Lens: Minolta 100mm f2.8 macro
Camera: NEX-7, ISO400, f2.8, 1/25, raw
It’s finally time to publish the first book of the four volumes which will eventually collect the whole material from the 365(+1) Days of NEX-7 project. Even if the book does nothing more than replicate the same posts and photographs that are already present in the blog, yet it was a lot of work to put everything together, give it a nice look, make it as easy to consult and enjoyable to read. To chose the font. To edit the text and photos format. To publish it, then to create the page on the web-site to promote it and give access to the free download, and finally to share it with you all.
As with any other book, I know that the cover will pay a fundamental role in its spreading. I spent a considerable amount of time planning it. At first, I wanted to use one of the self-portraits, and to reconstruct it as a mosaic made with all the other pics in the book. I bought a dedicated software for this reason. Then I didn’t like the outcome. With “just” ninety-two images as “tiles”, the mosaic didn’t look as nice and complex as I hoped.
Then I tried to use one of the images so far produced, without the mosaic effect. Luckily there were several nice options, like the bunnies, the night-shots, the toy-macros, the portraits, and so on. But I felt that choosing any of the photographs would have given a wrong message, like that the project was entirely focused on one topic. Which, as you know, is far from the truth.
Finally, I had the idea for this shot. The covers of the four volumes will have to be somehow consistent. And the thing which makes them consistent is the project. So, the project had to become the subject. I used one of Claudia’s black make-up pencils. With it I wrote on the mirror in the bathroom the title of the project. I draw a (more or less) square frame around it, as the book will come in a square shape. Then I used the side lights to enhance the texture of the writing and to glare it with a gold nuance. I stepped back, right into the bathtub, so as to get in the frame as well. And here it is, the cover of the first book dedicated to the project. I hope you’ll enjoy it!
For more info and all the links to the ebook and printed book, please visit the publications page of Rossini Photography.