Iowa: Day One

Today was a wonderfully cool June day, very different than the sticky hot weather we usually get around here this time of year. I spent the day traveling a little more than halfway across the state of Iowa to Grinnell. I'll be attempting to get started on the Iowa portion of my yet-to-be-titled family project over the next couple days.

The above photograph is from the side of a building in the main street area of Persia, Iowa. Not family related, but one of the few photographs I took today.

Also visited: Portsmouth, Newton, Kellogg and Lynnville

On the road again...

I've been stir crazy of late, constantly wishing I was out and about now that I've got most of my health issues under control. Work is work, and offers very little of any sort of outlet for creativity. I've been spending a lot of time with Walker Evans' work and planning to get out and photograph during the summer months.

Today was a test run to the loess hills region north of Council Bluffs, Iowa. The picture above is something I've wanted to photograph for the long time, a (now abandoned) restaurant all by its lonesome at the Honey Creek exit on Interstate 29. The giant letters that mark the roof have been been burned into my memory for as long as I can remember, most likely going back to childhood trips to Nebraska to visit my grandparents.

Also visited: Loveland, Missouri Valley, Logan, and Beebeetown.

Reissued...

I was pleased to discover that William Eggleston's 2 1/4 is once again available for purchase. Twin Palms published the fourth edition of the book earlier this year and it's limited to just 3000 copies worldwide.

My first (and only) experience with this book was through the interlibrary loan system at school. The copy I borrowed had seen better days, but still stands out in my mind as what I like best about Eggleston. While it's really not all that different than his later work, 2 1/4 shows what direction he was heading in and the use of a square sets this work apart from projects like Los Alamos.

2 1/4 is wonderfully printed with large images on every page. Just a fantastic book overall, especially for fans of Eggleston. Get it before it's gone again and only available at inflated prices on the secondary market.

Books On Books

The first four releases of errata editions' Books on Books series are in stores now. Each title features a reproduction of a classic photography book with added insight and commentary on the work.

Walker Evans' American Photographs is the second book in the series and the first I have purchased. The idea behind the series is brilliantly simple. Take the original book, scan the pages, and publish them in a new format. Some of the images are published on a single page, others are placed four to a single page spread. After the reproduction of the full book, some essays about the photographer and the work follow.

Errata did just about everything right with the entire presentation. The half dust jacket looks great and the entire reproduction looks excellent, better than I had expected. Some of the images end up a bit small due to the layout, but that's about the only complaint I've got. Definitely an interesting way to discover books that may be unavailable at the current time.

Other titles in the series include: Eugene Atget's Photographe de Paris, Sophie Ristelheuber's Fait and Chris Killip's En Flagrante.