A local newspaper, the Bucks County Herald, spoke with me last week about self-publishing and Trying to Find the Ocean. The Summer saw great sales after releasing my book in June. I’m pleased TTFTO has been shipped to many parts of the globe. Much thanks to everyone who purchased a copy and showed interest in the publication thus far.
Interview, Bucks County Herald (Sept. 11, 2014)
Trying to Find the Ocean has been selected for exhibition at the Phoenix Museum of Art on behalf of InFocus’ international juried Self-published Photobooks exhibition. The show opens August 23rd and runs through September 28th.
From the jury: “We asked for books of any subject including retrospective, project-based, souvenir albums, fictional narrative, exhibition catalogues, poetic, biographical, or children’s books, and welcomed collaborative or collective books in addition to those by a single author. We found that in a well-crafted book, the artist considers every element of the book’s design, and uses each to enhance the finished product. Among the selections are noteworthy selection of paper weight and surface; cover material; printing method and reproduction quality; font style, color and size; text placement and justification (centered, aligned to the right or left); endpaper and title page design; binding (spiral bound, hard bound, paperback); size and placement of the images; sequence of the images; and inclusion (or exclusion) of and placement of the caption information.”
Submissions ranged far and wide from 15 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia. The array of photobooks is wild . . . all photographers, with links to their book(s), can be seen here: InFocus Photobooks Exhibition, 2014
“The first thing I noticed about American photographer Michael Ast’s debut book is how these images carry the tempo of a city, in this case Baltimore, Maryland. It is almost as if Ast’s camera is a barometer for the mood of this town seen in its human and animal inhabitants, its concrete structures, cracked roads, dilapidated buildings and steaming vents.
In “Trying to Find the Ocean” Ast creates a seamless narrative that gains momentum as the pages unfold and there is definitely a sense that as you move through this book you are part of a journey that is both physical and allegorical….”
I had the wonderful pleasure to do an interview with Australian journalist and photographer Alison Stieven-Taylor for her “Photojournalism Now” blog covering contemporary photojournalism and photographers.
The full interview and review of Trying to Find the Ocean can be read here at Photojournalism Now’s Book Reviews
I’m pleased to have my book featured on Lenscratch. Much gratitude goes to one of photography’s saints – Aline Smithson, for sharing with her world-wide audience. Many photographs from the book accompany the article. Thanks for looking.
Trying to Find the Ocean now resides in the extensive collection at Indie Photobook Library in Washington D.C.. IPL’s website offers thorough information on a diverse array of independently published photobooks, while also touring their collection to venues nationally, making the books tangible to the public at large. I’m happy to be in their mix.
The Afterword essay from Trying to Find the Ocean by Mark Alice Durant has been posted.
You can read the full essay here. – AFTERWORD
I’m pleased to announce my book Trying to Find the Ocean is officially ready for order and shipment.
Edition of 300, Signed & Numbered
94 pages, 8.75 x 11 inches
54 B&W Plates, 4-Color Offset Printed
Afterword essay by Mark Alice Durant
My book Trying to Find the Ocean was pressed this week and will be ready for ordering by June 10th. I’ll be posting details on my site in the next coming weeks. I’m just waiting for the binding to be completed. Here’s some plates/forms running through a Heidelberg Speedmaster offset press. What a machine!
Wang Chung, 5.7.14 (monotype combined with aquatint / sharpie etching) © Michael Ast
