If one assumes the idea of a periodical is to publish it periodically, then one might assume it’s about time to exorcise another ULTRAsomething magazine. And while the assumption is indeed sound, a spurious event has altered this reality. Unlike most spurious events, which tend to range somewhere between annoying and disastrous, this is actually a good event — one that’s been 17 years in the making.
This month, to commemorate the 17th year of the ULTRAsomething website, I am releasing SO FAR SO SO — a 396 page retrospective of photos and articles culled from the site’s rather vast archives.
It hasn’t been easy corralling this much content into a single, manageable, cohesive and comprehensive volume. The process has taken the better part of a year, but the results speak for themselves — the curation is ideal, and the print quality is superb. As someone who is well-versed in the art of self-deprecation, I can find nothing to be self deferential about. SO FAR SO SO is, I believe, the finest thing I’ve produced to date.
While fulfilling magazine orders shoehorns into the simple dictates of my sticks and chewing gum website, worldwide shipping of a 396 page, 9” x 7” soft cover book that weighs nearly 1kg does not. So, for this reason, I’m distributing the book through my local camera store, Beau Photo, whose website and shipping department are actually equipped to handle such complexities. This means you’ll be ordering the book from the Beau Photo website and not directly from ULTRAsomething (IMPORTANT: please see the ULTRASOMETHING STORE page for more information). That said, even though they’re accustom to shipping out Nikon cameras and Profoto lights with aplomb, this whole book selling mechanism is a new avenue for them. So please, if you will, a little patience while we work out any kinks. And as long as you’re actually on the Beau site, have a look around. A steady stream of incoming used gear makes them a frequent recipient of my credit card usage and, as such, Beau is responsible for supplying me with over half the ridiculous number of cameras I’ve used on this site for the past seventeen years.
In regards to the cover: Thanks to my 35 year obsession with photo books, I’ve learned I often prefer those without a cover photograph. After all, how can a single photo be representational of the collection within? A cover photo tends to define the viewer’s expectation of what’s inside, resulting in either 1) disappointment that the photos inside aren’t as “good” as the cover, or 2) disappointment in the cover because the photos inside are much “better.” Eliminating a cover photo eliminates expectations, and lets the book speak for itself. Books like Nakahira’s “For a Language to Come”, Fukasi’s “Homo Ludens”, and even Cartier-Bresson’s “The Decisive Moment” all forgo a cover photo in favour of a more graphic design. And it is for this reason that SO FAR SO SO features a cover graphic designed by Nicole Langdon-Davies rather than a photograph taken by yours truly. And it is much better for it.
Rest assured that I’m still working frantically on ULTRAsomething’s next exorcism, which will resume its periodic publication schedule in a few months. But for now, all my sales and marketing efforts (woeful as they may be) are being channeled into SO FAR SO SO. I believe it’s a tome that will satisfy both newcomers as well as any long-time readers wishing to reminisce and ponder where all the years have gone.
Below is the text of the book’s Preface:
For the past couple years — like a low, slow simmer — the idea to publish a retrospective book bubbled away in the background of my consciousness. But why? It’s not like I’ve amassed some great following. And whatever following I had once amassed has long since dissipated into the ether of public ennui.
Plus, how can I have a retrospective when I’m not done yet? Never mind what the math says, I’ve eons of ideas still to explore, and I remain unconvinced that death alone will stop me. Ouija boards will simply become the next platform to which I publish.
But still, in spite of being ridiculous, the retrospective idea continued to simmer. And so, as with my photography, I’ve capitulated to the whims of entropy and decided to just go with it. Once I came up with the title, So Far So So, I had no choice but to eventually release the darn thing.
Since ULTRAsomething’s inception seventeen years ago, I’ve penned nearly 300 articles and published over 2,500 photographs. Distilling this much material into a tidy little book demands I reject 90% of it. Fortunately, not every article or photo has risen to the ranks of “so so” — though I feel an entirely separate book could be made just from the rejects, and I would still be happy with the result. So, it’s definitely a good thing I opted for a ‘mid career’ retrospective, and didn’t wait until I became too addled to start.
Much like my own visage, my essays, ideas and photos have changed substantially over the years. So, in order to impose some sort of order on this massive mess of content, I’ve broken it into four sections — each roughly, but not really, representing a different era in the site’s evolution.
To order SO FAR SO SO, please see the ULTRASOMETHING STORE page for information.
©2025 grEGORy simpson
REMINDER : If you’ve managed to extract a modicum of enjoyment from the plethora of material contained on this site, please consider making a DONATION to its continuing evolution. As you’ve likely realized, ULTRAsomething is neither an aggregator site nor is it AI-generated. Serious time and effort go into developing the original content contained within these virtual walls — even the silly stuff.
Those who enjoy a tactile engagement with photographs are encouraged to visit the ULTRAsomething STORE, where actual objects, including ULTRAsomething Magazine and the So Far So So anthology book are available for purchase.
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