‘mags and rags’ fine art investment opportunity

"mags and rags" "photography" "black and white" "newspaper" "street photography" "personal project"

Kitchen paper - a new addition to 'mags and rags' series

Regular visitors to this blog will be aware of ‘mags and rags’, an ongoing series of black and white photographs I am working on to document the potential last days of the newspaper and magazine in printed form as we know it.

With the advent of digital media and devices on which to consume it, the way visual content is distributed is changing and will continue to do so. What happens to the days of physical print? Only time will tell, but I intend to keep recording photographs of ‘mags and rags’ until such time the medium no longer exists.

‘mags and rags’ is a personal photography project, something I believe is essential for a photographer to do develop their craft.  I also believe that training is important to develop both the craft and technique of a photographer in order for them to grow and experiment.

With that in mind I intend to join the Film Is Not Dead (FIND) workshop run by analogue film evangelist Jonathan Canlas to be held in Surrey, UK in May 2012.  At time of writing, just 4 spaces remain and I need to raise in the region of £1500 to attend. It seems somehow fitting to try and raise money from documenting the decline of one analogue medium to protect another.

Why analogue in a digital world?  I want to be a great photographer, to really understand both the craft and the technique, and so for me it is essential to understand the analogue roots of photography, in particular black and white film.  To this end, I have already been experimenting in the black and white darkroom but want to extend my understanding further by really exploring film and all it has to offer.  Learning from somebody like Jonathan with a passion for film and belief in its role within photography is a rare opportunity to advance my craft.  And this is why I need your support and why I have chosen to release a new softcover book and a limited edition of fine art black and white photographic prints.

So why should you invest in somebody elses career? For one, it is an altruistic thing to support anothers growth.  To help somebody achieve their potential in the creative arts enriches us all.  For without external investment, support and belief in musicians, writers, film directors, actors, models, poets, photographers et al, the world in which we live would be a bland, colourless environment.

Secondly, financially it may be one of the smartest investments you ever made. For an investment starting as low as £9.99 you will receive either a printed softcover photobook or one of a very limited edition fine art prints that will accrue in value as the popularity of my work increases.  Is there any guarantee?  No, that’s why these purchases should be made because you enjoy and appreciate the work first and foremost, with the potential benefit of gaining financially if sufficient people share your artistic value.

Why don’t I just pay for the workshop myself?  Since our move from Kent to Norfolk in September, and with Sal now studying Speech and Language therapy full time at the University of East Anglia, my salary is needed to support us both and therefore does not extend to investment in my photography.  I am not looking for donations here, I am looking to produce a limited run of my work in exchange for money. My only other options are lottery wins, unlikely, inheritances, hopefully unlikely, or organ donation. But as much as I want this, it is not at all costs, so I’m keeping my kidneys.

‘mags and rags’ printed photo book

"photo book" "mags and rags" "black and white" "photography" "street photography" "newspaper" "softcover"

Click to preview and purchase 'mags and rags' issue 1

I have self-published with Blurb an interim carry around book containing a sample of images from the early days of this personal photography project for those who are interested, or question my motives for taking photos in public.

I have utilised the Blurb black and white Trade book, uncoated off-white paper, to keep costs low for what is essentially an interim book. Over the years of this project, I will continue to produce these books updating the images as I collect them. Priced at just £9.99 for the physical soft-cover (excl. p+p) and £3.49 for the ebook version to download to your iPhone or Ipad, the costs of this book is set deliberately low to encourage people to invest in them. As each new issue is released, the preceding issue will be removed from sale to add a certain amount of collectibility to these photo books.

Limited edition fine art prints

In addition, I have selected 5 photographs from the launch issue of photo book ‘mags and rags‘ which will be printed in a limited edition of 10 each by Loxley Colour on Hahnemuhle Fine Art Pearl 285 GSM, unmounted and unframed, signed on the reverse by yours truly and accompanied by a signed letter of authenticity. Each limited edition print measures 12″ x 10″ and is priced at £55.00 (excl. p+p). Below are the images selected for this limited edition:

With space on the FIND workshop extremely restricted, I urge you to make your investment as soon as you possibly can to enable me to attend a once-a-year UK opportunity.

To order photobook ‘mags and rags’ issue 1, click here

To order limited edition, fine art black and white prints, click here.

Thank you for your support and if I can ask you to share this post by clicking on your preferred method in the toolbar below in order to help me reach my goal, I would be extremely grateful.

Mick Buston on @500px

"500px" "photo sharing"

500px has entered my consciousness in the last 12 months and I have been a regular visitor to its wonderful showcase of images and photographers.

I even joined up and added some images of my own.  And then I deleted my profile.  Another social network to maintain just seemed like to much aggro to be beneficial.

But last week, I asked the good people over at 500px if I could come back.  So a day or so later, they sent me a nice email confirming that I was back in business.

So why the change of heart?  500px is in essence ‘just another’ photo sharing site but it is different to Flickr, et al,  in one key aspect.  The quality of the photography on 500px is superior. That is not to say the photographers are necessarily better.  Rather, the quality of the editing, and by that I mean the selection of images rather than post production, is far better.  Rather than post 40 images from a set, or a variety of post processed alternatives of the same image, photographers are selecting the very best and showcasing them.  And by mixing in this company, I am more conscious of the work I post and select more carefully and judiciously the photography I wish to publish online.

To be honest, I thought that I would only publish my photography on this blog and link to it from Twitter and perhaps Facebook, but I feel that the investment in time in using 500px is worth it.

Perhaps I need the discipline others display in the way they present their work to make me consider only showing the best I have to offer.

If you are new to 500px, head on over to see what the fuss is about.  Probably best to drop by my photography portfolio as way of entry :-)

p.s Did I mention that it is free?  Or that 500px offers you a great way to showcase a portfolio to potential clients too – see client side portfolio view here.

Texting looks dangerous

"texting" "black and white" "crash helmet" "photograph" "mobile phone"

Protective clothing required for texter

Mobile phones have courted controversy for years of their potential dangers.  But never did I consider that it would be so dangerous to send / read / compose a text that you would require head protection.

This photograph was made yesterday on the trusty Fuji X100 as I was leaving Victoria Station, London.  Think I could have been a bit braver and got closer to eradicate some more of the background but not compelled to crop it to make it look better.

Reading pace – new addition to “mags and rags” project

"newspaper" "black and white" "street photography" "london" "busy" "streets"

Reading pace

I have no idea how people manage to read and walk at the same time, let alone do it as night falls at home time on the busy streets of the West End of London.  This guy was one of many who grabbed their free copy of the Evening Standard without breaking stride in their journey home.  Guess it has become automatic to the long-term City workers and is fascinating to stand back and watch from the sidelines.

This image will form part of my personal photography project “mags and rags” and be soon added to the gallery.

“mags and rags” new material

"black and white" "newspaper" "street photography" "london" "evening standard"

Trilby Standard

The newspaper has the power to stop us in our tracks if an article catches our attention.  I was literally a few feet from this really dapper gentlemen, resplendent in suit and trilby, with my Fuji X100 and he never noticed my capture the two frames I wanted, nor the throngs of people altering their path to avoid him.

This will be a new addition to the gallery of my personal photography project “mags and rags” with news about an interim self-published book via Blurb coming early next week.

Another “mags and rags” addition

"financial times" "newspaper" "reading" "ipod" "listening" "black and white"

Multi-tasking with the FT

Second update to my long-term personal photography project “mags and rags” shot last Thursday whilst walking the streets of London.

Love how this guy is reading the Financial Times and listening to his iPod at the same time whilst life bustles on the busy streets of London just inches from the window of the cafe where he is sitting.

“mags and rags” new photo added

"newspaper" "black and white" "reading"

Walking with the paper

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since recognising the theme of newspapers and magazines in my street photography over the last 3 years, I now seem to be surrounded by printed media wherever I look.  I spent a day in London on Thursday of last week and recorded a host of paper related photographs to be published here during the course of the week.  All of these will be added to the now growing gallery “mags and rags” and continue as a personal photography project until such time as I believe I have exhausted the material I can use for a series like this. Once completed, I will look at publishing these black and white images as a book or maybe even a gallery exhibition.

 

‘Photo Galleries’ section added

Photograph from 'Mags and Rags' series

Just updated the website today with a new section entitled ‘Photo Galleries’.  This is long overdue as I wanted to showcase galleries of images of different themes completed or currently in progress.

The three intial galleries are ‘Artist’, an ongoing project looking at artists as work, ‘Mags and Rags’, another ongoing series – this time around the theme of newspapers and magazines, and ‘Boomerang Girl’, a personal project completed December 2010.

I intend to update galleries on a regular basis so come visit again or follow me on Twitter to be kept up to date with all new posts.