Produce & Share a Zine Round III - Complete (Nov - April 21)

When can you NOT attend a proposed 7.30pm Zoom meeting of 40 minutes to chat about these Zines?

  • Total voters
    11
gjhill said:
A3 cut in half? , on what paper?
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Thanks for your appreciation. Yes A5 landscape meant A3 paper and it took quite a while to figure out how to get Affinity publisher to print the second side in the correct order with two photos per sheet. Although it looks like there is only one photo per page there is actually one on the front and one on the back so that it can be folded. The paper needed to be double sided photo paper so not a lot of choice but I found something reasonably priced from Photo Paper Direct
www.photopaperdirect.com

PhotoPaperDirect UK

The leading supplier for photo paper in glossy, satin & matt finish in all sizes from 4 x 6 to A3. To order go online or call 01923 232 590.
www.photopaperdirect.com
 
Harlequin565 said:
My @Thmaga zine arrived today. What a zine to finish on!

From me, a huge thankyou to everyone taking part. I feel as though it's a bit selfish as many of the images and the construction of these zines inspire me greatly. Not one of them lived down to the expectations their authors seemed to have. Except mine :)

Such a variety of different work, presented so well and in so many ways It's what I love about photography like this - no pretension, just honest, heartfelt "stuff". I did feel quite humbled to receive all of this. We really do have some talented folk on this forum.
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Well said, couldn't agree more :clap:
 
@sirch
thanks for the info
I tried some double sided matt a4 from koala at 180g but my printer ix6850 wouldn't always feed second side or sometimes first side
i have to go through roller cleaning process although this doesn't always clear problem. I had some ppd double sided satin which when printed single sided fed every time.
 
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I had to keep an eye on it, I found that not putting too much paper in at a time helped but still only about 80% of the second sides fed without a bit of encouragement.
 
I probably can't add any more interesting insight to the commentary on the zines than has already been posted, and if I'm being honest I'm still digesting the full set of publications as a whole.

Thoughts so far, which probably reflect what's been written before:

As someone who doesn't tend to do standalone projects, it's been enlightening to see the variety of work produced. As I think I said in the stream of consciousness letter I included in mine, I'm quite one dimensional as a photographer, and this has opened up my eyes to other possibilities that I can explore. For that alone, I'm truly grateful for the opportunity to participate in this swap.

The diversity of approach, presentation and ideas are what have made this an exciting 'event' - never knowing what was going to appear in the post that day. From the handmade to the machine made, all have been refreshingly unique.

This has all coincided with a foray into my own journey into zine making, hence everyone received volume 2 of this little enterprise which I wasn't planning on publishing until later in the year or until I'd run down my stock of the first one. I've loads of ideas for a zine for the next swap, and it will certainly look and feel different to this one. And probably be cheaper to produce!

When I've got a little more time, I'll try and give my thoughts on each zine, once I've gone back through the thread and identified who did what!
 
So far I've only had a quick look at most of the zines, so when I get time I'm going to sit down with all of them to have a proper look through.

if anyone's interested I've done a write up on the development of my zine project on my blog - linky.

And there's another rubbish flip vid. I can't get the hang of this video lark!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LIO_hJs6XY
 
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gjhill said:
Very very clever , a different take on the zine. Where did you get the newspaper printed?


Like this one very much
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You're very kind. The News Hound printed the tabloid, and Nizam did the supplement. (I think 'the newspaper club' offered more options, but the news Hound had the best prices.

I did the layout using Scribus, which was new to me. Feel like I learned a lot, but the learning curve on Scribus seemed quite steep!
 
@richardhall reveals all!!

That's my internet investigations sorted for tonight :)
 
richardhall said:
You're very kind. The News Hound printed the tabloid, and Nizam did the supplement. (I think 'the newspaper club' offered more options, but the news Hound had the best prices.
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Nizam? https://www.nizamindian.co.uk/ :D

These 'newspaper' printers all seem a bit pricey for short print runs to me. :(

richardhall said:
I did the layout using Scribus, which was new to me. Feel like I learned a lot, but the learning curve on Scribus seemed quite steep!
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Scribus is really clunky. Affinity is worth the money to save the :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:
 
Ed Sutton said:
So far I've only had a quick look at most of the zines, so when I get time I'm going to sit down with all of them to have a proper look through.

if anyone's interested I've done a write up on the development of my zine project on my blog - linky.

And there's another rubbish flip vid. I can't get the hang of this video lark!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LIO_hJs6XY
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The blog post was interesting, the 'surprise' element definitely worked, especially as I read the post saying when to open the envelope.

I like the concept and its interesting to hear the full development of it, and where things didn't work out, come back to the idea as I think there's legs in it, it's given me a few ideas!

I'll write something up about the background to mine, I'm still up for a zoom chat too.
 
Re: Zoom. I'm happy to sort out hosting something and we'd get 40 minutes. With 5 minutes of faffing either side that's a 30 minute chat which I think would be pretty good.

Rather than aimless chatting, would it be of interest for folks to have the floor for participants/30 minutes to talk about their zine, their issues, their worries, their learning points, what they thought was really good, and what they would improve with different circumstances? If we get 10 people that's still not much time, but rather than talking about other zines (which would take an age) it might be a bit more fruitful and would give everyone a chance to speak. Happy just to chat if what's what people would prefer.

Then there is the issue of finding a good date that sits well with most of the people.

Evenings are best for me, with weekends being the most relaxed time-wise. As most people do stuff on Saturdays, how about a Sunday evening, starting at 7.30pm? I can do a poll for the best date but would probably pick something from next Sunday onwards.

Obviously if someone else wants to sort it out, I'll bow out to their way of doing things.

Thoughts?
 
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Harlequin565 said:
Re: Zoom. I'm happy to sort out hosting something and we'd get 40 minutes. With 5 minutes of faffing either side that's a 30 minute chat which I think would be pretty good.
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Agree that half hour is probably about right for a first go, but if we want longer I've got a paid account. Sunday evening works for me.
 
Sounds good, knowing how zoom sessions go 30 mins would be a world record for brevity :)
An hour feels more reasonable but we could always do a couple of sessions or take Richard up on his very kind offer,
 
My thoughts on some of the zines so far. Have really enjoyed taking the time to go through them, more to follow soon!


'Lockdown 3'
Your zine follows the same 'daily walk' routine as mine does.

You've got some very strong shots in there, I'm not sure if some are reflections or composites? But they are my favourite, more of those please!

The 'pairing' of the shots across the double page spreads has clearly been done with quite a bit of thought. It's great.



'Little in the way of sunshine'
This sort of thing is right up my street, I like finding patterns and repetition in everyday urban spaces. I think the visual consistency is really good, great cover shot too.



'Rocksavage Peninsula'
This zine reminds me of home. My home town is bisected by an elevated section of the M4 and the scars of former and current industrial activity are really familiar to me too. We have a similar area that's largely 'cut off'. Anyway enough about my home town!

The landscape format is perfect, I like the layout with the occasional square images too.

This is a really good visual study of a place.

The rather pleasant scene on page 4 is quickly forgotten and replaced with man made scars across the landscape and a bleak, muted colour palette, one I'll definitely be flicking through again.


'Locked Down'
This was an unexpectedly bizarre experience.
It feels a bit like a nightmare in Zine format, it's a bit chaotic, unsettling and you're left at the end wondering what it was all about.
I think I want to ask if you're OK?
If that was the intention, well done, otherwise, apologies!


'Remnants'

Another zine that feels familiar to me, post industrial and features a lot of my favourite subject, bridges!

Some very good pairings across the double page spreads here.
Decay and vandalism in abundance, but some of these structures have such an elegance about them still which you've captured well. Black and white was defintely the right choice.



'The Industrial Tourist'
The cover is probably the most striking of all the zines, love the typography and choice of image here, sets the scene for what's within very well.

Really appreciated the background information and history, the whole zine feels like a great tour around the 'best bits' of abandoned industrial machinery in the UK.

I'd love to see more!


'Detritus'
I love the concept of this, focussing in on the details that are so easily missed and passed by, it will certainly be interesting to see what has changed as time goes on.
The images are all really strong, striking and punchy in their own right but make up a great colourful and varied selection. Each one could tell a story of its own.
 
Thmaga said:
It feels a bit like a nightmare in Zine format, it's a bit chaotic, unsettling and you're left at the end wondering what it was all about.
I think I want to ask if you're OK?
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I literally lol'd at this. Thankyou for your honesty because it's bang on IMO.
I'm probably not ok.

Edit: HTF did you do the blurry text thing. That's really cool.
 
Harlequin565 said:
I literally lol'd at this. Thankyou for your honesty because it's bang on IMO.
I'm probably not ok.

Edit: HTF did you do the blurry text thing. That's really cool.
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Well I'm glad that didn't end badly

I pressed 'in-line spoiler' in the options, just noticed there's a normal spoiler option too which I guess is what others used.
 
I think this is the last of my thoughts!

'Smoking'
Another example of the variety here in how people have approached this, a satisfying step-by-step journey with a hint of humour thrown in.

I've learned something too"

'Untitled' - @gjhill

I had a flick through and my first thought was 'there's a lot of trees'.

When I sat down to have a proper look through I can only liken it to a bit of a 'cloud watching' experience, but with trees. I found myself seeing all sorts of forms in and amongst the trees. When I got to the end, I questioned if this was from the viewpoint of the dog looking for his next stick.

'Salop Observer/From Russia With Love'

A break with the trend here, given me some thoughts about the newspaper format.

I think it works really well, especially as it's more text heavy than a typical photo-zine. Its nice to have all the narrative and photographs together.

I feel like I've had an eavesdrop into part of your lockdown, honest and light-hearted. There's some great photography in there too, and the added interest of an eclectic variety of cameras and emulsions. I like the floods page the best I think, maybe the back page.

The companion mini-zine feels like more than a bonus/afterthought.

I've definitely got a different impression of the lomo camera now I've seen some of the variety of shots in there. The Berrington Hall shot is a standout for me.

The text feels I've got you there talking me through your archive, but interesting to have such a personal element/reflections from you while the images themselves were chosen by others.

'The Tourist'

I love this one, a good striking cover. I've visited Liverpool a few times for conferences and love the city. Some familiar landmarks there and some things I'll definitely be checking out on my next visit.

Page after page of great shots, a real pleasure to browse through, a reflection of the city that I'm sure they would be very proud of.


'Into the Gardens'

I think you've nailed the layout and design of this one, great cover and the image positioning is strong throughout. A great selection of images, with the last picture being my favourite, interesting to read the background and personal connection too. I'm currently volunteering in a rather a lot smaller community garden.

'Back Lane'

As I said on the thread, I think this idea really has legs.
The contrast of natural/man made between the blurry/in-focus shots is quite interesting.
The blurred shots obscure these details, which I suppose are also easily missed unless you look out for them in some cases.
The booklet is almost reflecting a 'zoned out' 'head in the clouds' walk through the space, capturing the overall feel and atmosphere, with the postcard filling in the blanks.

'Opening'

So simple but beautifully executed. The hand-made element a nice added touch.

The haiku at the start gives some context and helps in understanding the theme behind the images that follow. It's great to 'flick through' and watch the flower bloom.
A subject we can all resonate with at the moment, but you found a different way to explore it.
 
@Thmaga
My initial production was in black and white and contained only images of the birch trees in the local copse
most of which , to me contain human elements. On second thoughts it seemed a bit 'out there' so rejigged and made it images seen on dog walk
Maybe next time will go with original idea
 
I added a poll to collect some dates for a zoom call. I'll go for the date that has the least votes unless all are OK in which case I'll pick the soonest.

Suggested Agenda:
7.30-7.35 - Everyone arrives
7.35 - 7.40 - Intros and hellos
7.40 - 8.05 - Open forum: Suggest dividing time by zine makers to allow them to talk about their zine, trials, tribulations and thinking. [Edit - if we get 14 people (unlikely I know) that's 2 minutes each!]
8.05 - 8.10 - Close

I think @richardhall offered to host for a longer meeting, but agree with his idea of making this a brief thing to avoid taking chunks out of people's weekends. If it proves popular we can do something different next time.
 
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Congratulations!
 
Epic fail on my part to do anything re: Zoom. Too much going on at home at the moment and I'm way too unreliable to do anything that relies on a specific time/date.

If someone else wants to organise it - it looks like this Sunday is best. I'd be happy to join if I'm able.

Sorry guys. Maybe round IV :)

Also - @sirch do you have sticky powers yet? If so could you unsticky this and pin round IV when you get a mo? No worries if you're too busy.
 
My apologies for not doing the promised video. Life has got in the way and I just haven't had the time.
 
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