Lagunitas Creek -- I think it's my specialty

click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

You may have already caught-wind of this, but over the past couple months I have been enrolled in a continuing-education night-class at Stanford University; "How to Self-Publish your Photo Book", taught by Brigitte "Gitta" Carnochan who is highly respected in the photographic community.



click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

So, I suppose there is nothing unique about self-publishing a book these days. Printer technology has advanced tremendously and books "printed-on-demand" (books that are printed one at a time as they are ordered) has become an accepted industry standard. No longer does a publisher need to risk an investment in printing thousands of books -- they can be economically printed just one at a time, at a quality that rivals some of the finest art books.



click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

And although, in the paragraph just above, I wrote that there is nothing unique about self-publishing a book these days, I believe what I learned in class helped me a great deal in organizing and putting together my book. Our class was small with only ten students, and we would often break into two groups so we could help each other with our concepts and designs. Our instructor, with a whole lot of insightful experience in teaching this class, was also fabulous in helping with our design considerations.




click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

So, anyway, last evening at ModernBook Gallery in San Francisco our group of students were allowed to hold a book-signing, and the response was grand. I got to see people I haven't eyeballed in years. And people actually really liked seeing my book. Some folks even purchased a copy, which is asking a lot in an economy like this. Next time you are in San Francisco be sure to check out ModernBook Gallery -- they represent and have published books for a long list of fabulous photographers.

Thanks to all who came to ModernBook Gallery last evening. I had great fun visiting with my nine other classmates, and especially the lady who made it possible, Brigitte Carnochan, our instructor. Thanks "Gitta", and also a big thanks to Brad Evans who gave me the initial "heads-up" on the class.



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