Note: As questions get raised etc. my comments will simply be added to the end of this post, rather than me creating additional replies--similar to the way bpossel has been doing on keeping us informed on his ongoing project.
Updated 4/12/08.
Updated 4/13/08
Updated 4/19/08
Updated 4/20/08
Updated 4/22/08; see end of this post.
Who is in: 49 and FULL.
Frank Cozza
Dirk Kemper (Else1969)
Bob Geco
MiltnMe (Heidi Stern)
Hands Aus (Bob Smith)
William Moore
Baron Youngman
Martijn Sjerps
GTMSJ (Gary Miles)
Ray Bragg
Longtooth
Mark in KS (Mark Parkins)
w113sl (Peter Lesler)
goodbetterbob(Bob Goodman)
3-point roadster (Denny DiNio)
paulr (Paul Raeside)
ghenne (George Henne)
merc67osl (Thor Haatveit)
Jaxxonia (Jackson Schwartz)
David Brough
KGear (Ken Gear)
Mike (Mike Hund)
Bill Simaz
Mike in Detroit (Mike Webster)
Rob Walker
Eryck
zoegrlh (Rob Hyatt)
69280SL (Gus)
JPMOSE
JonnyB
Hauser
Ron Burg
Kevin Caputo
John Mancini
Bob Possel
Vince Mulvey
Benzportland
Craig DeVine
Garry Marks
Kemal Shah
Cees Klumper
Mike Hughes
Tosh
AGT
Waqas
thelews
Peterm
vanesp
Mdsalemi
My creative juices are flowing after seeing such nice photos of cars and of details recently in postings, yes even on postings when I'm ranting and raving!
I have an idea to publish our own Coffee Table book
working title, Pagoda Love, using BookMaker. Final title TBD.
As a start and to get off the ground, we'd need 19 owners who would be willing to pony up about USD $90.00 each; this would create a 40-page book and allow each owner 2 pages in a spread format; so you don't turn a page on the same owner/car. My vision is to have it
mostly visual, with just a small amount of text. The text might be a paragraph or so about the specific car or owner, or explanations of detail photos. It wouldn't be a story book, but a visual book. The difference between owners and pages allows for a cover page; a back page for credits; and also allows each 2-page to be a spread. Of course if you have multiple cars, you can buy multiple copies and have multiple spreads.
The book can accomodate 100 pages, which would be a maximum of 49 owners/cars. It would make the book larger and more lavish but would also cost more, about $190.00 each. Yes that's a lot of money but can you imagine so many fabulous photos of all of these cars? I'd have to say that in order to keep it simple, you'd have to agree to participate at any level--the minimum book size of 19 owner/cars or the maximum of 49. It would become a bit of a nightmare (rather than a fun labor of love!) if I have to "drop out" certain owner/cars because the price went up as more owner/cars participated.
Regardless of whether there would the minimum of 19 owners and 19 featured cars at $90.00; 49 owners/cars at $190; or any number in between it would be quite a book. Final cost dependent on final number of participants. There isn't any price break from the manufacturer on quantities so duplicates cost the same amount, and if you want to buy a copy and not participate, it's the same too. I'm a graphic designer by education and you'd have to give me the freedom to design the best spread based on the photos provided. If everyone got into the design process it would never be completed. Suggestions on which photos you provide to highlight etc. of course would be welcome; everybody needs to be happy with the result.
Pages are 15" wide; 11.5" tall; acid free archival quality, printed offset on real heavyweight paper with real ink (not laser or inkjet), genuine hardbound binding like a library book. Up to 12 photos per page. Full photo on the cover...perhaps some kind of contest as to whose is on the cover??? Or, maybe a modification of Graham Creasey's panorama taken at PUB 2007 (or similar group shot), with our SL Group Logo. Alternatively at a slightly extra cost it could have a printed dust jacket. (It won't be my car on the cover--too many Signal Red 568's on the cover of too many Mercedes books as it is!)
If there is interest with 19 owners, I'll do it. It isn't a profit making venture but simply a labor of love like our poster, to preserve these great photos I'm seeing and to share more of them with everyone.
Owners would have to supply me with the photos--the finer quality the photo the better. At least one photo of the owner would be appropriate, too--with or without the car.I love looking at all these photos that are being posted; I love the variety of colors shown in our cars, and I particularly love detailed close-ups.
31-May: Deadline for participation; you've got 6 weeks to think about it!31-May to 30-September: Get your photos together; you've got 4 months!31-October: Design and proof; that's me. You only see your own pages prior to the completed book.
Delivery in November/December,
absolutely positively by 15-December.There's no money fronted by me until the book order is entered after the design is complete, so for some reason if it doesn't get off the ground and somebody has paid,
the money will be refunded. I'm sure you can understand however, that I don't want to chase payments etc. nor enter an order until all the payments are made. Payment in advance secures your 2-pages and your book. Shipping will be mostly included, I think--I added a bit to the price. Remote locations might be a bit more depending on final size and weight, etc.
Note: if you have no interest in this, no comments are necessary. Those that
are interested, post here and then I'll get more details together off line once 19 people (or at least
x number of owners with 19 cars) show positive interest.
For those that know me and my car, you know that the visual and final quality of the project will be like my car, like my horns, like my engine bay, like my article(s) in The Star...an honest and serious strive for perfection. For those that don't know me, and would have some reservations of parting with $90-$190 in advance, simply ask those that do know me; they'll probably be our fellow members that are the first to sign up if this gets off the ground.
Why am I doing this? Well, frankly, you can get tired of looking at your own car after a while. Yes I love Signal Red, but Arabian Gray is nice, so is 050 White, Tunis Beige, etc. 230's are nice too, as are 250's. Shiny new re-chrome is great, but the patina of age is worthy of serious respect, too. Get it? I can't own one of each model and color, but it sure would be nice to have it all together--hence a book like this.
What I will do over the next week or so is get a sample spread together of the kind of thing I envision, and make it available as a pdf so one can see kind of a representative sample of what I'm thinking about, and it can hopefully inspire others to get photos taken or dig for them and get some ideas together for their pages.
Great Comments, Peter. I already thought of some of this in advance.
I think it's a great idea... but one other nice twist might be to make it possible for people to vote on which pictures for a particular car get included in the bookNo. With all due respect, why should
Rodd have a say on which photos of
yours get included? You can't have 19 or 49 editors; it would never get off the ground. Anybody's particular and greatest interest should and would be with their
own cars and photos; that will insure high quality. My integrity will ensure the high quality of the entire project.
I'm sure we all want artistic photographs in it, rather than your usual snapshots. You additionally need to judge photographs on their technical quality (resolution, sharpness etc).Not necessarily; some of the best photos that have had people drooling of my car are what amounts to snapshots; I just saw some
fabulous snapshots from Mike Hughes of his two-tone and with a little bit of [contrast and color brightening] enhancement they'll be
perfect. However, there are many months for one to get photos together. Yes I have to judge them and may have to reject some. I also just completed an article for
The Star on taking photos of your car which will be shared with everyone if the project flies, so everyone will have a good opportunity to get good photos. If someone has high quality transparencies or negatives (35MM) particularly vintage,
I have the tools for professional scanning as well. I myself am drooling that someone out there might have some Kodachromes that Dad took back in 1968...as for camera, some of the nice photos I've taken of my car back in 2004 were with a 4MP Kodak "point and shoot". They were just at the right time: you don't need a fancy nor expensive camera, either.
Let me also add that you do NOT need to have a pristine example, nor even a running example, to have a photo story worthy of publication. What will make the book more visually interesting is a breadth of cars, and a depth as well. Even rust has beauty and provides a contrast to shiny chrome. A car being worked on "up on blocks" provides a contrast to one shown "in motion". I want the project to be INCLUSIVE of every car and owner. The only reason why one should choose not to participate would be for financial reasons.
Every car has a worthy photographic story to tell.
I could see a potential problem though: if one owner absolutely, definitely wants in the book, but only has crappy, bad quality, uninteresting snapshots of him and his car...That's the job of the editor (me) and I'd work with them to get better shots. Every spread would be different, and some will have less photos than others. Sometimes, less is more.
it could detract from the entire book...Not on my watch. Failure is not an option, and neither is crappy.
Could the other owners collectively vote him or her out?Will not be necessary.
If a detail on a car is not strictly "correct," (alloy wheels on a 230 SL, for example) will you note it in the caption, reject the photo or simply let it run with no explanation?
The only reason I ask is that many people look to this group to help them understand these kinds of historical nuances and I wonder how you'll approach this. (I hate spreading misinformation, though I admit I've been guilty of that on a couple of occasions.)I would not attempt to create a Bible of correctness here. There's simply
too many variables that have happened over the years for this to happen--Euro lights on an otherwise visibly US car or the aforementioned alloys for example, that 100% correct cars are the exception not the rule. There will be editing of the photos, perhaps captioning on many, but if we have an otherwise great spread of a 230SL with alloys, I would not want the car's owner to forever see a caption "Stunning sunset shot of a 1965 230SL at Pebble Beach with incorrect alloy wheels".
Inclusive is the watchword; a collective celebration of what we have, not what we should have or want is the goal.
4/12/08 Update:1. Pay whom, where, when (how notified of whom to pay and when/where to pay)... personal check? Money order? what? Payment would be to me. At the appropriate time (once participation is finalized) I'll ask for a check/MO. Check or MO preferred as if there is something that might prohibit publication, I can easily just send these back. I will not be "doing anything" with the payments until I have to extend payment myself which is at the time of actual ordering--which is the FINAL step in the process. For those remote, with no means of obtaining USD denominated checks, etc. I do have a Paypay account. But, checks are preferred.
2. Notification of who's committed to participate is via a message on this thread.Yes, my suggestion is to tally interest here.
3. Cost is anywhere from $90 to $190... depending on how many participants. Cost includes delivery to participants... for US domestic?Yes on the cost; price is basically by the page and the number of pages is dependent on the number of participants or cars. Regarding shipping, not entirely worked out. Book shipping in the USA is relatively inexpensive due to "media mail" rate. Overseas is a bit more. Weight is the biggest factor in the calculation of shipping costs, and until the book is in hand and properly packaged we don't know that yet. It might be the courteous thing to do by dividing shipping costs equally; yes it would mean that us USA patrons with out media mail rate would be subsidizing shipment to our overseas friends, but in the end we'd all pay equally. I don't mind that. We can't do anything final until the book is done. Also, the publisher has both UK and EU locations, I have to investigate once the orders are in so to speak, whether it pays to have them printed and shipped from there. At first glance it did not look cost effective, but worthy of a more detailed look later.
4. Payment is refunded if book's not published.Yes; as mentioned there is no cash payment on my part until the order is placed, and that is the LAST thing to happen. So, if it doesn't get off the ground for some reason, the checks will NOT be cashed.
5. Pics are a "spread"?... what's this mean?. How many pic's should be submitted per participant? A "spread" is a printing and publishing term for 2 pages. So, when you open up a magazine, you are looking at 2 pages (left and right) and each page has a number, but together they are called a spread. In terms of this book, with each page measuring 15" wide and 11.5" tall, each car/owner's real estate is 2 pages; that's 30" wide by 11.5" tall;That size alone makes it "coffee table" size.
In my plan, each car/owner crosses two pages. Every time you turn a page, you are onto
another 2-page spread of another car/owner. You would never have to "turn the page" in the middle of a car/owner. Make sense?
There are a total of 12 pix per page permitted by the publisher. It would be a fairly busy page, but I'm sure we'll have a few with that many. The more pictures submitted the better, speaking as an editor, particularly if one is unsure of what they have.
6. Editing, layout, selection of pics by Michael.Yes. However it isn't done in a vacuum. My intention is to work with what is given to me by each participant and come up with what I consider an appropriate layout, taking into consideration of course, any suggestions by the participant. Such as, "make sure you use picture DSC001.jpg, that's the BEST one EVER of my car". Or, "can you work in the one where my wife is in the gown and me in the tux". I can also work with "here they are, do your best!". I'll create the spread for each participant, email a proof, make any changes we (you and me) think are necessary, and finalize it. Photos have to be digital, and placed on a CD and mailed to me. If someone has old transparencies or negatives in 35MM form, or perhaps really old prints, we'll talk separately as I have the tools to deal with that but it has to be the exception not the rule.
Nothing pejorative and nothing in bad taste. It's something we want to cherish.
Maybe you could have photos from lots of different members from all the countries represented in the group so that there is a spread across the globe and also pictures of the Pagoda in all the localities.It is my intent to put a flag of each country on the page as part of the design; just by the interest so far we have the makings of an international book.
Some photo ideas: photo illustrations or staged photos would be great. I'd like to see, for example, something indicative of where the owner is from: Cees with a shot definitively in Amsterdam; Richard Madison, if he participates, would have to include a shot that is inarguable New York City. I'd like to see photos of the owners, too. Family if you have it, and they are special to you and your W113 experiences.
Photo illustrations are fun as well. Douglas does not have a car, but what if he appears with an oversized magnifying glass and a miniature model, and some shots he might have in archive of the cars he USED to own? How about JA17's shop, or him poking through the engineless bay of a car in his boneyard? See the kind of fun you can have with yourself if you just think about it?
Again, I'll post a sample "spread" of me (won't be the printed one) so you can get an idea soon. There will be 4 months to either take or find photos.
Can I do two cars for 180.00?Well, I'm not sure that $180.00 will be the final number, but one copy of the book might be that high, and if you participate, you get the 2 pages. If you want to put more than one Pagoda in those pages that's fine. We'd like to try and keep it mostly Pagoda's; I say mostly because a nice shot might be of your Pagoda with OTHER cars in your collection. We'd highlight the Pagoda in some way.
Remember, unfortunately, that there are no quantity discounts (publisher's pricing not mine)so additional copies of the book are the same cost. They
can be reprinted in the future; however keep in mind we are at a discount because the total order is over $100 or something along those lines.
4/13/08 Update:Can I have one picture cross the spread and occupy 2 pages?Well, no and yes. First, the software that is used in the book design and assembly does not allow this. However being the creative type that I am I can divide an appropriate photo into two, and have the left half on the left side, and the right half on the right side. So I have a workaround. However notice I said "appropriate". Keep in mind the page size. One photo going across the spread would measure 11.5" tall by 30" wide. That's one massive photo at shall we say an "interesting" crop. We need the photos to be about 300 pixels per inch at the reproduction size. If the 2-page photo were cropped out of a photo of normal proportions provided by nearly any camera, it would be a 20" x 30" photo; at 300 pixels per inch, that's 6000 x 9000 pixels; very massive indeed and beyond normal digital photgraphy. BUT that being said, I hold the group in high esteem; if someone can provide an appropriate photo of sufficient quality at the repro size, I can make it happen. All but the best of us, or some pros, would struggle with this however.
Why does the cost go up with the number of participants?You need to re-read the post carefully. The pricing from the actual book manufacturer is
by the page. The more participants, the more pages, the bigger the book and the larger the unit cost (and greater weight, too). Due to the nature of how they manufacture this book, again, they offer no quantity discounts, so each additional book costs the same as the first--once we pass a small threshold of discount. The discount is NOT on quantity of books or pages, it is on the $$$ spent.
My only reservation is too many cars of the same color. It would be great if all the available colors and combos were represented.If you look at the participants, you'll see we already have a great geographical representation, and I think a good color mix as well. My feeling is the more the merrier, and I hope that we get 49 for a smashing 100 page book. I'll mix it all up in the book so we are not looking at Red after Red, or USA after USA. Pass the word on off-line to those you may know.
4/19/08 Update:Response is terrific. I'll take the suggestions of front grill star and rear trunk deck star for the front/back covers under advisement. I don't know about a contest however. I will ask, once we make the "kickoff" on 1-June, that we get some good photos of both from everyone.
Update 4/20/08Getting a few questions answered at once...
There is no "qualification"; "newbies" count too. All it takes is committment. Yes there's room, we are at 37 and counting. Room for 49.
Photoshop "art" can be desirable--first it is essential for balancing ill-exposed photos, setting white, black and neutrals; adjusting exposure, contrast, sharpness, etc. I have yet to see any digital photo that can't be improved upon by adjusting some of these things. Taking one step further, it is useful for removing that annoying overhead wire, toning down that reflection, or similar. Cropping too, is a photoshop function. But it was not in MY plans to apply the "oil-painting brush stroke filter" to turn a photo into an ersatz painting. But if someone has the skill and that's how they would like to see their car in the book, in perpetuity and that's what they give me--I'll have to respect that desire.
Let me re-emphasize to those that read down this far, that this isn't a book of Concours d'Elegance winners. Every 113 is beautiful; every owner has a story to tell, every car has something special about it to its owner. Don't worry about how your car stacks up against the others--it isn't a contest. Focus on presenting what you have in the best possible way.
Yes there will either be a cover (photo) or a dust jacket, and I'll take all these suggestions under advisement--the Stars, the Pagoda thing, etc.
Update 4/22/08Just so there's no confusion here--
1) It's a photobook, nothing more.
2) It isn't a club publication per se, it's mine that I've asked for contributors and participants.
3) No club funds are being used for this.
4) Being produced at cost for the benefit of the contributors. It isn't a profit venture and won't be "sold" at the "company store".
5) It has NOTHING to do with the Technical Manual.
Once the deadline passes that I set (31-May) for signing up, communication will be off-line on the matter.
Michael Salemi
1969 280SL
Signal Red 568G w/Black Leather (Restored)
President, International Stars Section
Mercedes-Benz Club of America
