It has been a while since I was motivated to do a book. Now I don't do this for profit. I am doing it for my own personal reasons.
I could have picked Shutterfly to do this, but I am already well versed in the Blurb book layout and how to work with text and photos along with overlays.
Blurb is pricey, but allows a more creative work. Also, I can download the Booksmart program and work on it without being on line. My very first book I did back in 2007 featured my dog Morris and his toys. It was a book for the grand kids.
With our extremely slow internet connection, it took hours to upload a tiny book. But it was worth it to see the grands enjoy their own personal adventure with Morris and his toys.
A friend at Flickr named Nikki, urged me to do a photo book on nature. She sent emails and she made phone calls. But I'll never forget the call I got in late 2008. She said, "Val I'm in trouble. I've been diagnosed with cancer for the 4th time. My mule Dyna will need a home." My husband drove to Wyoming in June of 2009 to meet Nikki's sister and bring Dyna the crazy mule to our farm to live in retirement.
Nikki's request was on my mind and I embarked on a photo journey. She passed away in April so she never got to see what her constant urging had spawned.
I spent from March to November documenting and photographing every wildflower and plant I could find within walking distance of my house. Morris and Badger my mule, accompanied me. It truly was a labor of love. The Enchanted Forest.
In 2011, I decided to do something similar in documenting and photographing the winter in our area. I called it The Sleeping Forest. I discovered that the forest does NOT sleep in the winter.
I'm glad I did those books, I look back fondly now and page through them recalling those days of walking through the forest. I recall the note taking and fun I had pursuing the wildflowers and plants. I learned so much about the land that surrounds me. The only thing it did, was make me more curious than ever.
Another Flickr friend has been nagging me all through this Pandemic. "Val, make a book of your photos. Do something with them!" I became friends with BJ through Flickr also. She and I talk to each other every Sunday afternoon. Our ranges of subjects are always all over the place.
One of the great influences for this book is the poet Mary Oliver. Her poetry and prose have been constant companion through this last year.
Sometimes,
walking for hours through the woods,
I don't know what I am looking for,
maybe for something
shy and beautiful to come
frisking out of the undergrowth.
~~Mary Oliver
1945-1985: Poem for the Anniversary
I'm not exactly sure how it will all turn out. But I feel it is a good direction for me right now.
A project.
