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
Was undecided about whether to post this in the inspirational video thread, but thought it applied more here.

View: https://youtu.be/dTiBsUqCyDc

interesting video, doesn't tell you much you didn't already know, but brings it all together very nicely

my biggest mistake is not writing ideas down, but most of mine come to me at 3.00am when tbh I'd rather they didn't and let me sleep :/
 
interesting video, doesn't tell you much you didn't already know, but brings it all together very nicely

my biggest mistake is not writing ideas down, but most of mine come to me at 3.00am when tbh I'd rather they didn't and let me sleep :/

I agree. I'd say "most of mine come when..." but I don't have that many good ideas. Bad ones. Lots of bad ones, but not many good ones. In fact - my main idea for this zine exchange could be argued to be a bad idea too. In fact - I doubt there'll be much arguing.....
 
Many, many years ago I went on a course with work about generating ideas and one example they used which sticks in my mind was Kodak, who apparently had a rule-of-thumb that from 100 ideas, 10 would go to R&D and 1 would make a viable product. The other 99 ideas weren't "bad" ideas in fact one of themes of the course was that there is no such thing as a bad idea because what you need is lots of ideas.
 
interesting video, doesn't tell you much you didn't already know, but brings it all together very nicely
How to think of ideas? Make work. Simple as that. Making work generates ideas which generate work which generates ideas which...

Creativity isn't something special, it's a form of play. So bugger about if you're stuck. Don't be precious about your work. Don't be afraid to fail. If an idea turns out to be crap it doesn't matter because you're only playing, chances are it will lead to a better idea at some stage.

And listen to what people other than photographers have t say on the subject. Some of this might be of interest - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p06ggczx
From - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06gh84x

This post is not sponsored by Squarespace. :D
 
I guess different people are, well ... different. The videos above seem to demonstrate this, one is saying do something essentially boring and repetitive/automatic to give the mind space to wander, the other is saying just do things.

I imagine for most people its a combination of both. For me at least, just making work does not generate creative leaps but it does make incremental improvements within the boundaries of that work. If I want really creative ideas then its a combination of new experiences and boredom, I kind of think of it as getting amongst some new things and filling my head with stuff and then creating time and space to digest that and break that down to distil out something that I am motivated to work on.



(Disclaimer - it's late and I'm a few malts in so probably shouldn't be driving a keyboard :) )
 
I guess different people are, well ... different. The videos above seem to demonstrate this, one is saying do something essentially boring and repetitive/automatic to give the mind space to wander, the other is saying just do things.

(Disclaimer - it's late and I'm a few malts in so probably shouldn't be driving a keyboard :) )

That's the day job taking care of that then [emoji1787] I should be a smorgasbord of ideas [emoji854]
 
I imagine for most people its a combination of both. For me at least, just making work does not generate creative leaps but it does make incremental improvements within the boundaries of that work.

That's how it goes, in steps not leaps. But sometimes one step has more significance than the others. The thing is to be aware of which steps are which and develop the ones which lead somewhere new. (y)

I'm not a big fan of 'how to be more creative' books and videos and I can't remember how I came across this one or what made me buy it, but it's more an insight into how Tharp works than a guide to creativity. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0743235274/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Reading about or listening to how people make their work is far more helpful than being told what to do. There are always some similarities in the diverse processes - doing not thinking about doing being one constant. ;)
 
That's how it goes, in steps not leaps.

I agree in part and I disagree in part. I was at a conference last year and one speaker said "We didn't get the incandescent light bulb by continuously improving the candle", consider the demise of Kodak, they invented the first digital camera but were too busy with the day-job to capitalise on it. For me at least I need to stop doing the current thing before I get new ideas otherwise I tend to just refine the current thing, which I agree may collect new ideas related to that but they are only new within the scope of the current thing. I didn't get to Tincan Selfies by shooting more landscapes.
 
I agree in part and I disagree in part. I was at a conference last year and one speaker said "We didn't get the incandescent light bulb by continuously improving the candle", consider the demise of Kodak, they invented the first digital camera but were too busy with the day-job to capitalise on it. For me at least I need to stop doing the current thing before I get new ideas otherwise I tend to just refine the current thing, which I agree may collect new ideas related to that but they are only new within the scope of the current thing. I didn't get to Tincan Selfies by shooting more landscapes.
I can see where you're coming from. (y)

I suppose I don't have to stop working on one thing to find new directions because I'm easily distracted. Quite often I go out intending to photograph one thing and end up photographing something else. :D

One thing is for certain, the ideas I get without a camera in my hand are 99% rubbish. I have a notebook with lots of potential projects/zines that I've dreamed up written down, some in a fair bit of detail, but they hardly ever come to fruition. It's as if planning them out is enough. They sort of exist in my head so there's no point taking the photographs. I know other people do work that way, plan everything out then take the pictures. To me that's like painting by numbers!
 
I tend to get a bug in my head - a bit like an earworm but a photo thing. Taking the photos is what shapes it and forms it and sometimes I'm not 100% sure what it's going to be until it's done.

I've always struggled with this kind of art. And I know when I send out my zines, or post my work, that it's not the best in the world (or even in the group). But the important thing to me is that it's the best I can do right now.

It's interesting because my podcasting is very much more a formal thing with lots of notes and ideas written down. Same goes for my writing endeavours. I try and have very distinct ideas about where to go. Photography though doesn't come through the same channels. Maybe it's because it's a visual medium.
 
It's interesting because my podcasting is very much more a formal thing with lots of notes and ideas written down. Same goes for my writing endeavours. I try and have very distinct ideas about where to go. Photography though doesn't come through the same channels. Maybe it's because it's a visual medium.
When I write for money (not so much these days) I always have whatever it is planned out in my head before I start. Then it all flows out and just needs tweaking. Blog posts are less preplanned but there's always a structure in mind - although I often forget it part way through a post... But visual stuff and music I let tell me where it wants to go. Odd, isn't it?
 
Right then, i've had a good old read through all the threads and associated links.
Having checked I have one ongoing project that would suit a zine very nicely or at least I think it will
All very new to this so a few points to clarify or not if you would be so kind please?

Am I right in thinking that Mixam only allow portrait format
Content needs ideally to be saved/sent as a pdf in CMYK colour space.
I only have Lightroom and Silkypix Studio Pro 9 so would Affinity Publisher be worth buying for 33 quid

Thanks in anticipation
 
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Am I right in thinking that Mixam only allow portrait format No - that's only for the 'free' test printing. Portrait, landscape and square are all available.
Content needs ideally to be saved/sent as a pdf in CMYK colour space. I would say so to be on the safe side. And check, check and check again at all stages!
I only have Lightroom and Silkypix Studio Pro 9 so would Affinity Publisher be worth buying for 33 quid I reckoned it was a bargain for £25, so possibly worth £33 if you're going to use it a fair bit.
 
Am I right in thinking that Mixam only allow portrait format
As Dave said above they do a lot of formats but test prints are only in portrait so I would bear that in mind. It is well worth getting a test print especially if you are doing colour and if you are planning on landscape or square then you will need to produce a portrait version for the test print. You can rotate landscape images by 90 degrees and then get a test print as portrait without having to change the aspect ratio of your images.
 
As Dave said above they do a lot of formats but test prints are only in portrait so I would bear that in mind. It is well worth getting a test print especially if you are doing colour and if you are planning on landscape or square then you will need to produce a portrait version for the test print. You can rotate landscape images by 90 degrees and then get a test print as portrait without having to change the aspect ratio of your images.

Got it so thanks all for the answers.
Just downloaded the trial version of Affinity Publisher.
Looking forward to getting it all together.

I always put together an annual Photobook of our travels, not very extensive this year.
 
Wow. That's 11 people confirmed by my reckoning...

Mr Perceptive
Harlequin565
MrDrizz
Ed Sutton
Allan.H
Thmaga
Shugpug
flook999
Cloudforest
tijuana taxi
yamahatdm900

Now if Nige or Chris would formally say they're in, we could have a dirty dozen. And if they both agree we'd have a baker's dozen!

(Obviously there's no formal commitment until the end of April when we start getting prints done, but still - it's encouraging!)
 
Wow. That's 11 people confirmed by my reckoning...

Mr Perceptive
Harlequin565
MrDrizz
Ed Sutton
Allan.H
Thmaga
Shugpug
flook999
Cloudforest
tijuana taxi
yamahatdm900

Now if Nige or Chris would formally say they're in, we could have a dirty dozen. And if they both agree we'd have a baker's dozen!

(Obviously there's no formal commitment until the end of April when we start getting prints done, but still - it's encouraging!)

Sorry. Thought I'd already thrown my hat in the ring.

Take this post as formal confirmation that I'm in. :)
 
Got it so thanks all for the answers.
Just downloaded the trial version of Affinity Publisher.
Looking forward to getting it all together.

I always put together an annual Photobook of our travels, not very extensive this year.

affinity is definitely much better than wrestling with mixams system for single page uploads, create a PDF document and upload as one file, that way you're sure of getting the pics in the right order :)
 
As a heads up, does anyone want to cap the amount of folks we have taking part?

I know the Mixam min order is around 20-25 but the postage might get a bit hairy.

Unless you're @flook999 :exit:
 
As a heads up, does anyone want to cap the amount of folks we have taking part?

I know the Mixam min order is around 20-25 but the postage might get a bit hairy.

Unless you're @flook999 :exit:

Under 25mm thick it goes as a large letter, no idea what the average zine measures
Think I'm going to start saving the Amazon A5 cardboard envelopes
 
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TBH I don't mind it's a pretty cheap way of getting zines but if people want a limit we could leave it open and if there are loads of people still in by the deadline either split it into two groups or randomly allocate say 8 or 10 people for each person to send zines to IYSWIM
 
As a heads up, does anyone want to cap the amount of folks we have taking part?

I know the Mixam min order is around 20-25 but the postage might get a bit hairy.

Unless you're @flook999 :exit:

<writes@Harlequin565 name in small black notebook>

I'm OK up to about 20, after that it's getting a little costly as print costs will climb as well as postage.....and shelving
 
Wasn't a limit to number of participants suggested before round one?
 
Wasn't a limit to number of participants suggested before round one?

I think so, but I can't remember the output. I'm happy to worry about it in April. If we get 20 committed by then I shall eat my hat!
 
I think so, but I can't remember the output. I'm happy to worry about it in April. If we get 20 committed by then I shall eat my hat!
I'm off to social media to recruit nine more eager participants. :D
 
I'm easy on the numbers. But totally fine with limited numbers too.
When I did my test print run the price didn't change from 10 to 20 copies on Mixam. Cost was £30 inc p&p for 20.

Shipping has been 65p for second class.

It's cost a few quid to ship internationally though I've sent 5 to the USA at £2.50 each [emoji50][emoji4] TBH though maybe that isn't too bad to get something to California, Texas and Kentucky.

I have also tried, and failed to recruit some other TP members.
 
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