.  Ways of Observing –assessing the exercises 


Sunday, March 8, 2015

Formats, Formats!

We're offering a PDF format of  "Seven Exercises in Perception" for our Kickstarter campaign, and also at our table for the Virginia Festival of the Book's Book Fair at the Omni Hotel in Charlottesville (March 21). We're also going to have paperback editions at the Book Fair to show visitors the content of the digital files (those paperbacks are printed digitally).

I've begun to dig into the ways of converting the PDF to a file for Amazon, and some of what I'm learning makes me realize that the PDF available on Kickstarter and at the Book Fair is a really great version. As the distributor, we can't control how many times it's passed on to other people (at least I don't think we can...if we can and don't know, please contact me!), but the file itself is easy to read and the images beautiful.


Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Cover Design

Right now I'm tackling the cover design of "Fifteen Exercises," and I've ended up with a little bit of red along the vertical edges. I have one more photo to choose for the back cover, and then I think I'm set as far as the images.

I visited the printer's this past week to select the paper and then get the measurement for the spine. I didn't realize that the paper selection could change the spine width as much as it can. I haven't absolutely determined which paper I'm getting, so I may have to tweak the design before printing.