My journey to a handmade photo book
Japan 2025 - A cherry blossom edition
I've always loved the physical print with their invitation for visual exploration. A well-printed image is a thing of beauty with rich colors and subtle transitions. In the viewer’s hands, it can be explored from different distances, and they can reach out and touch portions of an image to make a strong connection. Even when bound into a book, it is easy to move between images for comparison and contemplation.
To some extent, these qualities can be achieved electronically. However, have you ever winced as you watched someone looking through your images on your phone or tablet on a bright, sunny day? Or when they accidentally touch the screen in such a way as to pop up a side panel?
For a while, I tried sharing by printing letter-sized images on nice satin paper that I carried around in a box. But they slip around when not corralled, and even though the prints are quite robust, the people I share them with feel that they need to be extra careful. I've tried printing smaller, 4x6 or 5x7, but these are too small and also prone to spilling all over the floor.
So I turned my attention to book form. Exploring the available options, I was not satisfied with what I saw. A large landscape-oriented book was not only expensive but awkward to view, requiring it to be placed on a table for proper consideration. A smaller portrait-oriented book required the images to be too small or to be displayed across the gutter (the center seam of the book). I hate gutters! Then there are "lay flat" books; not only are they stiff and lifeless, but they are super expensive.
There was only one thing left: a self-printed, self-bound book that took into account all of my, perhaps overly picky, requirements:
beautiful printing
hand-holdable - no table required
print dimension around 6" x 8"
no gutters!
During my ideation period (err, procrastination period scrolling through Instagram), I was algorithmically presented with this reel by @treacyphoto. Kapow! This was exactly the book format that I was searching for. To show my gratitude, I headed over to his site and ordered his book, Passerby #12, the latest in a series of books that feel like a compendium of images made over some period of time, representing time just walking with a camera. By studying his videos and examining this book, I was ready to embark on my first handmade book. Now to find the right paper and other materials, and of course, picking and sequencing the images.
