SoFoBoMo: thoughts on the others

Millennium Bridge, Gateshead, March 2008
not a SoFoBoMo image

Possibly my last SoFoBoMo 2008 entry, I thought I'd give some thoughts on the entries so far (there are some still to come in the next 10 days or so). This isn't really a review.

Overall, I'm pretty impressed with the quality - I thought there would be more shortfall - rushed, partial entries - but then again there are 37 posted to date and around 200 signed up.

Mostly it is the quality & variety of ideas that shows through the most. I think this collection of work shows there is much more to a decent photobook than just a collection of an artist's work. Philosophy, story telling, daily observation as well as straight art all get a look-in.

There are a few that stand out for particular reasons to me:

Paul Butzi's for the ability to turn a walk with the dog into an existential, metaphysical experience. It also goes to show that words can be as important to a photobook as the pictures themselves. There is no way these ideas can be conveyed by the images themselves.
Gordon McGregor must win the prize for production values. The quality of the design work is outstanding. I'm also struck by the way he uses a theme, with varying layouts, throughout the book. with the varied layout like this it actually makes the viewing more pleasing.
I also love the gentle humour of ndalum78's "I can count" - a simple idea with a nice selection of photos. Puts me in mind of Sesame Street. This certainly made me smile.
Probably the most interesting photography is in Julie O'Donnell's book. An interesting choice of equipment has lead to some interesting and visually pleasing work.

This is not to say these are "better" than the others but they did stand out for the reasons given.

It all makes me wish I'd had a little more time to put into mine.

If you didn't know already, find the list of & links to all completed work here.