Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Time For Planting



Welcome.

While in New York for my son, Isaac’s 30th birthday party last week, I found myself reflecting upon more than two decades of photojournalism and commercial photography.

Writing With Light, my first book, was a collaboration with my wife, Kathy Wonson Eddy, who is both a pastor and a composer. Kathy wrote the text and I provided imaging. No longer in print, it was published by United Church Press.

That first publishing venture was in some ways very positive, and in others not. Henri Nouwen, a dear friend, mentor and spiritual advisor from our days at Yale, wrote the forward. Tragically, he died before the book was in print.

The most troublesome aspect of this first book was the design process. United Church Press retained total control in all aspects of how the images were to be laid on the page. We simply submitted images and text and then waited for the book in galley form. Many elements of the design were great, but some image edits seemed “too clever by half.” Excepting a misspelling or two, nothing, as it turns out, could be changed.

Lesson learned: Kathy and I desired more dialogue in the next work.

Well, here in this blog, I am launching a new work. I will be posting images and writing about them. It is my intention that the arc of this process will lead toward a book, but who knows, perhaps the blog will serve as an end in itself.

Your comments and views are invited.

Bob Eddy

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