[alt-photo] Re: book release

[Christina Anderson]

Peter and all,

Thanks to all of you for the kind words, and Peter, can't wait to see your reaction to your work in there. You'll have to show Tatiana her picture.

Somehow, seeing one's work in print is somewhat...shocking....even when 1/3  page. I had paid for a high-end proof for the book to make SURE the color was accurate since the book is all about color. Thus what I got to see this week was a 19 lb (!) high-end proof of the entire book. I had no idea what I was asking for. THAT was overkill.

So the good news is being able to see the color pages before press (the bad news is paying for return overnight shipping).

There are so few casein printers I know about out there so it is you, Peter, and Sam, me, Alberto, Marek, and Rosae Reeder intertwined within those pages. Unfortunately a couple others did not respond to my emails as was the case with gum as well. 

The book is not perfect. It has lots of little (hopefully, only) flaws, and things I wish I had done better, an edge of a photo not cropped here, a word misspelled there, alignment off in a paragraph, but I gave it as much as I had to give and that I feel good about. Hopefully there will be no errata in formulas (gasp). HIstory of gum and casein will only interest a few, but I felt that was important to include since my personal research centered so heavily on it. Oh well. Someone may thank me in 100yr.

The digital negative chapter was the WORST. I tried to be all things to all people, highlight all systems out there (PDN, QTR, Harmon, Ware, Burkholder, Reeder) AND make it intermediate-digital friendly, and it became laboriously lengthy and way too complex. I ended up doing a disservice to all. Ron Reeder rescued me. He essentially rewrote the chapter under a ridiculous deadline, as well as tested his process in four processes while doing so. It is his simple system in that chapter which even beginning Photoshoppers should understand. What I call accessible. So a trial ended up in a huge blessing. 

I personally look at it as a celebration of the alt list. Despite all the arguments over the years, there has been so much good. But I do have a  page dedicated to "the stain wars" which Mark Nelson will heheheheh about, sharing Koester's much-quoted dreaded stain test.

And hopefully all will note p. 36 paragraph gum caveat "There are no absolutes." :) 

Included is Alberto's indexed color method, Frances' one-tray VDB process, Sam Wang's duotone neg process, etc. etc. etc. so you see why I feel it is a celebration of the alt list.

But the photographs MAKE the book. They are the testament to alt.

I don't mean to go on and on about this all, I am just very excited as you can tell.

Chris

On Jan 11, 2013, at 11:11 AM, Peter Blackburn wrote:
> Fantastic news, Christina! Can't wait to order the book and will promote it here in the Dallas/Ft Worth area. Cover looks attractive and appealing for opening to read further . . .
> Well done and congratulation for finishing the work.  :-)
> Peter J. Blackburn