2016 and Beyond...

Photo: © S. Banos

No idea what 2016 will bring, no clue. Well, for the most part... what I do know sucks and sucks bad, like global climate change. As I write this the North pole is actually above freezing- in the middle of winter!!! And the fact that we still don't have any effective response or solution (besides partying in Paris) is certainly far from promising. In fifty years when a whole lot more Earth is underwater, and even more people need room to live- it's gonna make the Syrian refugee crisis look like a New Year's Rockin' Eve. Of course, I will have put down my film camera for quite some time by then...

The wife and I voluntarily celebrated a giftless Christmas this year, highly recommended for couples who already have everything and live in a rent stabilized 1BR in one of the most expensive cities in the country/world. We can attest to no lingering after effects. Actually, there is one thing I'm looking forward to this year, and that's self publishing what will more or less amount to a Greatest Hits Compilation (Part1)- this after all being The Golden Age of Photo Books. Or... not.

Of course, if you want to truly get noticed amidst today's plethora of (self) publishing wonders, one has to present not only a competent series of photographs, but a comprehensive "art" piece complete with all the doilies, nick knacks and other visual/sensory ephemera that make for the complete artistic experience. Actually, ain't got nothin' agin 'im, just that finances dictate this'll probably be your standard Blurb production- although will definitely have another look/see at what's out there. Regardless, I'm very much looking forward to putting it together. I already have a total of some fifty plus hi res scans (restorations and otherwise), and looking forward to making another 25 or so before getting a group of 40-50 in a final edit, hopefully some time next fall...

Been very much looking for a photo book to get for some time, so glad to report that I finally found and am ordering Gus Powell's The Lonely Ones. I particularly like the small size and that the photos embiggen when you fold out the pages- a thoughtful extra step that not only supplies additional acreage for one's viewing pleasure, but also purposely forces one to slow down and... actually look at the photograph itself (the latter becoming a lost art in itself)! Meanwhile....

Happy New Year!

PS- And one more thing... to the 50+ organizations sending me emails asking, demanding and pleading for $$$- wish it so folks, but you're asking the wrong guy, (ie- barking up the wrong tree). Capisce? I give a few bucks to MSF and Amnesty Int- case closed. Rule #1- Don't expect money from people who make considerably less than you...