What Wonderful Distractions…
Monday, February 15, 2021
Okay, so saal’s website is pretty dope (yes, that’s right. I used that word) . It has the kind of look that I want my website to eventually have, at least the pages/sections on the photo books. Clean. Not too much information. Easy to navigate. Not flashy. Just slick enough to grab my attention as a potential customer. One of the issues I am faced with is the fact that there are so many options! I feel as though I want the book to look as professional as possible. At the same time, I keep trying to remind myself that this will be a like a first pass, a sample or sorts. (There is also the issue of the fact that the book would only be images, no words. That may end up being a deal breaker.)
Before diving into the site further, I decided to spend some time looking at the photo essay books I have. It was also, quite honestly, a stall tactic. I am afraid to look at the pricing, especially if I am needing the company to address “imperfections” that I will inevitably be facing due to the age of the slides.
So I got wonderfully distracted looking through these photo books:
Feeling the Spirit (Bantam Press)
Valley of the Kings (Friedman/Fairfax)
Black Beauty: A History and a Celebration (Thunder’s Mouth Press)
The Black Female Body: A Photographic History (Temple University Press)
Culinaria: The Caribbean (Konemann)
The Oprah Winfrey Show: Reflections on an American Legacy (Abrams)
Queens: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats (Doubleday)
Dream Big Dreams: Photographs from Barack Obama’s Inspiring and Historic Presidency (Little, Brown books for young readers)
After all of that, I came to the following conclusions:
The world at large underappreciates art. It is a shame. So much talent. So much beauty wrapped around pain. But also dignity, perseverance, survival, humanity at its best. And I have been part of that large group that has allowed the dust to gather on the books. But I will not stay stuck in regret and self-punishment. Instead, I will carefully clean off the dust and start turning the pages. This rediscovery is a gift that will keep on giving, this month and in the months to follow.
So yeah -- day turned to night. Oops. I guess I’ll be returning to the website tomorrow. Stay tuned…
