The three shortlisted finalists

WYB? was a competition for readers of Black and White Photography magazine.

Entrants were asked to submit their idea for a book: a title, strap-line, seventy five word outline and six images.

Here are my thoughts on the tree shortlisted finalists.

…Some Terra…

Panoramas 1982-2007

Michael Copsey

EE: First impressions are so often what counts and Michael’s proposal was no exception. In this case, we could hardly make out the tiny copy transparency images he had included with his submission, but they had such an inviting presence that we were left eager to see more. Intrigue goes a long way and, as such, the pictures in this proposed book really don’t need any text; I love their presence and ambiguity.

How do I visualise Michael’s book? The original prints Michael sent in when he was shortlisted are very extremely tactile, being on a textured FB paper (something you really don’t get to appreciate on screen). So, I would propose a quite rough, uncoated-type paper stock, but we’d have to choose carefully since uncoated paper surfaces don’t always reproduce images that well. As for the design? I rather like the idea of a concertina/accordion-style book, so the viewer could look at images singly or open up the book and see a pair, or more, of pictures at a time. The different combination of pictures would enable the viewer to read even more into Michael’s

wonderfully ambiguous images. 

What format would I make the book? Landscape seems a natural choice (although bookshops don’t care for them – especially larger-format ones). I suspect that bleeding the pictures at each end might work, too, rather than giving each one an all-around white border. The latter would separate them, making it more of a portfolio-style book and perhaps give less of the experience of being in Michael’s world.

Sudden Stillness

Visual echoes of timeless rhythms

Andrew llachinksi

EE: Sometimes first impressions can be quite misleading. It was the technical excellence of Andy’s pictures that struck me first; the sheer quality of his work sang out. ‘Here is someone who knows his Zone System’, was my initial thought. But, the outline soon revealed a much deeper story, whose proposed 4-part text (of “4 movements”) would balance, perfectly, his exquisite, meditative black and white images in an almost Zen-like way.  

In contrast to Michael Copsey's book, I would suggest printing this is on a much smoother paper, but not something glossy. Although a shinier paper would show off the technical quality of his images, this is not a book about photography, and a glossy-in-your-face look might not complement the calmness suggested in the title. As a potential book about stillness, this publication needs to invite the viewer in

rather than shout at them. 

So, what style and format would I envisage for Andy’s book? Often it’s not until I start laying out pictures on a page that I really get a sense of what a book requires. Should all the pictures be used the same size? Do they need white space around them? Should some be full-bleed and others smaller – to retain the viewer’s interest? Are some more meditative than others? 

Were Andy to win, then these are just some of the questions I would ask. And there’s his text – his “movements” – to consider. How should these be incorporated into the layout, and what typefaces should we use? Does Andy see his pictures and text having equal billing, or is one more important than the other? There’s lots to discuss when making a book and any number of different ways to make it look – one way could make it, another could break it…

Coastal Fragments

Snapshots of the English coast

Trevor Crone

EE: My first impression was that Trevor’s fragments of the British coast would make great postcards – a perforated book of postcards, perhaps? But, as we looked at each image we began to talk about them in terms of which British seaside writer they reminded us of. One picture was pure John Betjeman, another was very Graham Greene, and so the list grew. Through this realisation an idea was hatched; copyright laws permitting, what if we used text extracts with each picture? 

The concept of using fragments of text would suit the title. Speaking with Trevor, it turned out he is a Graham Greene fan. So, perhaps we should think of using just Greene’s text, in which case maybe Trevor could find extracts that he feels complements each of his images. In the process, he could also find other extracts as prompts for future images – and so a whole new chapter of the Coastal Fragments project could be born. 

The layout of the book could be spread-based, with one image per page, opposite which could be the beautifully type-set text. In his proposal, Trevor described how he visualised his book. Envisaging one’s photography as a body of work really helps the creative process of making images, in that each picture taken prompts the search for others. Having a plan also helps a commissioning editor and publisher like myself to understand where the artist is coming from. The last thing I want to do is to impose my will on someone else’s project, although without feedback and an outsider's critical view, any photographer is likely not to see the bigger picture that a book presents.

As with the other two proposals, I would make some sample pages, and print them out actual page size using an inkjet or laser printer. Pasting these into a dummy book (the chosen printing company will make one) gives an immediate sense of whether the design – and the narrative – is working or not. The sample spreads can be moved around to get a sense of the flow of the book. Another way to do this is to export Indesign or Quark page spreads as pdf’s and view them as a slide show.

COPSEY

CRONE