“Motivations, Vol. 1” – my new photo art book

Back in February 2010, I was inspired to create an art photography book that featured Capital District buildings that still had painted advertisements on them – faded “brick ads” and “ghost signs” that steadfastly advertised products and services from companies that no longer exist.  The book, “Ghost Signs of the Capital District,” was published through blurb.com and did quite well for itself.

So after all that, I thought… why can’t I write another art photography book?  What’s stopping me?

Well, in my case, it was a concept.

I wanted to create an art book that was just more than a bunch of pretty pictures.  This time, I wanted to add something special.  This book needed to include inspirational words.  It needed specific text that could match up with my photos of Capital District iconography – shots of nature and culture and architecture and serenity.

And every so often, I would add a picture to the manuscript. And a quotation for the picture.  One by one.

I needed quotations like this to keep my spirits up, when there are days that have become too dark.  I needed this language to inspire and motivate – heck, if this stuff could get me moving forward, imagine what it could do for your day?

And on Sunday, October 10, 2010 – there’s that 10-10-10 thing – I sent the final manuscript to Blurb.com for publication.

And here’s a low-res preview of “Motivations, Vol. 1.”

You might recognize several photographs in the book from previous projects – some of them were fair competition pictures, others were just test photos that I liked more than the final photos.  The pictures are a mixture of digital and film; there’s Kodachrome and Efke and Nikon D700 and Nikon D70 pictures in the book.  The texts includes famous quotations from such luminaries as Neil Armstrong, Emily Dickinson, Tony Hawk, Erastus Corning, Winston Churchill and Helen Keller – as well as some verses from Scripture.

Believe me, there are days when I need a book like this.  I need something to lift my spirits.  To make me believe, when all else is lost, that the next day or the next hour or the next minute things will all work out.  And if this works for me… maybe it can work for you as well.

“Motivations, Volume 1” is available in hardcover and softcover through blurb.com.  You can view the entire book in a low-resolution format above; or you can purchase a softcover or hardcover by clicking on the appropriate link.

Hope you enjoy.