With the new month comes a new postcard. Leaves always fascinate me. Not in their collective but in their individuality (a collection of portraits of leaves is in my recent 52/4 journal). This one caught my eye. Let me know if you want to get a postcard of it.
A warm fall deprived us the season’s flaming reds, oranges, and yellows. Most leaves just turned brown and fell to the ground. The frost this morning seemed to be mocking me.
I just sent the files of the latest issue of 52 to the local printer, Fireball Printing. This issue is a collection of photos of leaves, usually just a single leaf though a few pairs of leaves. They reflect quiet fall moments before a breeze or a car disturbs them.
The printed photograph encourages a different, lingering engagement with the image, and allows for sequencing and order that digital photos discourage. There is no scrolling, no share-on-social-media button (no buttons at all, in fact), no likes. Just a series of photographs. Perfect for a cup of coffee, a pastry, and enjoy.
If you would like me to send you a copy, let me know: darin@drhayton.com. You can also download pdf copies from 52.
The latest issue of 52 arrived yesterday. They look great. I had them printed locally, at Fireball Printing in Philadelphia. They did an excellent job. The print quality is superb. The paper has a nice, rich, substantial feel, making it a pleasure to sit and look through while enjoying a cup of coffee.
I’ve started distributing them. So let me know if you want a copy.
I just received the proof for the next issue of 52. This issue collects together black and white photographs documenting some effects of the current pandemic — the vacant streets and empty businesses — as well as some photographs of the city at night.
As with the previous issues, I enjoy the way the printed photograph encourages a different engagement with the image. There is no scrolling, no share-on-social-media button (no buttons at all, in fact), no likes. Just a series of photographs that would complement a morning coffee and croissant.
I should receive the final version in the next few days. Let me know if you would like to receive a copy.
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.