I’m getting pretty good at this publishing thing. Or maybe it’s just that I’m getting pretty good at self-delusion. Either way, I’m quite happy with the release of Exorcism 06 — the photo selection; the pacing; the look and feel — all are quite satisfying. The only thing I’m not satisfied with is the knowledge that, thanks to rising production costs, I’ll lose even more money on this issue than the previous ones. I may indeed be getting good at the publishing thing, but the publishing business? Not so much.
Perhaps I can fix the “business” aspects with “marketing.” One problem that’s long plagued me is figuring out how I should refer to the publication. I get a little twitchy every time I use the word “magazine.” To me, that implies something that’s mass-produced and sold in the checkout line next to the Tic Tacs, or bundled with a free clock radio when purchasing a 2-year subscription. But I’ve been equally loath to use the word “zine,” since that suggests dubious print quality, cheap paper, a drastically reduced page count, and a stapled binding — none of which define this particular publication. As a product, the exorcisms always seemed awkwardly between these two words. Which is exactly why I’ve decided to split the difference and begin referring to it as a ‘gazine’. Clearly, the word “gazine” implies something more premium than a “zine” but less assembly line than a “magazine” — exactly what I’m publishing.
Exorcism 06, like most of the gazines before it, was shot entirely on film, using a multitude of cameras. Eighteen of them to be exact. They are: Canon Demi EE17, Contax G1, Fuji GS645S Wide 60, Fuji Natura Black 1.9, Konica Hexar AF, Konica Recorder, Leica IIIc, Minolta TC-1, Nikon 28Ti, Nikon S3, Olympus OM-3Ti, Olympus Pen FT, Pentax 17, Pentax MX, Pentax MZ-S, Petri Compact E, Ricoh Auto-Half, Zeiss Werra 3.
And, just like every gazine that preceded it, Exorcism 06 concludes with its own apologia, reprinted below:
I’ve always assumed that my mood dictates the sort of photos I take. Sad mood, gloomy photos. Buoyant mood, cheerful photos. Turns out that theory is nothing more than a cabinet full of crockery.
I possess the ability to see an old photo — no matter how long ago it was shot, or where — and immediately recall the psychological state under which I took it. I’ll remember what I was feeling and thinking at that particular moment, and why. Curiously, I’ve come to realize there’s little, if any correlation between a photo’s actual character and the emotional conditions from which it sprang.
This became even more obvious while assembling Exorcism 06. The issue draws from a pool of film photos I shot in Vancouver these past several months. It was one of life’s rather turbulent periods, populated with stress, sadness, anxiety, hope, fear and happiness — and my emotional state swung wildly between them. But there remains no visual association between a photo’s mood and my own. Sure there are cheerful photos, but they were shot during both sad and buoyant times, as were the gloomy photos.
Perhaps it’s good that individual photographs remain inscrutable and any temporary mood swings visually agnostic — it allows each issue to stay coherent and cohesive. Even if the photographer wasn’t.
Exorcism 06 is now for sale in the ULTRAsomething STORE. It’ll slot nicely on the shelf between your zines and your magazines.
© 2024 grEGORy simpson
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Word on the street is that this social media stuff is the latest marketing shizzle. Although, as I’m well behind the times this may be yesterday’s news. Anyway, I did my bit with https://mastodon.social/@LarsF/113063857707095671
When costs rise you are welcome to raise prices as well. Gotta keep that collection complete anyway now.
Pretty sure, much like moving pictures and the horseless carriage, social media is just another fad. In 1,000 years, no one will be using it. Just you wait.
That Social media marketing only seems to work when you are active and have a lot of what they call ‘followers’. This sounds suspiciously like what some call a social life and … ‘friends’?
On another note, yesterday my daughter was adamant that she would not get TikTok when going to Secondary school. I ensured her that in a couple of years there will be some other soul crushing social media fad that’s all the rage and she absolutely has to join.
Uh oh. I fired up my time machine, which I only use occasionally, and it replied that there is no year 3024. Of course, I only have used it to go backwards. So maybe it’s a “reverse-Wells” machine? Or?
I always enjoy your photography, EGOR! 😀
Thanks, Godfrey, for your undying support. I’ll get this issue sent out to your mental institution pronto.
You are, of course, nuts. Or, to use more sophisticated medical terminology, stark raving crazy. But hang on, fortunately there is a cure.
Go to B&H Photo, in New York City. Look for the Kodak PixPro FZ45 camera. It’s very inexpensive. This is a new concept in camera design–it’s called a digital camera. It takes very nice pictures, in color. Color!, and no need for messy smelly chemicals in a, uh, darkroom.
Such images have been proven to be very restful for the troubled soul. You could wander around Vancouver, just snapping happily away at all the cheerful tourist-friendly scenes in that beautiful city.
After just a few weeks of happy snapping, you will be a changed person. Your friends will not even recognize you.
Unfortunately there will be a few of us who will miss the bizarre exoticism of ultrasomething. But we all are part of the past, soon to fade away.
Nah. I’m just biding my time for the day in the very near future when the post-apocalyptic collapse of the world’s digital infrastructure forces tens of thousands of self-obsessed selfie takers to seek the services of us precious few people who can work an analog camera and actually develop the film. That reminds me: I need to stock up on canned goods.
p18-19 looks like my garden. I love it. I do however tend to to keep all my satanic curios and regalia safely tucked away indoors away from prying eyes and roving evangelicals.
Hmm, not a magazine, not a zine. Pity that ‘maga’ is already trademarked.
EXORCISM 06 arrived a few days ago. I spent a lovely bit of time late that evening paging through it, and set it aside, but not put away, because something in it wanted me to go through it again.
That happened this evening, over the past forty minutes or so. EGOR, you have outdone yourself with this one!
I can’t easily articulate why, but to my eye this issue is a breathtaking leap forward. Every image in it belongs there, fits, and complements the others while remaining a standalone treat. The only thing I could wish for beyond what the gazine offers already is that you produce this set as a large format folio rather than a gazine as the double page images would benefit from being presented as a whole, flat and open to viewing without the hindrance of a spine.
Bravo, man! Well done! I’ll return to this one again, I know.
The handlers at this mental institution are stunned. 😉
G
Well, darn. That comment is so kind, I can’t even think of a snappy retort. I hope EXORCISM 07, when it arrives next year, doesn’t prove to be a step back! And yeah, I’d love to have a large, offset-printed photo book with aromatic inks, sensuously textured pages, cavernous blacks and an air of reverence, produced to coincide with a major gallery opening in some place like Tokyo or New York. But don’t we all? Until then, at least there’s the gazine… and the dream.
Yes, a large offset-printed photo book is a dream for most of us … It’s just too darn expensive to produce and publish, and sales of such books, usually quite pricey, are few and far between.
But a folio edition … Call it a package of “loose prints” in a nicely designed enclosure. I made—and sold—quite a few of these sizes ranging from about 6×8 inch to 11×14 inch. Always a limited edition (I don’t think I ever made a run of them greater than 25), and I always sold out on every one I made.
I printed and assembled the ones I made by hand, and sold them at an economical rate that still made me a good profit for my effort. Some of the folks who bought them decided which of the contents of a given folio were suitable to frame for their decor, so I received back some lovely photographs of my work decorating someone’s study or office, living room or hall, all in very nice framing.
Opening a folio and working your way through the contents is an “every so often” special event kind of experience with a very different feel from perusing a photo book or gazine. A folio is an ideal thing to open up with a small party of photographer friends visiting, enabling several people to see a body of work together without having to pass the book (or gazine) around the table.
I got the idea from Brooks Jensen (of LensWork fame) at a workshop he held about a dozen years ago. I was captivated by it, ran with it, and it proved a big success for my little art photography business of that time.
Something to think about, perhaps. 😉
G
—
Official Photographic Instigator
Ahhh. I misunderstood. Yeah, I’ve been thinking about a ‘box of prints’ since the mid-90’s, inspired either by Diane Arbus’ “A portfolio of 12 prints” or “stupidity” — I’m not sure which. Every few years I seriously consider doing one for ULTRAsomething, but ultimately talk myself out of it by thinking “who in their right mind would want an actual print of mine?” And then I remember I don’t really appeal to people who are in their right mind anyway… 😉 Last time I seriously considered this was 3 years ago, right before I decided to shift into the whole magazine idea instead. Thanks for putting the bee back on the burner.