Whenever I take a photo, it is somehow unfinished until it is a physical print. Some constellation of emotional and aesthetic preferences compels me to edit and print the image so that I can hold the photograph, and can feel its weight and the thickness of the paper. I like to look at the photograph in different light and in different places, sometimes holding one vertically against a wall to see if a framed version might look good there, sometimes rifling through a box of snapshots to recall a moment. Regardless of a photo’s quality or size, I simply and always prefer looking at physical photographs.
A book or a magazine is a really interesting way to print images. I like seeing how photographs work together, how a book or magazine collects together different photographs into a series that reflects a particular issue or concern. Sometimes those issues reflect fleeting interests from a particular moment. At other times those issues capture an enduring question or problem that fascinates a photographer. Thumbing through magazines or books reveals something about the photographer and that person’s evolving interests.
That’s why I so enjoy 52, my short, occasional journal. This latest issue reflects on, inter alia, the flâneur and my fascination with windmills. Pairs well with an afternoon coffee and a sweet.
Let me know if you want me to send you a copy.