Photobook Publishers and Visual Designers

During a one-to-one webinar last week with tutor Colin Pantall (colinpantall.com), we discussed the viability of the photobook as a platform for delivering at least a portion of my final major project (FMP).

A few of his valued recommendations for publishers follow here:

• Fw:Books (fw-books.nl): A collaboration between Hans Gremmen (designer) and Petra Stavast (artist), Fw:Books is a Netherlands-based independent publisher with a focus on photography and related topics.

• The Eriskay Connection (eriskayconnection.com): The Eriskay Connection is a Dutch studio for book design and an independent publisher. We focus on contemporary storytelling at the intersection of photography, research and writing. In close collaboration with authors we make books as autonomous bodies of work that provide us with new and necessary insights into the world around us. The key for us is to convey the essence of their work through high quality editing, design and production. Our editions are mainly offset printed and bound in The Netherlands and we strive to work with local producers and sustainable materials as much as possible. (Text from the publisher’s website.)

• Syb Kuiper (syb-photobooks.com): Dutch graphic designer, Syb, (Sybren Kuiper) studied Dutch language and literature at the University of Utrecht. After graduating, he studied graphic design at the Art Academy, also in Utrecht. Since 1994, he works as an independent graphic designer. (Text from the publisher’s website.)

• Roma Publications (romapublications.org): Roma Publications is an Amsterdam based art book publisher and design studio, founded in 1998 by graphic designer Roger Willems, and artists Mark Manders and Marc Nagtzaam. It is used as a platform to produce and distribute autonomous publications made in close collaboration with a growing number of artists, institutions, writers and designers. Related to the content, every issue has its own rule of appearance and distribution, varying from house to house papers to exclusive books. The publications so far are in editions between 2 and 150,000 copies. Occasionally, Roma also curates exhibitions. (Text from the publisher’s website.)

• Kummer & Hermann (kummer-herrman.nl): Kummer & Herrman (K&H) is a design agency that was founded in 1998 by Jeroen Kummer and Arthur Herrman. While their roots stem from the renowned Dutch tradition of graphic design for print, K&H has since grown into a multidisciplinary creative office that develops publications, exhibitions, visual identities and campaigns over a wide range of media.

  Their approach is determined by a strong, substantial and editorial involvement, as they are convinced by the notion that design is not only about the surface but should reveal and enhance the story being told.

  K&H believes that design can play a crucial role in creating attention and achieving a deeper understanding of complex contemporary issues. This belief is reflected in their longstanding collaborations with individuals and organizations operating within the domains of the arts, photography, documentary, journalism and education. (Text from the publisher’s website.)

Windows & Mirrors

I came across this abandoned bouquet stuck into the wire of a dune fence near Cape May, NJ a few months ago and the symbolism of this bedraggled clump really spoke to me. So many feelings and possible interpretations to unpack here.

Maybe it was meant to show the fragility of love and impermanence of life?

Or, perhaps the opposite? Maybe it's about the ability of love and the human spirit to endure in the face of the harshest conditions.

Maybe a commemorative gesture to remember a drowning victim? Could be, given the roughness of the waters here.

There’s a reason why this token was placed here, but we’ll never know what it is. I love this storytelling aspect of photography. This link between what’s shown in the frame and its connections to the unknowable world that lies just outside it.

Whether I'm shooting something for a commercial purpose or for a personal project, it's always something of which I'm very aware.

As to whether I interpret things more in terms of windows or mirrors, I'd have to say that what I shoot--and the way I frame and compose--is based very much on the way I feel and the way I personally interpret the world. I'm offering a "window" into a subject for others to interpret, but the resulting image is also a snapshot of my own psyche and experiences.