RE: Disappearing Photography Resources we can help

[Don Bryant <donsbryant@gmail.com>]

Mark, Mark, and Chris,

>
It seems like every day we are faced with the disappearance of photography
resources that we have depended for many years. 

Dick Arentz has just told me that his wonderful book on Platinum/Palladium
printing is no longer going to remain in print.  Focal Press has decided to
discontinue it because sales have fallen off.
>

In October I attended a presentation by Michelle Dunn Marsh, co-publisher of
Aperture Magazine and Senior Editor of Chronicle Books, and her report about
the photography book publishing industry was pretty grim. 

According to Marsh, the best selling photography themed books now are how-to
digital photography books and the like. Fine art photography books and
similar are not profitable these days and publishers are reticent to commit
money for even limited runs. So perhaps we can't really fault Focal Press
for not continuing to publish Dick's book.

E-books distributed on the net or via DVD maybe the best route to control
costs and maximize availability to a limited audience. If the buyer wants a
paper copy then they can foot the bill for printing.

Don Bryant