Home > Culture > Mentor Showcase > The 2006 Best-of Series: Elizabeth Carmel
The 2006 'Best Of' Series
For the second annual Best Of issue of the ASMP Bulletin, we selected twenty projects from a field of nearly sixty candidates. It was a tough decision and we thank all those who submitted their work. We hope you will enjoy reading about the projects featured in print and here on the ASMP Web site.
Brilliant Waters book
After researching her options, 2006 Hasselblad master Elizabeth Carmel chose to self-publish her first book project, Brilliant Waters: Portraits of Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, and the High Sierra. Armed with her landscape images, a selection of poetry by well-known writers and a foreword by Robert Redford, Carmel had no problems finding a willing distributor.
Portrait of Elizabeth Carmel
All images in this article © Elizabeth Carmel
ASMP: How long have you been in business?
EC: Seven years as a full-time professional.
ASMP: How long have you been an ASMP member?
EC: I just joined this year. Steve Whittaker and Dana Downie of the Northern California Chapter were instrumental in helping me join and processing my membership.
ASMP: What are your photographic specialties?
EC: I specialize in creating fine art prints of my images and, now, in book publishing of my images.
ASMP: Please summarize the equipment used in this work.
EC: I use a Hasselblad H1 with a 22mp digital Imacon back, along with a variety of HC lenses. For processing images I use Photoshop CS2 and Genuine Fractals Print Pro for upsizing my images up to 60” wide. I do all my printing with an Epson 9800 printer with the ImagePrint Rip from Colorbyte. My favorite paper is Hahnemuhle photo rag. I also use Lowe Pro Backpacks for camera transport and storage.
ASMP: How long have you been photographing landscape? Has your approach to this subject changed over time?
EC: I have been photographing landscapes for most of my adult life. When digital came on the scene, along with archival inkjet printing, I really became excited about photography again. I started printing out my images in a large format with the Epson 9500 printer and built up my business of selling fine art prints through galleries and via my Web site. It would be much more difficult to do this using traditional methods (film and lab processing and printing) and make a living at it. I have upgraded my printers and cameras over the years as technology has improved — it seems to be an endless upward spiral in terms of equipment, but I think things are stabilizing a bit with the 39mp backs that are coming out. I will not need much more than that to create very large prints for clients.
ASMP: Please describe your workflow when out in the field. How has this changed over time?
EC: I work by myself or with my husband. I work primarily at the edges of the day during twilight, and oftentimes will hike, mountain bike or ski to my subject. As my images become more detailed with the higher resolution digibacks, I have become more methodical with my approach. I always use a tripod (Gitzo 1350 with Really Right Stuff Ballhead), and optimal f-stops to control depth of field.
ASMP: Are your images enhanced in post-production?
EC: One of my favorite techniques is merging two exposures of an image — one for the highlights and one for the shadows. I use Camera Raw and process the same frame twice and make a final exposure with more dynamic range than the single frame. I am not a purist; I will work with an image until I am satisfied with the color and exposure, and will clone out distracting elements.
ASMP: Please tell us about your search for a publisher for this project.
EC: I had decided at the beginning of the process and after doing some research that the best solution would be to publish it myself. I wanted to control the design and content. I set up my own publishing company and found a printer to work with via Internet research.
ASMP: Please describe how you found the poetry to accompany your photographs and the permissions process involved.
EC: I used a site called PoemHunter.com to research various poems. I really liked a lot of the poetry by Richard Wilbur and bought one of his books. This contained a lot of poems I ended up using. I contacted the various publishers of the poetry to obtain the permissions, which ended up being an easier process than I thought it would be, since most permission requests were submitted via fax and the Internet. The costs were not high — from $50 to $100 per poem.
ASMP: How did Robert Redford get involved in your project?
EC: I mentioned to a friend in passing that I would like Redford to write the foreword, and she put me in touch with someone who knew a neighbor of Redford’s in California, who agreed to show him a draft of my book. I printed out a draft on my Epson 9800, and Redford called me a few days after reviewing the draft and said he would do the foreword. It was very generous of him to do this. I think his foreword is the highlight of the book, and I was very touched by his response to my images.
ASMP: What are your plans for promoting the publication?
EC: Through press releases and book reviews to the major magazines and newspapers. I also have a distributor to take care of getting the book into stores and on Amazon.
ASMP: Distribution is generally considered the most difficult part of book publishing. How did you find your distributor?
EC: I contacted Graphic Arts Center Press in Portland, Oregon, because they distributed similar books to mine. They reviewed a PDF of the book and agreed to distribute it to bookstores around the West, and to show it at the major book fairs. I entered into a contract with them that specified fairly standard distribution rates. They have also helped me with marketing suggestions and provided a mailing list of the major magazines and newspapers for my press release distribution. I think they were interested in working with me because of the quality of the book, Redford’s involvement, plus the fact that I will be doing more books in the future.
ASMP: Have you identified grant opportunities or sponsorships to aid in promoting your work?
EC: No, I have not really looked into this. It’s probably something I should do for future projects.
ASMP: Your book launch coincides with a museum exhibition of your work. How was this organized?
EC: This was done by the Ordover Gallery in San Diego. They coordinated all of it.
ASMP: Did this gallery already represent your work before the book came out? How did this relationship start?
EC: I was with Ordover Gallery prior to the book release. I was looking for representation in Southern California, so I contacted Abe Ordover and sent him some samples of my work, and he invited me to join the gallery. He had set up a relationship with the San Diego Museum of Natural History to do shows every few months, and we arranged to schedule my work there in July to coincide with the book release.
ASMP: Do you have specific expectations about the financial returns from this book?
EC: I printed 2,500 books as a first run. I am not trying to make a lot of money on the book. I see it primarily as a way of exposing my work to a larger audience and laying the groundwork for future books.
ASMP: What is the most important advice you would give to other photographers about publishing a book of their work?
EC: I think book publishing is a great way to expose your work to a larger audience. You either need to hire a designer or learn InDesign. Make sure you get color press proofs. There is no margin for error with the color reproduction. Work with a printer or print broker you have interviewed and make sure to check references for them. Next time I will be present at the press when they are running the book pages — this is the best solution for getting optimal color reproduction.
