Photography zines (and books)
I have received some very nice things in the post recently, some of which came as a bit of a surprise. This gave me an idea about photography zines and self published books. How about a feature? Read on and find out what I am on about.

Recently I received some lovely things in the post, and I don’t just mean cameras (although I do get a lot of them in the post). I am talking about photography magazines, and self published books. There are a ton of talented photographers out there, who don’t have a fancy publishing deal, so they make their own books or mags. In fact this has become a booming industry and a number of companies now cater to this market.
Some of the companies are pretty shoddy, and some of them are very good, you really get what you pay for I guess. Some people even stick them together with tape and photocopies. But one defining factor that is shared between all of these publications is the passion that is put into them. They are personal and you can really feel that when you look through one.

And this is where my idea came from. Today I received a couple of lovely zines, which had been sent to me completely unprompted (more on them later). This made me think, wouldn’t it be cool if people could send me a copy of their zine or book and get it featured on the site in a group feature, perhaps once a month depending on submissions? A chance to share your work with a greater audience. With no limitations. It doesn’t matter what genre, medium or style. It is about sharing each others work and having a greater audience seeing something that you have produced. And this could even get people asking to buy your work, who knows?
So if you want to be involved, send me your zine (or book, or printed teatowel, whatever) and I will feature a rundown of the mags I get each month (or more often if I get a lot). Click here to find out how you can submit your work.

So here are a few of the books and zines that I got recently to get the ball rolling.

Electric tears and all their portent by J. A. Mortram

Jim is a great photographer and I have been following his work for a while now. He was featured on the site last year and I have since purchased some of his prints and now this mini book. Yes, I actually paid for this one. And I am really glad that I did, as it is a beautiful limited edition run by Cafe Royal Books.
The photography in this books is strong and covers some of the subjects in his Small Town Inertia project. If you are not familiar with it then definitely go and check it out.

These have pretty much all sold out now as far as I am aware. But I am sure that if we show support Jim may do some more. Let’s hope so.

State of mind By Nuno Moriera

I met Nuno in Tokyo late last year and he very kindly gave me a copy of his book as a gift, which was a lovely gesture. The book is beautifully produced and Nuno has really put a lot of time into it. It features photography from all over the world and he communicates his idea very well.

Nuno is now based in Tokyo and he is still making his own books (as far as I know). You can check out his work through his site nmphotos.org and maybe get a hold of one of these beautiful books too.

Finish with the spinach by Jack Shelton

And these are the zines that switched me on to the idea of doing this piece. Jack kindly sent me these pieces that he had put together from his travels to the states and Jamaica. They are bright, bold and full of strong images.

Both were shot with a Canonet on Ektar film apparently, and they are lovely. The mix of imagery is great and I love to see the work of people who really want to share what they are doing. You can see more of Jack’s work at finishwiththespinach.tumblr.com and maybe if you are lucky you might be able to get one of these lovely books too.

I hope you like the books and zines, and I hope that you want to share yours with me and the world. If you do then please make sure you mail me and we can make this into a regular feature, I think that would be really cool.

Thanks
Japancamerahunter