50
B+WIn the face of artistic block, Eddie Ephraums finds his inspiration for
Book Four of his 112 W a y s project in the humble notebook – and then he
explores how different styles might well give each book a different purpose...INSPIRATION
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All pictures © Eddie EphraumsPHOTOBOOK
WORKSHOP
T
he idea of the 112 Ways
to Make a Photobook
project is to explore and
to experiment, to
expand my skills and horizons.
The most successful books
won’t necessarily be those that
look great or impress others,
but the ones that reveal what
I can learn, pointing me in
exciting new directions.
I’m hoping future books in
the series will continue to hold
up a mirror to my photography,to provide creative insights and
to reveal artistic truths. And if
I don’t hit a wall at some point,
I will be very surprised; in fact,
I would be concerned.
No sooner said, I spent part of
yesterday afternoon on my back,not in pain, but in an artistic
stasis. This followed an especially
busy period of work, dealing with
a variety of challenges. My
thinking was hazy, I couldn’t
focus. A power nap was in order,
but was this really the right timeto stop? A B+W Photography
magazine deadline was upon
me and I wasn’t sure what to
do for the article. A wall was
approaching fast.
I often find the best way to get
back on track, or to have a
breakthrough, is to consciously
do nothing for a while. I like to
give myself permission to switch
off, relax, snooze, write in a
notebook, or do whatever it
takes to declutter my mental
hard-drive and give myA couple of centre-sewn, 112 Ways (3:1 aspect ratio) notebooks, stand
beside a sleeve for them. The phone cover sketch illustrates how I like
to make visual notes with a cameraphone that I can print and include
in this type of bound notebook. In the right hand notebook, design
sketches and construction notes can be seen for my Post-it Note book
idea, featured on the opposite page.50-52_PHOTOBOOK_WORKSHOP_171 ER/MB.indd 5050-52_PHOTOBOOK_WORKSHOP_171 ER/MB.indd 50 30/10/2014 10:3630/10/2014 10:36