JJP Designs | Photo Ninja

How has a simple pile of paper, string and leather survived for so many years and in the face of so much technological assault directed at it? This is part of my series of blogs to explain what exactly is the Essence of a Book by photographically exploring my personal library. And I'm starting with my limited edition of The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night... There is something about a book - a REAL book... that has permanence - that says to the reader that the author committed to their words and thoughts... and the act of producing that book, those thoughts, on a typewriter gives the author the ability to physically produce their thoughts and ideas - instantaneously and indelibly. Here you just barely see the almost imperceptible indentation of letterpress. Today we crave the telltale indent that says we are beholding a work of handmade skilled craftsmanship but back in the day it was typically considered by many to be bad form to press into the paper to the e...

 Why do we still collect books? Well, I do... and apparently so do many others. Given the availability of digital texts, why do so many still love books? For me, it is the Essence of a Book... Material - Paperback/Hardback... Weight/Texture of the pages... Type of binding... The ink... the color... was it set via letterpress? traditional letterpress or modern? Can you feel the indentation of the letterpress or is it perfectly elegantly smooth? Size - Quarto... Sextodecimo... Folio... It's Tactile - the pages, the printing, the binding... everything about it... It's Three Dimensional - you can relate to the events within the story not only through the words but via their location within the block... how far through the block, how far up/down/left/right on the page - recto or verso... The typeface... The spacing/leading... The simple decision of margins... Illustrations - wood block, hand drawn, black and white or color... How is the title first presented to you - gilded, emb...

I photographed my 1st Marching Band Invitational... well, my son's band's marching band invitational - his first (he is a freshmen) but their 3rd annual. My son's school band hosted it but there were 14 visiting bands... his band was only scheduled (we'll get back to that 'scheduled' point later) to do an exhibition performance since they were hosting - hosting band does not compete. His band competed at one last week and will do so at another next week... busy schedule these band kids keep. Luckily there were 3 other photographers as well (there were likely a few thousand people there between bands, parents, and friends)... two were other parents and one was a student and band member so he didn't get to shoot the entire time, but he did shoot quite a bit... Side Note: That student photographer I just mentioned - He is a senior and an amazing fashion photographer with a phenomenal eye - particularly for his age! Please check out his Instagram ...

How often have you heard, or said, that someone needs to ‘get a little perspective’ or ‘change their perspective’? I recently pondered the concept of ‘getting a little perspective’ as I was sitting an enjoying a demolition derby. Now, the English language can be a bit imprecise, so let’s start with a little dip into what exactly that phrase means. In photography it’s a phrase that means exactly what it says – to literally see, though the camera, something from a different angle: get up high, get down low, move around to another side of the subject, or simply zoom in or out. In common parlance, as with so many things, it is not quite so clear cut. If you are trying to console a distraught friend then you may say it in a particular way in an effort to help and support them with whatever issue they are grappling with. If you are trying to win an argument with a particularly stubborn or aggressive adversary then you may say it in a particular way to insult and intimidate them in a...