That one time I spent 3 years writing and designing a photography book…and never published it?!
Yes, it’s true…and I’m not proud about it. But hey, being a perfectionist may have had a pretty large part in that hesitation. People are their own worst critics, and I critically nitpicked every caption, every photo, gosh…every word!…until I just set it aside after three years of hard work, moments before pulling the publishing trigger. That was a whole different set of questions and anxieties. Should I self publish? Should I just throw it to the Amazon gods and hope for the best quality? Do publishing companies still even exist for unknown authors like me? After countless hours of researching, I still couldn’t choose my publishing path. And so, I gave up. I let my years of hard work and creativity, my personal masterpiece, lay to “collect dust” in a laptop somewhere.
And so, years later now, I am revisiting what I never finalized. And instead of publishing a full-color, paperback, 213 page book…I am going to share it little by little in my upcoming blog posts and hope that someone, anyone, takes the time to browse. Hey, if I can get one pair of eyes on this beast…it’s better than the zero before.
You are still young, free…Do yourself a favor. Before it’s too late, without thinking about it too much first, pack a pillow and a blanket and see as much of the world as you can. You will not regret it. One day it will be too late.”
Jhumpa Lahiri
I wrote and designed this collection of work as a sort of “coffee table book” of travel experiences, photographs, and helpful travel tips. So whether you are actually sitting at a coffee table reading this (doubtful), or at a local cafe browsing, or a neighborhood park…wherever you are, explore it with an open mind, yearning for a look into a different culture or place, and imagining what can be possible if we just open up our hearts and minds, and live.
