Jen Bekman is featured in Kelly Kingman's recently released ebook, Going Pro: How To Make Money From Your Photography. Released by the Digital Photography School, the 91-page digital download provides step-by-step guidance, advice, insight and tips for becoming a professional photographer.

Jen—a writer, curator, gallerist and entrepreneur—is approached as a gallerist for one of the ebook's expert profiles, where she dispenses invaluable information for photographers looking to sell to collectors and to get gallery representation. Among her words of wisdom for would-be pros: Figuring out how to market yourself and build your audiences is a big part of being successful, whether you have a dealer or not; having a well-defined, well-edited body of work is a cornerstone of any fledgling career.

From choosing a business model that fits your working style, to marketing and selling your work, and from selling stock, to resources for protecting your work, Going Pro touts itself as the complete guide for photographers who want measurable success, as written by an established magazine photo editor. The recession, the digital age and the emergence of microstock have all been factors that have been consistently shaking up the photography world, forcing professionals to rethink the way they approach their craft and success. This ebook—part of a kit that includes two hours of audio interviews with photography professionals and a downloadable guide called Getting Published in Photography Magazines—aims to make the murky waters more navigable, and urges would-be pros, "If you've ever dreamed of making money from your passion, now's your chance to make it happen."

The ebook and kit are available for download here.
For a previous article Kingman wrote about Jen, click here.

We recently awarded each of our five 2010 Hot Shots $1,000 towards making their own photography books at Blurb. But, what does publishing a photography book really entail? The task can be daunting, starting from selecting the images that will be included in the publication, all the way down to details like which typeface to use, what paper weight is best, and how many pages the book should be.

On Wednesday, December 1st, photo book experts Darius Himes (Founding Editor of Radius Books) and Mary Virginia Swanson will offer a free lecture at the New York Public Library: Publish Your Photography Book. They'll offer pointers about the current temperature of the photography book publishing industry, address how to market a book, and offer insights into what they've learned from their years in the publishing world. The talk shares a title with their forthcoming book from Princeton Architectural Press, to be published in January 2011, which you can pre-order now.

Princeton Architectural Press writes of the book:

For the students and working artists who have chosen photography as their primary means of expression, having their own photography book is seen as a passport to the international photography scene. Yet, few have more than a tentative grasp of the component parts of a book, an understanding of what they want to express, or the know-how needed to get a book published. Publish Your Photography Book is the first book to demystify the process of producing and publishing a book of photographs. Industry insiders Darius D. Himes and Mary Virginia Swanson survey the current landscape of photography book publishing and point out the many avenues to pursue and pitfalls to avoid. This expert guide is organized in six sections covering the rich history of the photo book; an overview of the publishing industry; an intimate look at the process of making a book; a close review of how to market a photo book; a section on case studies, built around discussions and interviews with published photographers; and a final section presenting a wealth of resources and information to aid in the understanding of the publishing world.

If you're a photographer who's trying to make the move to bound, printed matter, or curious about the publishing industry, be sure to head to NYPL next Wednesday and hear about the art of photo book publishing from a few seasoned experts.

Publish Your Photography Book
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Margaret Liebman Berger Forum, 2nd Floor, Rm 227
Wednesday, December 1, 2010: 6:00 p.m. (doors at 5:30 p.m.)
First-come, first-served

Working The Line by David Taylor, published by Radius Books

We've waxed on and on about the gorgeous books produced by Santa Fe-based independent publisher Radius Books, where HHS! panelists Darius Himes in a founding editor. Their latest publication is Working The Line, by Guggenheim Fellow David Taylor, who traces a line of obelisks that dot the U.S. - Mexico borer between El Pason/Juarez to San Diego/Tijuana.

Radius writes of the book and of Taylor:

These monuments--striking objects situated in impossibly gorgeous and difficult terrain--were installed between the years 1892 and 1895. In the process of his work, Taylor earned remarkable access to U.S. Border Patrol facilities, agents and routine operations. Patrol agents often refer to their job in the field as "line work" which is an apt description of Taylor's own time as he documented the obelisks. Being on the "line" has given Taylor a unique view into overlapping issues of border security, human and drug smuggling, the continuing construction of the border fence and its impact on the land.

Hardbound in a slipcase, the book is a 148 page visual investigation of a border that's increasingly tenuous, also featuring essays by Hanna Frieser and Luis Alberto Urrea.

Lucky for New Yorkers, David Taylor, alongside editor Darius Himes and designer David Chickey, will be at NYU next week talking about the book.

The Details:
In Conjunction with Anna Deavere Smith Works, Inc. at New York University and the "Bodies on the Line" Symposium*
Presentation and Discussion with David Taylor and David Chickey & Darius Himes of Radius Books
Tuesday, November 2nd, 6-8 pm
NYU, 20 Cooper Square (5th and Bowery, 5th Floor)

You can also purchase three versions of Working The Line online—a trade edition for $50.00, a signed edition for $55.00 and a limited-edition (of 40) signed and numbered version 17"x22" version for $800.00. Learn more about Taylor, the essayists and the book at Radius.

Great ideas often find their genesis in something that its creator has already been doing for a long while. Writer, curator and collector Larissa Leclair has been embodying this notion in her new project the indie Photobook Library. Founded in 2010, the iPL is an archive of self-published photobooks, zines, catalogs and other printed matter whose intent is to be seen in person through traveling exhibitions and as a non-circulating public library. In addition to Leclair's efforts, the iPL has an advisory board of several people who are likely well known to readers of this blog: Andy Adams, editor and founder of Flak Photo; Darius Himes, co-founder of Radius Books; Shane Lavalette, photographer and founder of Lay Flat; and Gabrielle Reed, of the Massachusetts College of Art's Godine Library. Accepting photobooks from all over the world, the iPL has been enjoying a period of exponential growth. We recently sent some questions to Larissa about the iPL and where she thinks things are headed next.

What is the genesis of the iPL? Did it begin with your personal collection? If so, how long have you been building/collecting it, and what was the impetus to turn it outward and make it a public collection?

LL: My interest in archives began in graduate school, when I spent most of my time researching and working in Manuscripts & Archives at Yale University Library with photographs, postcards, ephemera and books. Now each year I try and return to Yale for the Master Class at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library co-organized with the Photo Memory Workshops, which I had been a part of during school. The class is an amazing opportunity to spend time with an entire collection along with the photographer of the collection or expert scholar on the collection. The most recent Master Class this past April 2010 focused on the Peter Palmquist Archive. Peter Palmquist's life mission after retiring was very inspiring and his collection has and will have a big impact on the history of photography specifically relating to women in photography since the late 1800's. The passion and vision encapsulated in his collection was the final piece of encouragement I needed.

The idea of creating a public non-circulating library has been in my head for many years. It was an idea I wanted to bring to the table for a non-profit organization and at that time my focus was a broad range of international titles and making them available to a US audience. That initiative never materialized, but the idea stayed and evolved. In the last year or two, I have been personally frustrated with not being able to view most of the self-published books out there in person. So the idea of wishing for a central place to look at these kinds of books was in my head on the day I saw Peter Palmquist's collection. I was blown away that a single individual could follow his passion, create a collection, and in the process have an impact on the history of photography. I was not only interested in promoting indie published books, but I was very interested in creating an archive. So two weeks after the Master Class, I plunged into the reality of overseeing a public collection. It was the right time and I knew I would regret the decision if I did not start the Indie Photobook Library.

The iPL was started for many reasons—the two main ones being—preservation and showcasing of these independent, self-published books to be SEEN (not just on the web) and for the future—a collection of books that decades from now people will still be able to see in person. Having a specific collection dedicated to these kinds of books allows for the development of future discourse on trends in self-publishing, the ability to reflect on and compare books in the collection, and for scholarly research to be conducted in years, decades and centuries to come.

Sometimes you wonder where your path is leading you, but once you get there it all makes sense. The iPL is my destination and I will be working on it for the rest of my life.

screenshot of the iPL online

Does the iPL accept everything it receives? What is the curatorial process like? If there is a single criteria for inclusion, what would it be?

LL:For now the iPL accepts everything it receives. But with that in mind the iPL only accepts photobooks that are self-published, independently published and distributed, exhibition catalogs, print-on-demand photobooks, artist books, zines, photobooks printed on newsprint, limited edition photobooks, etc.

Are there plans to make the iPL more accessible online? Perhaps a flip-preview like with Blurb books, or PhotoEye's sneak peak?

Photobooks that are in the permanent collection of the iPL are available online as a catalog record with a photograph of the cover of the book. The site, and thus the collection, can be browsed by image, title or photographer. I have been thinking about video "flip-throughs" or interviews along with a book flip-through similar to what Self Publish, Be Happy has been doing. I like the video idea for two reasons. It gives a better sense of the book and at the same time, from an archivist point of view, for the more delicate books enables someone to experience the book without impacting it physically. There are future ideas along these lines already germinating...

How does the iPL fit into the same milieu as things like Self Publish, Be Happy; The Independent Photobook blog—are you all a part of the same dialogue? Where do you intersect, where do you clash?

LL: I think we are all celebrating the photobook, and specifically the self-published and indie published photobook, but we are promoting them in our own way. The iPL is the only physical archive.

What is your deepest hope for the iPL? What is its ultimate reach?

LL: I have very ambitious goals for the iPL. I hope it will be seen as the "Library of Congress" for self-published books and that photographers will continue to add to the collection as they create new books. Once the iPL has a space of its own, I hope to have the collection listed on worldcat.org. And in thirty years or so, the entire archive will be donated as its own collection to a much larger university or museum archive to be preserved and be accessible for future photo-bibliophiles long after my lifetime.

What challenges do you face in getting the iPL out into the world? What other challenges are there that someone who is not so intimately involved would not think to consider?

LL: Time. The iPL has already turned into a full-time project and I am happy about that, but we will need a full-time staff person to oversee the day-to-day maintenance of the collection so I can also focus on further development. How to do that without financial support is a good question but one that will be answered in the future. Another challenge is the language barrier. I want the iPL to have books from every corner of the globe. We have gotten the word out in Iran through Dide Magazine and I am reaching out to photo communities in the Middle East and Africa. News is spreading of the iPL and already we have books in the collection from Serbia, Iceland, China, Taiwan, Peru, Argentina, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, England, Singapore, New Zealand, the United States and Canada, to give you an example of some of the countries.

What is a typical day like working as the curator/promoter/voice of iPL?

We receive submissions every day, so a typical day always includes looking at books that have come in and sending out a confirmation email, cataloging them for the iPL website and our records and then announcing the new books that have been added to the collection through social media, our RSS feed and by email to those following the iPL. Currently we are getting ready for the Flash Forward Festival in Toronto and FotoWeek DC, writing grants, preparing our information for Kickstarter.com and looking for space.

Tell us about a couple of your favorite most recent submissions/finds.

LL:I don't want to label any of the books in the iPL as favorite of mines. But I can highlight some recent submissions that people should check out. NY low and high by Marco Onofri, Clinic, Depressive Landscapes, Waterfall, anything by Matt Austin or Andrea Stultiens, Kitintale by Yann Gross, Pause to Begin... There are just too many great photobooks ... See You Soon by Maxwell Anderson, Eastward Bound, How Terry Likes His Coffee.... In July I met with George Slade at the Photographic Resource Center in Boston and brought with me two boxes of books that I had selected from the iPL. In many ways it was a personal guided tour of the iPL where I presented and compared and discussed, and three hours later, we barely felt we had begun. So I could go on and on about which books you should look at. And I am pleased to say that George will get to spend more time with some of these books, because he and the PRC will be hosting a curated exhibition from the iPL collection next Fall 2011!

Aside from traveling festivals, are there plans for a more permanent home for the iPL?

Yes, the iPL is actively looking for a space. The traveling exhibitions are an initial way to showcase the books in the collection, but ultimately I hope to have a public space that operates like a non-circulating library where people can come in and browse the shelves. I would also like to have a small gallery area in the space for rotating exhibitions from the collection. And I am interested in the idea of letting larger institutions borrow a book if needed for an exhibition they are mounting.

If and when the iPL has the happy problem of outgrowing itself, how do you see yourself adapting to the duties and demands of its growth, and what steps to grow it even further would you like to take?

LL: I am smiling. The iPL has already outgrown my office and I am looking for that space you asked about in the previous question much sooner than I originally anticipated. The iPL will be continually adapting to the duties and demands of its growth—and I like that. That makes it exciting and limitless. As far as the logistics of an ever-growing collection, that is where it will get challenging. The iPL has applied for a grant and will soon be joining the other fundraising projects on Kickstarter.com and we have welcomed Stephanie Obernesser as our first intern this fall.

Has your role as the curator/caretaker of this collection influenced your own buying, viewing and book-appreciating habits? Would you, for example, still want to put your hands on a popularly or more widely produced title by one of the more well known art presses, or is there a kind of conversion that takes place, where your independent values must be lived and choices made by them?

LL: In the end they are all photobooks. I am still just as interested in traditional trade editions as I was before. I have been collecting photobooks for over ten years and most of them fall into the category of what you described as "produced by the more well known art presses." And I have a section in my personal collection of titles relating to contemporary African photography. What has changed recently about my buying habits is that I am now buying more "indie" publications. Through the iPL I have the opportunity to see more non-traditional publications and because of this am buying more books. And I hope that same impulse will affect other people looking at the books in our library.

Is there room for everybody in the art press publishing world? Room for every kind of approach? In your view, are the more tried and true traditional ways of doing things (i.e. big, expensive, prestigious presses) dying out?

LL: I wouldn't say dying out, but with the surge of self-publishers and indie labels, I assume it is probably a lot harder for the traditional presses then it used to be. The photobook market is only so big and there is so much out there to buy and collect.

What is some of the feedback that you've received about the iPL that has most surprised you?

LL: The feedback and support of this project has been amazing and overwhelmingly positive. I am hearing that photographers are selling books after someone has seen it in the Indie Photobook Library. That is some of the best kind of feedback.

Why is it important to collect photobooks at this particular place and time? In an age of fleeting ephemerality, is there something counterintuitive to trying to hold onto the material?

LL: It is inherent in my own behavior to collect. I understand the nature of collections and archives. I don't like the fleeting ephemerality of information, images, time and really enjoy looking at history through an accessible archive. I started the Indie Photobook Library just days before I read the article that appeared in the Boston Globe on May 24, 2010, titled "Harvard's Paper Cuts." I read it in a nervous sweat. The article made me second-guess my decision as I thought about what I had just started. If one of the largest libraries and archives was collecting less physical material, what was I doing? Archives shouldn't follow trends but collect the things that shape them. On a consumer level, digital material may be more practical, but I am still interested in the physical object and I think the role of the archive should be too. What is shifting within archives is how the collection and material is used and shared. And for that I think the more that is digitized and available online the better.

What do you see in the independent, self-published book market that is different and/or of a particular and rare value from the mass market?

LL: Individuality and creativity. It may be an idealist's view but the physical expression of the book as object and idea is not as influenced by commercialism. The production of the indie book may be approached from a different perspective than a mass market book. The photographer is in control of the decisions and thus the end result is just as much an expression of the artist as is any of the photographs. It goes beyond just a book of photographs.

Tell us a little bit about the inaugural iPL event, the Toronto Flash Forward festival. How will people be encouraged or inclined to use the library? What will distinguish it from an art press book sale stand?

LL: Stephanie and I are busy getting ready for the Flash Forward Festival and we are very excited to be part of the "Self Published Book Expo." The iPL will be showcasing its entire cataloged archive and people are invited to spend hours looking through all the books. It is such a diverse collection, from exquisite hardcover books to softcover zines, newsprint books to limited-edition artist books, print-on-demand books from Blurb and MagCloud, and everything in between. Check out our website to see the books that will be on view. Self Publish Be Happy will also be there showing a curated selection and I look forward to seeing the books selected by Bruno. None of the books in the iPL are for sale, nor is the iPL set up to sell books at the Flash Forward Festival, however on Saturday October 9 from 4-6pm, if you have a book in the iPL and will be in Toronto you are invited to bring copies of your book to sign and sell during that time to festival visitors.

Many, many thanks to Larissa for taking the time to so thoughtfully answer our questions about collecting and the world's first Indie Photobook Library! Keep up to date with news and chances to view the iPL over on their website. The iPL also has a twitter feed and a Facebook page. If you have a book that you are interested in submitting to the collection, check out the submission page.

If you are a frequent reader of this blog, you're certain to have heard about our partnership with Blurb books by now: not only do we have a new bookstore featuring the Blurb-published books of our Hot Shots past and present, but Blurb also added a serious sweetener to our prize pot. Each of the five 2010 Hot Shots will receive a $1,000 Blurb credit to go towards the creation of their own book. Ms. Jen Bekman will also select one of the five Hot Shots to receive the invaluable services of professional book editor Darius Himes and a TBD professional designer to help guides them through the process.

In addition to being a HHS! panelist and book editor, Darius served as the lead juror of Blurb's Photography Book Now competition this year. They recently announced the the winning books and three of the photographers in this year's category awards from have been featured contenders in the 2010 HHS! competition, including Judith Stenneken, who took away Blurb's Grand Prize of $25,000 for her book project on the closing of Berlin's Tempelhof airport, entitled Last Call. 20x200 artist Emily Shur placed as a 1st runner-up for her book The Woods and she received an honorable mention for her other book project Shizenkan. The winner of our 1st Curator's Choice award, Phil Underdown, also won an honorable mention for his now sold-out book Grassland.

Honorable Mention, Fine Art Category, Phil Underdown, Grassland

One of the most gratifying things about doing any kind of work in the arts is, forgive me for stating the obvious, getting to work with and come in contact with the artists—the people out there actually making things in their daily lives. And it is equally inspiring and gratifying when even in the super-busy realms of JBP HQ, that the people that make this all of this possible also make it an equal priority continue to work/make/say/think as a practicing artist. Hot Shot, food-lover, editor and writer Youngna Park is one such person, and we wanted to take a moment and share with you where you can find her most recent endeavor.

Cover for upcoming release of Brooklyn Diary, published by Lines & Shapes

Youngna Park's photographs are featured in the publication Brooklyn Diary as one of the ten photographers showing images of the lives and environs of one of the most gritty, urban and artistic cities in the country. From the press release for the book:

Brooklyn, old and new, is known for its diversity and creative spirit. Brooklyn Diary takes a look inside the daily lives of twenty-one brooklyn artists, documented by ten different photographers. A place that is both dirty and beautiful, artistic endeavors are abundant in Brooklyn - from fashion and photography to organic gardens and distinctive food. the book is divided into categories of walk, eat, shop, home, and studio, and the artists profiled have shared their favorite (often lesser known) Brooklyn spots, making it a perfect, unconventional guide book for those planning to visit.

Untitled by Youngna Park, from Brooklyn Diary

Brooklyn Diary is one of several publications from Lines & Shapes, a joint endeavor between artists Maria Vettese and Lena Corwin. Emphasizing the simple, the everyday, the illustrative, photographic and text-based, books from Lines & Shapes tend to be deceptively spare yet richly sourced meditations on themes from everything from plant life to lazy Sundays and the food and the turf of Brooklyn. Much like commonplace books, except ones that are curated collaborations between artists and designers, Lines & Shapes make things that both a pleasurable recess from normal daily concerns and a delivery into contemplation about the fleeting ephemerality of things, places and activities that we deeply enjoy and cause us to feel connected to the world and those that we love.

For a limited time, Lines and Shapes is offering a discount on pre-orders of Brooklyn Diary, which is set to be released on October 11, 2010. Whether you're a Brooklynite or one that wanders its streets and sidewalks virtually (like me), snatch up a copy and enjoy a peek into the lives, both private and public, of the people and businesses therein.

A bunting strip of colorful foil letters with the words "Don't Die" is the title image of Justin James Reed's newest project, a limited-edition artist book and series of images currently on view at Stockbridge Fine Art in Philadelphia through the end of July. At first glance, one isn't sure if they're entering a party or mortuary; it seems the slightest bit immoral to take merriment in the rainbow refractions that dance off of the words.

Don't Die by Justin James Reed

The artist book, available at Stockbridge Fine Art and also on Justin's website, is a sixteen page soft-cover work, printed in an edition of thirty. Justin is also selling 11"x14" archival pigment prints of Don't Die in an edition of five for $100 apiece. The works in the book are a departure from the dense, seasonal landscapes that have been prominent in Justin's work in the past, and present objects and hyper-colorful images that encroach on the surreal.

Don't Die
Stockbridge Fine Art
On view through July 31st
319 N. 11th Street, 4th Floor
Tues - Fri, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., or by appointment

We here at Jen Bekman Projects are social media on steroids. We've got three blogs: (Jen Bekman Gallery, 20x200, and what you're reading now at Hey Hot Shot), a tumblr site, three Facebook pages, three twitter feeds and who knows what else is on the horizon. Sometimes we can cross-dialog well with our audiences of our various projects that might have different agendas and interests from one another.

And that's why I'm writing now, fellow photographers and photo lovers, to alert you to the two-part discussion on photobooks that's been going on over at the 20x200 blog this week.

The first post tackles the changes in point-of-view, production models and consumer trends in the world of photo and art books. We examined both the alarm being displayed by purveyers of traditional publishing models at the sweeping changes in consumer trends and funding for production, as well as the liberty and opportunity to be found by other publishers small and large to be explored during this moment of flux.

The second part looks at what artists near-and-dear to us have been thinking/making/doing in response to this changing landscape: we take a look at recent book work by Shen Wei, Jonathon Gitelson, Chad Muthard, Austin Kleon and William Powhida.

Since being savvy and informed is the best weapon anyone can have in their artistic arsenals, we thought you might want to head on over to our sister site and check out the conversation.

Effigy of the Unmarked but Persistent Passing of Time by Colin Blakely

The newest issue of the always-fantastic Photography Quarterly, published by The Center for Photography at Woodstock is out, and features the portfolios of six photographers selected by Jen during the 2009 Photography Now competition including Colin Blakely, Rona Chang, Stacy Arezou Mehrfar, Chris Mottalini, Eric Percher and Saul Robbins. The magazine also features images by their current artists-in-residence, several essays, an investigation about the state of photography in the blogosphere by Liz Unterman, and reviews of several recently published photography books of note.

If you're not familiar with CPW, they are hosts to an ongoing series of excellent artist-in-residence programs, workshops and lectures in addition to publishing Photography Quarterly. Their workshop schedule ramps up at the very end of May, and throughout the summer and into the fall, the Center offers programs in digital techniques, printing, portfolio development, and creative vision with photographers including Mary Ellen Mark, Chris Jordan and David Hiliard.

Photography Quarterly #98 and all past issues are available for $15 apiece on CPW's website. To order, just email info@cpw.org.

Spreads from Lay Flat 02: Meta

Back in January we wrote about photography journal Lay Flat taking pre-orders for their second issue Meta. Fast-forward two months and it's now available to order! The sample spreads from the website (above) look fantastic.

The issue's theme encompasses photographic works that deal with the medium of photography itself. Included is work by our own 2009 Second Edition Hot Shot Jessica Eaton and 20x200 artist Penelope Umbrico as well as an essay by HHS! panelist Lesley A. Martin.

Issue 02 was produced in an edition of just 2000, some of which are already being shipped out as pre-orders. You can visit their website to learn more about Lay Flat and order your copy.