Wednesday, April 23, 2008

SoFoBoMoFinito!

I'm finished! I suppose I have another week left if I wanted to use it, but it is done. The final edits have been reviewed and the PDF version (3.5Mb download) is available. I've also made it viewable here through Issuu in their flash viewer. I actually really like that presentation, particularly if you use the Fullscreen option in the menu bar of their browsing tool to remove all the stuff around the edges. Works well in Firefox, will be interested on feedback on that. I know some people dislike flash with a passion (please feel free to enjoy the pdf version!). I'm going to wait a few days and see if I get some feedback before starting the soft proofing process to make an actual book. Amanda was generous enough to read through it all and read it out loud to check how the text flowed. That was a fun experience. I've already had some feedback on potential issues with how some of the red on black text might not print successfully. Anyone have experience with that ? Any other feedback, comments or opinions are also very welcome on this, my first photography book! ETA: I've updated the two versions based on feedback from Holly Sisson. She was kind enough to look over the first version and find all of my typographical mistakes, giving me about three pages of corrections for the four pages of text that are in the book! I certainly appreciate her attention to detail and have adjusted the layout accordingly.

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

Gordon, I have enjoyed following your process through to the end. Great job!! It's a fabulous book and shows your creativity so much. I'm sure this is just the first of many for you. Congratulations.

Anonymous said...

It's beautiful! The design is just as fun as the photos, and I think they compliment each other well. You doubled the minimum number of photos! Impressive.

I like the issuu presentation a whole lot!

Congratulations on such a fine piece of work.

tsheets said...

Nice job!! I never would have thought about putting a separating page with the name of each participant in.

I agree with some other comments about the cover text...some tweaking may improve it.

It's been fun watching the process!

Amy Sakurai said...

Congratulations, Gordon! I'm eager to view the results (but I'm swamped at work and will have to defer until later). Thank you for sharing your process and your results! You've been a great inspiration!

milo said...

like a well oiled machine you put that together :) I've only skimmed it so far, but it looks VERY good.

dbwalker said...

Well done! Congratulations!

Amy Sakurai said...

OK. I got to look at your book over lunch. The book is great! Eye-catching variety of layouts accentuating excellent photography! And the Issuu service is pretty cool, too. I might want to try them. Arno Pro is a good font choice -- it's what I have tentatively planned on using (because it's classy and I own it).

Good job! I realize this isn't a competition -- but you've set a high bar!

Ade said...

This is quite amazing for such a quick 'n' limiting project (and from a self-professed "lazy" guy too!). I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Sofobomo participants, but this is a professional-looking result in both the photos and the design. (Sorry, that probably sounds more surprised than I intended. Clearly you put a lot of effort into it.)

Interestingly, the more natural shots work far better than the self-conscious "goofy" expressions that almost everyone feels inclined to pull in these situations. But I can see you need both to fulfill the purpose of the book.

Unknown said...

I think that's a pretty astute comment, Ade. One thing I've found over the last year or so is that asking people to be as serious, stern or angry as they can is often the best way to get a natural smile or reaction. They try as hard as they can to pull a particular face or expression, then when finished, the pretense drops and a genuine smile often appears.

The 'goofy' expressions are along those lines too - a gateway to the real expressions.

Holly Sisson said...

Glad I could help Gordon! :-)

Paul said...

Gordon, the design is fantastic. I love the red and black ... very fetching!

I also enjoyed the silly expressions as well well as the closely cropped, intimate portraits. The layout was refreshing, too, as it kept changing and keeping things fresh.

I'm glad that you put it onto issuu.com. I'd never heard of it, but I sure as heck copied it from you! :-)

Anita Jesse said...

What the heck? I am out of town one day and miss all sorts of fun. I must say you certainly have a peculiar interpretation of the word "lazy". You book is very impressive. Like everyone else it seems, I am taken with the bold and dynamic design. Congratulations on a job spledidly done. By the way, my favorite of the portraits is Amanda's.

Unknown said...

Paul, I found issuu from another SoFoBoMo blog and co-opted it myself, so feel free!

Bert said...

Nice book indeed Gordon--great job!

(followed the link from DPC)

Anonymous said...

Gordon, really awesome work! - wblj <><

aa said...

Gordon,
The images are outstanding, and the book superbly put together. A great job, and done brilliantly.
Looking at your SoFoBoMo venture and others who have completed or are nearing completion.... just wow!

Anil.

Anonymous said...

Gordon, could you share with all of us SlowSlowSoFoBoMo'ers - what process you used to create the final book at I saw it on Issuu. It is just great! I did some searches, but came up pretty blank on how to produce my SoFoBoMo book similar like you did!

Thanks!
Anil

Anonymous said...

If anyone finds a way to get ISSUU to work with pdf programs like PrimoPDF or any of the other freeware PDF utilities, let me know. I have been completely unsuccessful with any of these programs so far. I decided to export my Microsoft Word Document to the older Word format and then bring it into OpenOffice and re-export to PDF from there, and it works OK, but that's a pain in the arse.

I'm too poor to go buy Adobe Acrobat for a project like this :)

MW said...

nice job, G. Looks really good.

Also:
I'm sad I didn't make the cut. Do you not like me?
You should consider tagging this post with a few more labels.
; )

John Tucker said...

Congratulations, Gordon, on a job well done! I like your approach as explained on page 41. I, too, like to try to keep things simple, but I seem to vacillate between the simple and the more complex (read: fiddling). I'm working more, however, on the simplicity part. Less to have to think about. LOL

Anonymous said...

Great job Gordon. I have enjoyed reading your progress and following some of your advice and some of your steps. Issuu seems like a great way for showing the book.
Now I wish I were half as lazy as you are so I would be finish with mine by now.

Anonymous said...

Excellent, top-notch work, Gordon! I thank you for all the really good info and tips you've provided along the way. Mine is still in work - may be for awhile yet - but I also thank you for the idea to start something like this. Great work!

Marti said...

Hi Gordon,

Due to my non-stop teaching schedule this spring, I'm just getting around to looking at your wonderful book. You've done a great job with the images you chose and the way you put the book together. I can't imagine doing all of that in a MONTH -- including making the images.

Something to be proud of, my friend!!!

Congratulations!!!

Unknown said...

Way to go Gordon!!! I have been lurking in the background watching your progress. This is amazing. Great job!!! You have to be proud.

Faye White said...

Fabulous creation! Bravo!

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

I love the cover photo. Magdalena looks like my kinda gal.

Anonymous said...

An interesting concept:
all mug shots...within that matrix, I realize there are only so many variations of how the head can be presented, but the 45 degree angle CCW is overused. I like the ISSUU aspect