Yesterday I came across something that has gotten me very excited about photography again. Started by Paul Butzi, SoFoBoMo (Solo Photo Book Month) is simply, in his words:
"for photographers who want to take a crack at putting together a solo photo book in one month"
The idea that Paul has presented, is that you make a commitment to take 35 or more photos within a month, and then create a book with them. The book can just be a nicely formatted PDF file - there's no need for a printed hard copy (although, you can do that if you like). You can start anytime from April 1, 2008 to May 1, 2008.
One of my favorite photo bloggers, Gordon McGregor, wrote an excellent post about SoFoBoMo. I like this part:
"Along the way you'll learn about editing your images - making those final painful choices on what to include or not. You'll probably learn a bit about book layout, design and what goes in to making a book. You'll find out how good you are at working to a deadline - or not. You'll actually finish something. That in particular is powerful stuff. It forces you to make decisions and live with them."
That's what this challenge is about. Learning and self-discovery. Not only will you learn through the very act of doing the work, but also by being engaged in a community of photographers who are all working towards the same goal: 1 book with 35 photos in 1 month.
Sign me up! I've needed something - a goal to work toward, some outside motivation - to help me push my photography to another level. So, I'll be participating and blogging about my experiences.
Here's a list of other SoFoBoMo bloggers.
NOTE: Gordon McGregor had commented on this article, but unfortunately it was lost when I moved to a new blogging system. His comment was:
"Thanks :) That particular piece of writing seems to have resonated with quite a few people."