Started to just play by printing my images at my own small printer, rough edits on these images, just playing with the layout and see a physical form of what my Indesign project.indd looks like.
Also, straight after the 23rd project presentation session I decided that I will go to a book store, immediately and add more inspiration to my resource pack, I needed a new book, a new story to guide myself after, and so I did, found this beautiful book by Isabelle Graeff 'Exit' published by HATJE CANTZ.
A book that starts with a personal written story of about 5-6 pages which is followed by the series of photographs.
However, the whole subject of the book is definitely far from what mine is but I love how she, self-expressed her sadness, melancholy, own feelings by creating this book, almost like a self therapy process,
a long story short she lost her father and now she took a trip around Britain taking photographs and finding her floating level.
quote from the book "Everything she discovers on her journey, everything she photographs, has the appearance of a farewell"
I love how she offered a personal place for each photograph on slides, leaving them breath from page to page, not too busy layout making it very easy for me, as a viewer to enjoy them more.
Well, fast forward to the last days of this submission, and I can say that I am impressed by how beautiful the process of this project has been. It started from something and evolved into something else until it reached its final point. However, the book reference that I had intended to use for my final book shattered this dream due to its complex printing requirements and the associated costs. The first quote I received from my chosen printing company, exwhyzed.com, was for £162 per book, which was simply not feasible given the complexity of the project. I was concerned that if I proceeded with the printing, there was a risk of not being able to get it right from the first order, and as you will see later on, it turned out that I was right.
Adapting to the plan, I decided to choose another book from my personal archive as a reference. It's a book that I love very much, titled 'Creating Photographs' by Albert Watson. It's a simple yet interesting and easy-to-read book. The cover is a simple matte 350gsm, and the pages are approximately 150gsm. The book is 128 pages long and bound in a perfect stitch.
Final printed book
However, here it is - my second book ever made. It's a book about me, England, and royalty. It's a story about how I came to the UK and how my life has been since 2015 when I arrived here. I never thought that being a full-time artist would be my path, even though I was always surrounded by art from a young age, including books, literature, music, painting, confectionery, drawing, and dancing. However, I never actually stuck to something that could represent me.
Now, in 2023, I am graduating from one of the coolest universities in one of the biggest cities in the world. I achieved this all on my own initiative, considering that I left college just three months before it ended in 2017. This book is a sum of my memories, feelings, people, and places from my life, illustrated through the daily theater of life. Once again, I am grateful for living here, being a part of this city, its culture, and everything it offers. I have lived in around seven cities throughout my life, and I couldn't be more grateful for everything I've learned along the way until I reached the big test - London. It's a whole unlimited world unveiled through a door that opened for me to explore for the rest of my life.
Returning to my book, it's called 'A Blessing in Disguise,' which I named after the first book-type project I did to enter this university. It helped me practice my passion for street photography, and it's a personal story told through a beautiful collection of images taken throughout the United Kingdom. This project pushed me to visit and learn more about the history of places like Central London, Winchester's popular medieval cathedral, and the heights of the London Eye and Windsor Castle.
