Something For Everyone

Or rather, a bunch of random topics on my mind this week...

Book page mockups and notes proofed on Moab Entrada Natural. The final book was printed on Awagami Inbe Thin in folios hand-sewn into signatures. The final page design also inspired the gallery exhibition prints in many ways. More later.

USDA Certified AI Free

I’d hope you would guess but… I felt compelled to declare this newsletter to be absolutely, completely, one-hundred-and-fifty-two percent free of any and all AI generated content, past, present, and future. The world needs absolutely zero percent more AI regurgitation of the same stuff one more time. The age of AI-everything has just started and I am already sick of it. I’m completely serious, I am sick of it. If you’ve not noticed it in your “online experience” then you’ve not been paying attention. That old “dead internet” theory has become reality quicker than its purveyors ever expected.

I am absolutely certain Substack and newsletters in general will be overwhelmed with countless AI-generated content. This will not be one of them, we’ll compete with sub-optimized topics, misspelled words, bad grammar, and topics only a few of you will give a crap about. Heck, we choose printing on actual paper as the community we actually cared about way back. Ya think we’re scared of the AI mainstream? Give me a break.

Silly Products I Am Glad Exist

File this under things I am thankful the someone makes but I’ll never buy — Take a gander at The Leica M11-D 100 Years of Leica Anniversary Set. I cannot possibly justify or afford this but I certainly want it. I am glad Leica makes things like this. I am glad they make brand new film cameras. It’s a silly product. The most impractical version of an arguably impractical camera that’s a one-off. A digital camera with no rear screen with a special finish and special knobs. To double down on silly it comes with not one but two 50mm lenses, the newest and the oldest Leica 50mm lenses. Which one do you use on what subject matter? Hmmm. Wait both 50mm lenses are special one-off versions with special finishes. To top it all off there’s other one-off accessories but the icing on the cake is the special box that probably costs more to make than a modern mirrorless Canon with a couple of lenses. Yes, it’s a silly product that I cannot justify but I really wish I could.

Anyone wanna guess at the retail price? You’ll only be able to obtain it via the special select Leica premium stores. I don’t know this for a fact but if you did want one I’ll bet their are already more people on those store’s waiting lists than will be made. My guess is somewhere north of $20K but I don’t know how far… Your’s?

Leica takes a lot of flack for this kind of thing but I am glad they do this. I want that company to continue to exist. Yes I am apoplectic that my batteries cost $200+ and are as rare as hen’s teeth but I love Leica. The real reason (beyond bankruptcy) I am not on the waiting list is that I would be too scared to use it, not due to the price but because it’s too pretty and too rare. I’ll be happy to stick to my M-adapted screw-mount 10-blade aperture Elmar. That special version of the 50mm Summilux ASPH is gorgeous, too gorgeous to use. Come on, black and white lettering on the nickel finish with a black positioning dot? Wow.

Mistakes Have Been Made

We’ve discussed the evolution of Les’ handmade book quite a few times. We’ve teased that there will be more to come. Well, we’ve been quite busy making things such as the finished version of Les’ handmade book that was started with a prototype over two years ago. We’ve made many, many mistakes. That’s not important because all of the blood, sweat and tears and all of the ruined materials has resulted in that final version being accepted into a permanent collection of prominent art in a museum. Yes I’m being vague because Les will be filling in a lot of detail within the next couple of weeks. I wouldn’t want to steal any of that thunder.

What’s more is that he’s unexpectedly sold two editions to private owners in that process. Yes, these editions (not copies) take an enormous amount of effort to produce so we’re a bit overwhelmed at the moment because the opening exhibition, another local exhibition, and those two additions book additions are all upon us now. I promise there’s a lot we have to say coming soon.

About the mistakes, the ruined materials, and the wrong directions — that will happen and while we all wish they wouldn’t, they inevitably do. It’s the only way forward so don’t be too scared or too discouraged when you make them. Above all make more prints, you’ll eventually make less mistakes but never expect everything you make to be perfect. You’ll end up making nothing.

One Last Thing

I’ve received the three packs of Canson-Infinity Somerset papers this week. The comparison between the old versions and the new versions will be coming shortly. I do plan on updating our Guide To Moab Papers, I don’t know when but I may as well make it accurate to the current line of products. If it would be of value we’d consider issuing a new Guide To Canson-Infinity papers as there are many and they happen to make my personal favorite Baryta semi-gloss. Let me know if that would be helpful to the community.