The Online Photographer

Upcoming Print Sale Plans

I've been a-workin' hard the past few days and have some good news to report.

• I've reached an agreement in principle with TOP reader Chester Williams to offer a fine print of his remarkable example of pareidolia* called "The Goodbye Kiss" that he submitted to the "It Must Be Color" Baker's Dozen.

Chester Williams, The Goodbye Kiss

It's a straight photograph of...well, concrete. But of course it seems to be something entirely different, and therein lies its charm. And the subtle color promises to be lovely in an archival pigment print.**

• We will have a Peter Turnley Holiday TOP Print Sale for the Christmas Season this year, offering three beautiful B&W silver gelatin prints from new work. The sale is called "Peter Turnley, Paris, Venice, Havana," and will start on "Cyber Monday," the first Monday after Thanksgiving, a day that was invented in 2005 by Shop.org to emphasize online shopping and as "a way for smaller retail websites to compete with larger chains." ("Smaller websites"—that would be us.) Peter will offer the three prints at the standard European collector paper size of 30x40cm (~12x16") and at an unprecedentedly good price. They'll be delivered in time for Christmas (but, unfortunately, not in time for Hanukkah, which starts very close to Thanksgiving this year), and I can testify from personal experience that they make highly appreciated gifts***.

• Somewhere in the next few months I'll be having a TOP fundraiser and offering a print of one of my pictures for sale. I'm leaning toward either this one or the second picture from this post. Either would be modestly sized and modest in cost.

• I'm also thinking of one other print sale—it might better be called a "reproduction" than a print—of a classic image from the Library of Congress, a personal favorite of mine.

• Finally, I'm also working on a possible sale for March of next year.

That's all that's in the pipeline for now. We haven't had a print sale yet in 2018, so I thought I'd let you know we haven't abandoned the idea. It's certainly a lot of fun to do them, and it's highly benign—everybody involved "wins," even those who merely look on to be entertained.

I particularly like the idea of having reader print sales from the Baker's Dozens. That's a trend that should continue, I b'lieve.

Mike
(Thanks to everyone mentioned)

*Pareidolia: the tendency to perceive a specific, often meaningful image in a random or ambiguous visual pattern; the tendency to perceive pictures in random shapes, as when seeing faces in whorls of wood grain or figurative objects in cloud formations. (In case you aren’t familiar with that term!)

**If you are personally interested in buying a print of this picture, I'd appreciate hearing your thoughts about what size you would prefer.

***A framed print of Peter's was one of the few things my now-ex-girlfriend didn't return to me when she bolted (TMI? Sorry). But ah well, no regrets. All's fair in love and war.

Original contents copyright 2018 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

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Featured Comments from:

Ramón Acosta: "I used to live in a house with lots of marble, the floors, the whole bathrooms, and always saw something in 'the marbling' (not sure if that’s the right word). Never took a picture of any, and I lived there for years. Thank you for telling me the name of that."

Ernest Zarate: "And it was just today I cast my eye (and mind) on this print on my wall and thought, 'Hmm...it’s been awhile....' Good to hear you’re rectifying that, Mike."

Mike replies: That one is great to live with, isn't it? I still love it. I love their other one, too.

William Lewis: "I would be interested in a print of the Williams photo if it is not too big for my space and not too expensive. That's not quite as impossible a standard to meet as in the past though as I do have a real job now.  ;-)  An 8x10 (or equivalent for the aspect ratio) would be perfect to me."

Lee: "Apparently pareidolia isn't just a strictly human thing anymore. I was shooting an image of Fall colors across a lake today and my Sony A7 'saw' a human face in the tree shapes, switching into face recognition focusing mode. I couldn't see it myself."

Jnny: "Called it! I knew this was print-sale worthy the moment I saw it. 8x10 or 10x12 for me, please."

Last Chance!

Peter Turnley, Cambodian refugees, Thailand, 1988

Just a reminder that Peter Turnley's print sale ends tomorrow at noon, Eastern U.S. Time.

The sale has been highly popular all across Peter's many networks of friends, with a large percentage of customers taking advantage of the excellent price for three prints. Each order of three or more also comes with a signed, slipcased copy of Peter's book Cuba, A Grace of Spirit, from his recent retrospective exhibition.

Peter will make a donation to TOP if you enter the information that you heard about it here.

All prints will be shipped on Dec. 16th via FedEx and will arrive well before the 25th.

A great opportunity. Do not miss! But, time get to it....

Mike

Original contents copyright 2017 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

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Big Success (and Delivery Information): Precipitation II Sale

As you told us, "Precipitation" was a print a lot of people wanted. We're extremely pleased with the success of the sale. A huge thank you to everyone who purchased a print as well as to those who helped spread the word.

Orders will begin shipping by the middle of next week, on a first-in, first-out basis. Delivery time from then will depend on distance from Philadelphia and what day you placed your order. We anticipate that all U.S. orders will be delivered by October 30th, some sooner than that, with international orders taking up to 14 days longer. Again, many will not take that long.

REMEMBER, we will replace prints that go missing or are damaged in shipping. You are covered, so not to worry. We have run many sales and we're aware that sometimes "things happen," and we know about how often they do. So Gordon Lewis will be having a number of "emergency extra" prints made to cover such "foreseen unforseeables." If a print goes missing in the mail or is damaged on arrival, we will replace it.

You can contact Gordon Lewis or you can contact me if there are any problems.

As we always do, we will announce here on TOP when the prints begin shipping, as well as when they have all been shipped.

Thanks again to you! I hope you love your print and enjoy it for many years.

Mike

UPDATE from Gordon: I would like to express sincere thanks and gratitude to all who ordered a print of Precipitation. I know all too well that there are countless things in this world of ours competing for your time and money. The fact that you would be so interested in this particular one is not something I take for granted and for which I am truly humbled. I will begin shipping the print as soon as they are ready and guarantee that if you liked it as a JPEG, you will love it as a print.

P.S. I would love to have one more print sale before Christmas but I have nothing in the pipeline. I'll keep thinking on it.

P.P.S. B&H Photo is closed for Succos right now, but yesterday when I mentioned the Sony A6500 I should have thanked B&H for the loaner. Re the Curse of the Loaner Cameras, it's rainy with leaden dull gray skies again here today...gulp!

Original contents copyright 2017 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

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Brian Reitenauer: "I was traveling all week and got home Friday night. I ordered the print and for fun, checked the time stamp on the PayPal email...9:59:57!!! Now that's close! Big fan of your writing and thanks for the print sales."

Can You Help?

[UPDATE: Sale ended 10/6/17 at 10 p.m. Thanks to everyone who participated, and anyone who helped! —Ed.]

Today is the last day of Gordon's print sale, and I was wondering if you might volunteer to help spread the word—mention it on a forum you visit, another website, Facebook, your Twitter feed, or anywhere else you go to "virtually congregate" with other people who might like to know. No need to go to great lengths, just one mention somewhere would be enough. If enough people do it it should really help.

Here's a short URL:

https://tinyurl.com/ycsv689h 

And feel free to grab the JPEG image from the post if you want to.

'Twould be a mighty favor, and greatly appreciated.

Sweet success
I'm happy to report that "Precipitation" is making it rain (ha!). With maybe six hours to go it's already one of our most popular sales of recent years. It has greatly outstripped the number sold the first time around, back in 2009.

Orders close at 10 p.m. Eastern Time tonight! Last hours. I'll leave it open a few minutes after that for stragglers, but, honest, we don't take orders after the close. Once the doors shut, they're locked. Remember there's no extra charge for International shipping.

Thanks!

Mike

P.S. Oh, and look what's sitting on my charging platform halfway down the basement stairs, sipping power that it may come alive—that thing that looks sorta like camera albeit sorta not.

Of course, the tradition is that as soon as a loaner camera gets here, the weather gets cruddy and remorselessly stays that way for the duration of the loan period. And sure enough, today was also the first gray day we've had in two weeks—the weather had been just otherworldly, really lovely. But I've got the camera for 30 days, and it can't stay gray for 30 days.

So we'll be having some fun next week.

It can't stay gray for 30 days, can it? I have to confess, I'm a little worried.

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Gordon Lewis's Second 'Precipitation' Print Offer (Three Days Only)

Gordon Lewis, Precipitation, 2009. It looks best as a real print.

[UPDATE: Sale ended 10/6/17 at 10 p.m. Thanks to everyone who participated! —Ed.]

By popular demand—if you don't remember, here's the story—today we're reprising a print offer from 2009: "Precipitation" by Gordon Lewis. Gordon is the author of the 2015 book Street Photography from Rocky Nook and has been a colleague of mine since the days of Darkroom Photography magazine.

If you're not familiar with our print sales, we do things a little differently. First, we collect paid orders for a strictly limited time—in this case, three days, from now through Friday evening. The photographer/printmaker can then make the prints to order and do everything in one large batch, knowing the prints are already sold. What that means is that we can sell fine art prints for prices way below what galleries would have to charge, but the photographer still makes money because what we lack in profit per piece we make up in volume. It's a nice marketing model because everyone wins.

However, you have to order now. Once the sale is over, it's over. Really, and no foolin'.

The details: These 2017 prints are made under the direction of Gordon Lewis by Mike and Janine Zaikowski of Profiles in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, using an archival inkset. The image area is 8.75 x 12 inches (30.48 x 22.225 cm) on an 11x14-inch sheet. The paper is Innova Exhibition Cotton Gloss, an OBA- and lignin-free archival paper with a "natural" (slightly warm) color. The print itself is slightly warmer than last time around, reflecting Gordon's evolving idea of what the light in the picture should look like. But they're quite close. Profiles made the prints the first time, too.

All the prints will be signed, on the front, at the lower right-hand side, outside of the image area.

Price: The price is $149* plus $16 for packaging and shipping to anywhere in the world. It's guaranteed: if for any reason you don't like it once you see it, you can return it for a 100% refund not including shipping. Only one shipping charge applies per order no matter how many prints you buy. Any prints damaged in shipping will be replaced.

Payment: There are two ways to pay:

1.) Through PayPal, or

2.) If you prefer not to use PayPal and would rather mail a cashier’s check or money order (which must be in U.S. dollars), please contact Gordon directly to make arrangements.

Mailing: If you need the print sent to an address different from your official PayPal-linked address, please note it in the Special Instructions / Comment field of the PayPal order page.

•

This sale also helps support TOP, but the photographer always gets 80% of the proceeds. We support photographers!

As I said when we tested the waters, of all the prints we've ever offered, this one gets the most comments like these:

Eliot: "This is the print that I've always kicked myself for not getting. I would jump at the chance to get it."

GKFroehlich: "I've missed a handful of TOP print offers due to being totally off the grid for the duration of the print offers. The one print I have most regretted being unable to buy was this one! Yes, count me in!"

Erik: "Missed it the first time and have regretted not buying it every time I have seen it again."

I've heard comments similar to these about this particular print many, many times over the past eight years. Don't miss it this time—Gordon has informed me that this is it. He won't be offering it again.

Mike

*You can thank Del Bomberger and Francis White for this. We planned to price it at $200, but Del wrote, "This is my 'retirement budget' speaking. I'd definitely buy it at $100, possibly at $150, and not likely at $200," and Francis said, "I would certainly be interested, providing that the total cost including international postage would not exceed $200 (much). I might even if it did, but would have to think harder about it...."

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Print Sale is Wednesday to Friday of This Week

Tell Tchaikovsky the news.*

Mike

*I originally wrote "N/t" but that seemed boring.

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Look Who Came to Visit

My good buddy and longtime colleague Gordon Lewis is my houseguest for a few days here at TOP Rural Headquarters, which is a treat. Speaking of treats, Gordon is a master of martial arts and a devoted guitar player among many other skills and talents, but he's also an excellent chef, and he's actually fixing me an omelette as I write these words. So I'll make this quick.

The eggs come from my friend Dave, who lives up the hill from me. Dave is a master stonemason but also a farmer, and he has a variegated collection of  exotic chickens—some of whom have intermingled with each other. So Dave will say things like "That one's grandmother was a Wyandotte, but her father was that Rhode Island Red rooster over there." (I just picked those names out of a hat; I don't remember any of the names of the chickens Dave has.) The eggs are all sorts of shades, including blue.

Did you know that eggs keep for years as long as you don't wash their outer membrane off? True. But these are very fresh. (I'll write a post about Dave sometime soon. He's a master of his craft and an interesting guy.)

In the picture above, Gordon is holding the artist's proof of the print of "Precipitation" from the reprise print offer that we'll launch soon, standing in front of my framed print from the first sale back in 2009.

So do you recognize this scene?

It's a snapshot of the place where Precipitation was taken. Obviously the wall has been painted, and decoration in the form of painted plywood cutouts have been added. A no smoking sign has been added too, but the plaque thing that had the yellow rectangle on it in 2009 is still there, albeit without the yellow rectangle. The sidewalk is still the same.

Gordon's picture makes it clear that the patches on the concrete wall had a certain artistic quality; I thought it was a bit ironic that someone painted over those, but then they, or someone else, saw fit to add different decoration of their own. Needed something.

Gordon's picture disappeared as soon as the woman with the umbrella took one more step, of course, but as you can see, the setting is gone now too. He says that if the woman in his picture had been walking in front of those plywood figures, he wouldn't have bothered making an exposure.

The new print of Precipitation is made by Mike and Janine Zaikowski of Profiles in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. "They get photographers," in Gordon's words, but their main business is printing high-quality, color-matched reproductions of artworks (for which they still use the old word "giclée"). They made the prints the first time around, too.

The new print is on slightly warmer paper but the paper is gorgeous. The print looks fantastic, very rich. It captures the feel of the light. We'll only be offering one size this time, the size Gordon is holding.

One question: should all the new prints be signed or unsigned? He's still deciding.

By the way, the omelette, which has new potatoes, broccoli, fresh basil, and mushrooms in it, is delicious.

Mike
(Thanks to Chef Lewis)

Original contents copyright 2017 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

A healthy goulash.
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Testing the Waters (Street Photograph)

Gordon Lewis, Precipitation, 2009

I have Gordon Lewis's "Precipitation" hanging in my downstairs powder room and it gets more comments and compliments than any other picture in my house. It's a lovely and luminous print, better on paper than onscreen.

One friend, a poet, admitted at the end of his stay with me that he had repeatedly gone into the powder room just to contemplate the picture, over and over again.

The print was taken for a camera review of the Pentax K-7 DSLR that Gordon wrote for TOP in 2009. So many readers liked it that we staged an essentially impromptu print sale. It did well, selling 77 prints.

Since then, however, the acclaim has continued...at least in my powder room! I swear I've heard at least ten people say some version of this: "I remember that. I should have bought one when I had the chance."

Scott Kirkpatrick, the TOP reader who flew in from Boston on Wednesday, was only the latest to say it, as I was giving him a quick tour of the house.

So I finally asked Gordon if he'd like to reprise the sale and offer a Second Edition of the print. He said he wouldn't mind, but that he wanted me to test the waters before we went through all the work involved. Which I am hereby doing.

The picture has had quite a career. It was later featured in the book Why Photographs Work by George Barr.

Gordon, of course, is the author of Street Photography from Rocky Nook. Which is apropos, because my portrait of him in action in New York City, above, is one of my favorite street photographs of my own! (Or does that count?)

Here's one in which you can actually tell what he looks like. Those are Larry Fink photos behind Gordon (thanks to JM for pointing that out).

So what do you say? Would you like us to offer "Precipitation" again? The price would be between one and two hundred dollars. You might also mention if you would be willing to help publicize the sale on other sites and forums you visit.

Thanks!

Mike
(Thanks to Gordon)

UPDATE from Gordon: Thanks to all who answered that they would want a second chance to buy Precipitation. The reason I asked Mike to test the waters in the first place was that neither of us saw any point in putting time and energy into something you have little interest in, and might even find off-putting. Enough people have said, 'Yes, I'd buy a print or two,' that Mike and I have agreed to go set up a sale for some time before the end of the year. We'll keep you posted.

Original contents copyright 2017 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

Raining tastiness down into your day
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Last Day, Last Chance! Our Book Sale Is Ending Today

Our current book sale ends at close of business on the East Coast today, for the matched pair of Lee Friedlander's life work and the beautiful Paul Strand title. You can still make a last-minute order during the day today, but then they go back to regular price.

It has been extremely popular and very successful, with many hundreds of books successfully homed. I'll have final numbers for you in a week or so. Yale has been excellent about taking care of problems, of which (after an initial glitch, corrected within hours) there have been only a few.

There are two ways to order:

[UPDATE: Sale ended on Friday evening. Please check back for future book sales!]

Big thanks
Our thanks to everyone who bought one, two, or all three of these books. I hope you get a lot of pleasure out of them.

I'd have a book sale every month if I could. We have more from Yale University Press (yup, YUP) and a gorgeous volume of 19th century landscape photography coming up this Fall. Watch this space!

Mike
(Many thanks to Jim and our friends at YUP)

Original contents copyright 2017 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

TOP/Yale Spring Photo Book Offer
(Ends June 30th or when supplies run out)

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Featured Comments from:

hugh crawford: "I got both Lee Friedlander books, a few days ago I went through In the Picture and it was so emotionally devastating* that I couldn't do any work on my project for the rest of the day, except for looking at paper samples and researching international postal rates. That's how good it was. I wasn't really expecting a memento mori and haven't opened the other Friedlander book yet since I'm running behind schedule already. TLDR: Wow!"

*not somthing I expect from Lee Friedlander, I don't know whether it was seeing what I had always thought of of as individual photographs set as a narrative or if it's the unexpected cognitive overlap of that work seeping into what I'm editing and vice versa. —Hugh

Benjamin Marks: "I have been enjoying the Friedlander books extensively. I have a couple of 'longitudinal' projects myself (originally inspired by Nicholas Nixon), and the sheer depth of Friedlander's documentary effort is awe-inspiring.

"Mike: Your making these book offers happen is really such a gift to the community you have created. And there is such a natural (I almost hesitate to use the word) synergy between publishers or wholesalers who have reached saturation in their markets and a group of pretty sophisticated consumers (if I may pat all of the TOP readership, myself included, on the back) who are otherwise unaware of the volumes on offer. Win-win-win, if TOP gets a little something for the effort. Well done!"

So What Do You Think of the Book?

Enough time has gone by that the early-bird orders of Paul Strand: Master of Modern Photography should have arrived in readers' mitts by now.

So what do you think of it? I'd like to hear. (We'll do this with the Friedlander books another day.)

I found this book to be an ideal way to re-acquaint with Strand's uncompromising work. Although not originals, the illustrations are gorgeous, and as a "curated show" in this book they have a cumulative power. I've been through the book four times since I got it, looking carefully, and each time I've found it to be a moving and emotional experience. It sums up a man's whole life in a rich and honorable way. Strand himself went from a vigorous and iconoclastic youth to a more principled and reflective older age; his pictures got quieter and less ambitious but more profound.

I have a fraught history with Strand—years ago, back when I was young and arrogant, I got embroiled in a public controversy that centered around him. It was a back-and-forth that played out in the pages of a magazine. But one thing I've always been on the lookout for is the tendency we humans have to become polarized by disputation. So I always try to remain open-minded and willing to modify my stances as time goes by. I made my peace with Paul Strand and his work a long time ago. Maybe he just suits me better at the age I am now.

I'm eager to know if you like the book too. I hope those who have contacted me privately will leave comments too.

The Yale Sale
The book sale is still open. This time around we're offering three excellent hardcover books for bargain prices, thanks to our friends at Yale University Press. It looks like the next sale won't happen until Fall.

This sale has been extremely popular so far; we've sold a total of over 600 copies of the three titles. Out of all those, only one book has needed to be replaced because of shipping damage (maybe two, if a reader who contacted me a few days ago also decides to request a replacement). That's a great ratio.  Yale is also getting high marks from buyers for their phone service at the 800 number.

There are two ways to order: on the Internet using a code, or by phone. Here are the Internet links:

Lee Friedlander, In the Picture ($25, or $20 each for two; published at $75)

Lee Friedlander, Family in the Picture ($25, or $20 each for two; published at $75)

Paul Strand: Master of Modern Photography ($39; published at $75)

These links will take you to the US website of Yale University Press. (The UK website is not involved in the sale.) Enter the code YTOP1 if you are ordering only one Friedlander book, or YTOP2 if you are ordering both; the Strand will ring up at $39 using either code.

You can also call the 800 number of Yale University Press to order over the phone, or if you have any problems. That number is 1-800-405-1619.

If you'd like to do us a favor, please post an announcement or a link to our Yale Sale at other sites and forums you visit; the sale is not limited to people coming directly from TOP. All you need is the code to get the Yale/TOP sale prices. Here's a quick link you can use: https://tinyurl.com/yd3xa6zd

Quantities are limited. The sale will run until the end of June or until supplies run out. Shipping will vary depending on how many books you order and how far they have to go. Those charges will be applied at checkout as per Yale's normal procedures.

I'm looking forward to your comments....

Mike

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Peter Wright [who left this comment under an unrelated post just yesterday —Ed.]: "I just got my books from the Yale Book Offer and I'm very pleased. The Friedlander books came first, and a few days later the Paul Strand book arrived. I thought at first that they had messed up, but the books were packaged separately for size/packaging reasons, (They just must have taken different routes to Canada.) After looking at the Friedlander books you won't feel guilty about selfies any more! (Or hounding your family.) The Strand book goes from 1910 to 1967—you can see the technology and ideas evolve over the years. The book is also beautifully made, and the printing excellent. $39 well spent! Thanks for making this available."

Spring Book Sale: Paul Strand and Lee Friedlander

Welcome to The Online Photographer's 600th week on the Web! This morning we're offering three fine art photography books at nice discounts courtesy of our friends at Yale University Press. Since many people have been waiting eagerly for this, I'll give you the lowdown post haste and talk more about the books themselves in days to come.

First up is a matched pair: In the Picture: Self-Portraits 1958-2011 and Family in the Picture 1958-2013 by Lee Friedlander. The former was published by Yale University Press in conjunction with Yale University Art Gallery in 2011, the latter by Yale University Art Gallery in 2013. Both were designed by the distinguished book designer Katy Homans with separations by Thomas Palmer, and they're a little unusual in today's photo book world in that they were printed in the USA by Meridian Printing (a lot of book printing these days has moved to Asia).

They're smallish books, just under 9x10", but bricks at about 1 3/4 inches thick—there are over 350 plates in the Family book and more than 400 in the self-portrait book. I'll talk more about the pictures later, but the reproduction is rich and vivid, with a full, classic tonal range, very well done.

These two Lee Friedlander books were published at $75 each. We are offering them at $25 for one (yes, you can buy just one, our reasoning being that you might already have the other), or $40 for the set.

The third book is the magnificent Paul Strand: Master of Modern Photography, which I already wrote a bit about here, published by (deep breath) The Philadelphia Museum of Art in collaboration with Fundación MAPFRE in association with Yale University Press, in 2015. This is a magnificent book, I believe the best single Strand title ever published up to now. It was designed by Takaaki Matsumoto of Matsumoto Incorporated, New York, and printed by Trifolio S.R.L., Verona, Italy. It was published at $75, which I have to say made it a very good deal given the outstanding quality of the book and its luxurious reproductions. We are offering it here at $39.

I said I wouldn't say anything about the books now, but quickly: I think this is one of those cases where the book reproductions might actually be better than original prints, the reason being that Strand printed extremely dark, requiring strong light to see the prints properly, and the fashion in Museums lately is to keep light levels very low—a particularly bad combination in the case of Paul Strand. The illustrations here may be the absolute best way to see the work, if you're interested mainly in experiencing the content of the photographs. The balance of visibility and rich tonality is perfectly judged in the book.

How to order
There are two ways to order: on the Internet using a code, or by phone. Here are the links:

Lee Friedlander, In the Picture

Lee Friedlander, Family in the Picture

Paul Strand: Master of Modern Photography

These links will take you to the US website of Yale University Press. (The UK website is not involved in the sale.) Enter the code YTOP1 if you are ordering only one Friedlander book, or YTOP2 if you are ordering both; the Strand will ring up at $39 using either code. You can also call the 800 number of Yale University Press to order over the phone, or if you have any problems. That number is 1-800-405-1619.

Note that you are welcome to post these codes and links on other sites and forums if you wish; the sale is not limited to people coming directly from TOP. All you need is the code to get the Yale/TOP sale prices.

Quantities are limited, so the sale will run for 30 days or until supplies run out. However we have generous quantities of the books, so you needn't be anxious about it. Well, generous quantities of two of the three, anyway.

Shipping will vary depending on how many books you order and how far they have to go. Those charges will be applied at checkout as per Yale's normal procedures.

Hope you like!
I really hope you appreciate this sale and can't wait to hear what you think of the books. Very exciting and gratifying for me; as I said the other day, I'm mad for photography books myself, and I love being able to offer these sales. And by the way, each book you buy includes a little dollop of a donation to TOP, so you'll be helping to keep the lights on here as we move toward Week 601, for which I say thank you. Very big thanks as well to Jim and Kali at Yale and to our friend Keith F. Davis, who put Yale and TOP together.

Mike

Original contents copyright 2017 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

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Collin J Örthner: "I love that this Paul Strand book sale allows shipping into Canada at a far more reasonable rate than your previous book sales! I greatly appreciate Strand's work and very much look forward to this volume. Thanks Mike!"

Speed: "Entered order. Worked fine with no changes to my computer or browser.

"How soon can I expect my book? :-) "

Mike replies: The estimate is that most books will ship within three days of ordering. Add ten days or so for in-transit time, and you should have your book in about two weeks, give or take a few days.

Maggie Osterberg: "Thank you, thank you, thank you! I've coveted a book of Strand's photographs like the one I just bought for years. And you're so right about his prints—I saw some of them at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA) back when I was a student at MCAD and in the dim gallery, they were as dark as a charcoal drawing. I've read that he printed for them to be viewed in sunlit rooms, so he went darker. Don't know if that's true, but it would explain it. Again, thanks to you and Yale for making this book available to me at a price I can afford."

Correction: Book Sale Starts Next Tuesday

I feel sheepish, but I completely forgot about Memorial Day. I mean I didn't forget about the day (or the reason for it), but I forgot it was next Monday. That's what happens when you work at home alone.

So the upcoming book sale will start next TUESDAY, May 30th, a week from today, rather than on Friday as I announced yesterday.

Sorry for the mistake.

Mike

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FrankB: "The book sale sounds like a good idea for a hint to the spouse for Father's Day. She is always asking me what I want and this might be a welcome change from the usual shirt that doesn't fit."

Strand/Friedlander Book Sale Starts (not Friday) TUESDAY

The news: all the ducks are in a row, all the systems are go, and we're ready and set to start the next book sale on Friday Tuesday. That's May 26th 30th. It'll be the first post I put up before after the holiday weekend.

We'll be offering three books courtesy of the good people at Yale University Press, our partners for this sale. One volume of the work of Paul Strand, and two by Lee Friedlander. Quite different photographers. All three books are beautiful.

I love these book sales because I truly love photobooks. They've always been a source of pleasure for me. As I've said before, these sales are a "win" for everybody—I make a little money, a publisher finds good homes for some orphaned overstock, and you get great books for a lot less than retail. Not necessarily in that order. (In this case, you'll be able to get $225 worth of books for $79. The only less expensive way to acquire them would be to steal 'em).

If you have any questions please ask, but I'll put all the details in the announcement on Friday Tuesday. Please check back with TOP then, or on the weekend.

Mike

Original contents copyright 2017 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

Book 'im, Danno
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Next Book Sale Will Happen This Month

Time to announce that I've been working with the prestigious Yale University Press for our next book sale. They supplied all the prospects pictured back in March in this post. If all goes well we'll first be offering three superb recent high-end books. As with the books we offered from the Nelson-Atkins Museum, the exhibitions theses books celebrate are over, sales have slowed at the Museum Stores where they have mainly been offered, and Yale has overstock and wants the books to find good homes where they'll be appreciated—which is where you come in, of course. Two are a matched pair and are cooperative publications, so we've still got some details to iron out with them, but I can tell you about the third.

It's special. It is Yale's reprint of the superlative retrospective of Paul Strand published in 2014 to celebrate the acquisition of the core of Strand's own archive by the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

It was edited by Peter Barberie, Brodsky Curator of Photographs at Philadelphia's Alfred Stieglitz Center, with Amanda Bock who was the Assistant Curator for the project. An expensively produced, deluxe hardcover, it's the best single volume on Strand published up to the present moment, incorporating the most recent scholarship and including more than 250 illustrations. The scholarly apparatus is first rate (including an edited transcript of a roundtable discussion among leading scholars, which is unusual), and the excellent reproductions capture some of the magic of original prints and are cumulatively quite moving to look at in my opinion.

Even if you have only one book about Paul Strand in your library, this should be it—I think this hits on all cylinders. So the fact that we'll be offering it for less moolah than you could get it for up till now doesn't even need to enter into your calculations.  ;-)  Overseas shipping will be available and will not be as dear as last time.

Supplies will be limited (but not severely) so I'll give you plenty of advance warning about the start of the sale later this month.

Something to look forward to.

Mike
(Thanks to Jim S. and Keith D.)

Original contents copyright 2017 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

Masters of the past and more
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Featured Comments from:

Dave: "Looking forward to it! Awesome!"

MikeR: "The Paul Strand volume is excellent. We already own a copy, from the 2014 show, which itself was an eye-opener. I do believe he would have loved Photoshop!"

Fulvio Senore: "I have that book and I can confirm that it is an excellent one. The image quality is very high and the book contains a lot of interesting information about Paul Strand."

Prints Ship

The prints from our last print sale have begun to ship.

If one is coming to you I think you're in for a treat, and I'm eager to hear what you think. Although my guess is that this is a picture you'll like better after you've lived with it for a while than you will when you first see it. If it occurs to you, in the future, let me know if I'm right about that. John even said he likes it better after printing it for a week.

Thanks again to John Lehet and everyone who participated.

Mike

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'Beautiful Bokeh' Print Offer

[JPEG of] photo by John Lehet

During 2017 TOP will be offering four single prints, one per season, all from experienced master printmakers, all reasonably priced. I'm happy to announce our Winter season print sale, the first of 2017. [UPDATE: Sale ended 1/9/17 at noon.]

For John Lehet it's not about the JPEG; it's about the print. A perfectionist photographic printmaker, he studied under John Sexton and transitioned from large- and medium-format darkroom printing to digital printmaking many years ago now. He's a very serious, engaged printmaker with a large body of work and many exhibitions to his credit.

The picture is "Morning Glory Bud In Rain, 2016." It is large for a small print, 13.5 by 20 inches on 17x22-inch paper. The print will be signed on the the front at the lower right; no signature on request.

The cost is only $160, shipping inclusive for domestic U.S. orders and $35 extra for non-U.S. orders. Vermonters will need to pay sales tax. It was pretty nice of John to "go low" on the price for us; helps make a purchase pain-free. This is really not much more than you might pay for a poster of the same size.

Same picture, two different papers

A new wrinkle for TOP: you can choose the same picture on your choice of two different papers, Canson Edition Etching Rag or Canson Baryta Photographique. The differences are subtle yet significant: Etching, a textured matte paper with less tooth than watercolor paper, emphasizes the smooth areas of the photograph, with the paper texture coming forward subtly in the soft washes of bokeh color. At first we were only going to offer the print on this paper. However, John decided to also offer a version on Baryta Photographique, a paper that faithfully echoes the feel of fiber-based black-and-white darkroom prints of old but without the curl. On Baryta Photographique some of the detailed areas of the print render a little more assertively, shifting the emphasis a little more toward the texture of the wet leaf above the bud. Both papers show the pop of detail against the smooth bokeh equally well, and produce clear and real color.

John has recently been obsessed (if that's not too strong a word) with exploring bokeh with his high-end full-frame mirrorless camera, using a variety of older lenses famous among deep connoisseurs. We'll have more information about the equipment used, as well as a fascinating post about meditation and its relationship to photography, as the week progresses.

As always with our sales, we take orders for five days and then close the ordering period so the photographer can get to work on fulfillment. We do not take any more orders once the ordering period has closed. No exceptions (but not to worry—if you miss the sale, you can still order the print from John at any time at the regular price of $475). The "Beautiful Bokeh" sale ends next Monday at noon, Eastern U.S. Time.

I hope you will love this! It really is exceptionally pretty. (Very safe to give as a gift, I might add.) And thanks much for looking.

Mike
(Thanks to J.L.)

Original contents copyright 2017 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

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Michael Kellough: "Re 'Both papers show the pop of detail against the smooth bokeh equally well, and produce clear and real color.'

"Echoing Dave, in his comment, all we can tell from the photo of both prints side by side is that the color saturation is different in each print. The texture you discuss in describing the difference is not visible in the photo so how about some other clue to distinguish the two papers?"

Mike replies: Actually you can't quite tell that, because you can't see prints in JPEGs of prints. Especially iPhone snap JPEGs that have been reduced to 800 pixels in width and mushed and squished by the blog software. Just sayin'.

My clear favorite between the two papers is the Etching. It's John's preference too. This picture is gorgeous on it. John created an array of tests on a number of papers of various softness and a variety of textures, looking for the perfect match for the image. He tried some papers that were even more matte and had more texture than the Etching paper, but liked them less. He arrived at Canson Etching as having the ideal balance.

We're also offering the Baryta because we know some people have a strong affection for those types of papers (I love them too), and feel "allergic" to papers that are more matte. My experience over many years is that a small minority of people just really don't care for matte papers. The Baryta paper has more gloss and looks more conventional. The picture looks beautiful on that paper too, and, honestly, the differences are pretty slight (and will probably be more so once they're under glass). But if you lack any strong allegiance to traditional Baryta "air dried F surface" type papers, and you're in doubt as to which to get, I'd say go for the Etching. It's amazing.

And finally, if you receive the print on the Etching paper and don't care for it, you can return it to John and he'll send you the more standard Baryta print. (Or your money back, your choice.)

Does this help at all?

Solving Problems

A few brief followups:

• Re "Things Go Wrong," the washing machine repair cost $397.48, more than half the price of a new one; the water heater, replaced under warranty, cost $468.83. My butt hurts like somebody gave me a swift kick in the wallet. Hence....
• B&H sends me a holiday gift card every year to thank me for being an affiliate (thanks B&H!), so I solved my problem of needing IBIS because of my "yips" by putting this year's gift card toward a used Fuji XF 18–55mm OIS lens. Not IBIS, but rather in-lens IS, but I can't afford a new camera right now. (My X-T1 is not even three years old yet and works fine.) 
• Re "The 2017 Novel," I finished Heart of Darkness in 2016 with a little over two hours to spare! However I did not enjoy it. Have decided I do not actually like Conrad, much as I would like to. Went to the attic of the barn and, until my hands got stiff with cold, rummaged through boxes. Found one of my two editions of Moby-Dick; ordered two more...despite the fact that I'm reading an online version (cf. Mrs. Wittig, "all you book collectors are insane").
• To solve the computer problem, I'm using my 13" 2014 MacBook Air as my main computer. I may have already mentioned this. Seems to be working okay, except that not infrequently it makes a giant industrious whooshing noise like it's hot and its fan is blowing, despite the fact that there is no detectable inlets or outlets for air to pass and, if it actually has a fan, I have no idea where they put it. This bears more discussion, but I'm not going to post my thoughts about Apple right now because the new Print Offer starts in the morning and I don't want the Comments to be inundated with talk about computers.

Did I mention the Print Offer starts in the morning? It does. This one is going to be special; I adore this print. I've already found a frame shop in Canandaigua and I've been Scotch-taping John's proof up to the wall here and there in the house to help me decide where to hang it.

More in the morning. Noon actually, to be precise.

Mike

Original contents copyright 2017 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

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Featured Comments from:

Jim in Denver: "Earlier this year my mother had to replace her GE clothes dryer, which she bought new in 1967. To say that 'they don't make 'em like they used to' seems accurate in this case."

Rob L.: "The 18–55mm ƒ/2.8–4 is a great lens, that I don't use often simply because the 16mm is so amazing. It's not as great as the Nikon 17–55mm ƒ/2.8, but close, and in fairness about 45 lbs. lighter.  :-)  "

Manuel: "Curiously, I felt a strange lack of attachment when I tried to read Heart of Darkness. It just didn't grip me. When a book doesn't rivet me by page 28, I usually give it up, but I made an extra effort with this one. It didn't work. It's weird that, while being quite straightforward and short, the narrative is boring. I read behemoths like Magic Mountain, with its thorough character and environment depictions—I could actually see Hans Castorp in my head!—and I never felt tired as I did with Heart of Darkness. At least now I know it it's not a translation issue, nor a lack of comprehension."

Mike replies: It might be one of those programmatic novels that's supposed to be one big extended metaphor, so maybe it's gripping to those who know all about the subtext. A novel like that is Andre Dubus III's House of Sand and Fog—supposedly the story of the Middle East conflicts recast as an epic real-estate squabble. I mean the characters are contending over a house. That novel, which I read all the way to the end, infuriated me—the whole programmatic premise seems utterly disreputable to me. I felt betrayed that the author wasn't true to the humanity of his characters, but had made them into straw dogs in his programmatic agenda. This I suppose is a matter of taste. Or ethics, or something.

Kev Ford: "The MacBook Air vents out of the gap between the main body and the screen. There is a fan that pushes air out that is a little like a water-wheel. It's normal for the fan to come on occasionally; the fan will lower the temperature quite far below where it needs to be before turning off and allowing the heat to build up again."

Upcoming Winter Print

John Lehet by MJ

Please put aside a little of the money you get for Christmas or Hanukkah for our Winter-quarter print offer!

I've been living with all of the proof prints for six days now, and it took John (the photographer) and me four days to sift through the possibilities and make a decision—he sent many variations of several prints on many papers, which were virtually all "good but different." After considering many options, we went in the direction of simplicity and purity: we'll be offering only one image at one size on one type of paper. A rather radical choice in certain ways, as you will see.

Vermont photographer John Lehet would never say this about himself, I'm almost sure, but, knowing him, I feel comfortable saying that photographic prints in his case are just the visual manifestations of his spiritual voyage—he's a longtime Buddhist who has been deeply involved in meditation practice for many years*. Accepting his work this way opens it up for me.

John is deeply into process, which I would define as the methods used to sort, clarify, and redact one's work into final form, and we'll talk about that—John is unusually insightful on that subject. The equipment he used will be fun to discuss, too.

Although of the highest possible quality in every way, the Winter Print will not be expensive, either.

That's all I'll say for now. We will offer four single prints in 2017, all by different master printmakers—one during each of the four seasons**. As for John's photograph, we won't decide on the date of the "reveal" until after Christmas, but it will be in the first few days of January.

Mike

*When I asked him if it was okay if I said this, he said yes, but added a paragraph explaining with uncommon thoughtfulness why he doesn't care for the word "spiritual." I should see if I can get him to write a short post about meditation—that would be very interesting.

**Also, I'm discussing bargain photo book sales with other publishers, too. More fun in the New Year.

Original contents copyright 2016 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

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Beautiful Bokeh

...And now for something completely different, as Monty Python used to say. TOP's own Print Sale for this season will feature two absolutely lovely color prints, quite different from each other, that both have a radical amount of bokeh.

Bokeh as many of you know is a term derived from the Japanese that means "out-of-focus blur" but is shorter to say and easier to write. Many photographs do not have any out-of-focus blur; many photographs have a little; a few have a great deal, and, in a very small percentage of cases, photographers deliberately use bokeh as a creative element.

As is the case with our two sale pictures.

The prints are made by a master printer who has been refining his printing techniques, skills, and style since taking a workshop from some guy named Ansel Adams a number of decades ago. He also loves to experiment with a variety of fine and expensive papers to get just the right effect...

...And that is where we are right now. John is experimenting with papers, FedEx is en route to me with proofs; the process continues.

Much to be done. It's a several-week-long process with many steps to present a print sale. As you might imagine, though, this one is close to my heart. I love these. I am trying not to suggest print sizes based on where they will go in my house.

More news about the beautiful bokeh print sale soon. The pictures are quite different from anything we've ever offered before. And yep, the lenses used were chosen for their bokeh properties. Of course we'll eventually fill you in on all the geeky details about that as well.

The Turnley Twins
Peter Turnley's holiday print sale is over now, but his twin brother David's is still going on. David and Rachel are once again offering prints of a wide selection of David's award-winning work as a photojournalist. David and Rachel, like Peter, have kindly offered to share a referral fee to TOP if you mention you came from here. Scroll to the bottom of the sale page to order. Tell your friends!

David Turnley and Jim Harbaugh, who have both returned to the University of Michigan after impressive careers out in the world

Mike

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Peter Turnley Has Changed His Mind

=

Change of mind is not inconsistency. —Cicero

-

It's not too late to mention this—almost, but not quite!

You remember a few days ago I mentioned that Peter Turnley is having his annual Paris Print Sale. I also said that the prints would be inkjet prints for the first time.

That has changed. In his most recent e-mail blast about the sale, Peter announced that "The prints are signed traditional silver gelatin fiber prints. I have decided to offer silver gelatin prints to maintain continuity will all previous printings of my photographs."

I know Peter is more than happy with the quality of the inkjet prints that have recently been made from his work—but all the prints shipped for this sale will be traditional silver gelatin black-and-white prints. (No telling if this will be the last time.)

Thought you'd want to know.

Note that anyone who orders two or more prints will receive a free, signed, slipcased, hardcover copy of Peter's most recent book Cuba: A Grace of Spirit.

Tomorrow is the last full day of the Paris Classics offer, so it's not too late!

Mike

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Lawrence Plummer: "I had been very close to asking you about the prints when I saw that they were inkjet. I was wondering what happened to Voja Mitrovic! I still marvel at the three prints I picked up in your sales that were printed by Voja. They are superb."

Mike replies: Voja retired many years ago but, as a favor, continued to print for a small, select group of his friends, all of whom happened to be world-renowned photographers. I gather he has now retired from that retirement, although I don't communicate with him directly and don't really know the story. Although getting up in years, he is well.