Goal:
- Experience work in a way that downloaded images can't match.
- A chance to see what other people are doing.
- Provide topics for discussion.
The basic idea is to gather prints and circulate them in a portfolio
that is mailed around. The pictures should be:
- 8x10 or smaller, and unmounted to keep costs down.
- Nothing irreplacable. These pictures will be subject to loss in the
mail, and much handling. There is no guarantee that it will arrive back,
or arrive back in good shape.
- Labeled someplace with contact information - who you are and how to
reach you. Name and email at a minimum; phone number and address if you
wish.
Note that you should *not* copy these works. If you want a copy, contact
the picture's creator. People submitting prints can employ watermarks or
some strategy to discourage copying if they wish.
Gathering Prints:
I will email a request for prints with some deadline. People who wish to
contribute can email me. If there are sufficient contributors to make it
worthwhile to assemble a portfolio, I will ask the individuals to send
me their print, and either a stamped envelope for returning the prints,
or return postage if the print is sent in a reusable mailer, or
instructions to destroy the print if you don't want it back.
Question: Would people prefer themed portfolios, just to provide some
coherency to what gets sent around, or not? My inclination is themed,
but with an occasional broad theme like, "Something interesting." If you
like themes, provide a few suggestions.
Circulating Prints:
When it is clear that a new portfolio will form, I will send out a
message to this list asking for people who want to see the portfolio (a
"viewer"). My intent is that the portfolio will circulate to those who
contributed prints, and to those who ask to see it, with a maximum
circulation list of 12 people so it won't take forever to reach
everybody. (This implies that a portfolio won't contain more than 12
prints.) If there's too many viewer requests, I will devise some way to
give people a fair chance at seeing a portfolio.
When I gather the prints, I will send them out, along with a circulation
list. The recipient should:
- Email me upon receiving the print.
- Keep the portfolio for no more than a week (less is appreciated).
- Provide comment upon it either to alt-photo or to the people portfolio
viewers. Would it be useful to set up per-portfolio mailing lists?
- Email me upon sending the portfolio to the next person in the
circulation list. Each person is responsible for paying postage to send
the portfolio to the next person in the list.
The circulation list will end with me. When a portfolio returns to me, I
will send the pictures back to the contributors.
Some questions:
What about international viewers? It adds time, cost, and possibly some
paperwork. Pre-arrange viewers who are willing to bear the extra mailing
cost? (This is my inclination right now, but may prove impractical.)
Find a person/company willing to sponsor the internation mailing costs?
Obviously if there are several viewers in the same country, the
portfolio should circulate among them before leaving the country.
It can take a while for portfolios to circulate, and by the time the
last person sees it the first person may not remember the prints very
will. Would it be useful to provide low-res scans on a Web site as a
memory jogger?