Kickstarter

6.21.11

I recently received a question from a Kickstarter patron asking me why so much for a book; couldn't I use Blurb to make the books at a lower cost? This is a great question and I thought it would be a good idea to post my response.

"The $12,000 covers the printing and distribution of the book as well as the cost to create the other donor benefits. 
In fact,after receiving 8 bids from printers, the $12,000 will not cover all of the costs and I will end up kicking in an additional $3-5,000. I have looked long and hard at the "do it yourself" book sites and none of them fit my vision for this book. I aim to create a book that matches the quality and design of books from the golden era of fine art photography. The reproduction quality of the images and design are paramount. In order to maintain the standards that I strive for requires constant attention and custom production. Sites such as Blurb can't meet these requirements."

6.7.11

Hey Gang, 

I'm down to the last 3-weeks and I'm a bit over $7,000 shy of my goal and I'm feeling a bit desperate! Desperate times require desperate measures so.........................................

ANYONE PLEDGING IN DONOR CATEGORIES 0F $150-480 WILL RECEIVE THE BENEFITS FROM THE NEXT HIGHEST CATEGORY. For Example- Pledge $150 and you get all the benefits of $250.

5.14.2011

It recently came to my attention that pledgers may not be aware that the prints are hand made by myself , not farmed out to a lab. The amount of detailed attention that goes into each print demands that I oversee the process from start to finish.

5.5.2011

HEY KICKSTARTERS! 

THE FIRST WEEK RUN OF MY PAGE IS OFF TO A GOOD START BUT I NOTICED THE "SWEET SPOT" PLEDGE IS $50.THE BEST OFFERS SIT AT THE $150/250 PLEDGES SINCE YOU GET THE BOOK AND A PRINT ALONG WITH THE OTHER ASSORTED GOODIES.  

MY PRINTS NORMALLY SELL 

FOR $400/600 RESPECTIVELY 

SO THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO LAND A LIMITED EDITION IMAGE AT A KICKSTARTER BARGAIN PRICE. 

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HISTORY

Shortly after graduating from Columbia College in the 80's I was fortunate to live in Paris for just over a year with a scholarship from the French. The experience had a profound impact on my life and shaped who and what I am today. One day I happened to wander into a Parisian cemetery in the 20th arrondissement, and was enthralled. Here, in the heart of Paris, I walked through a sprawling "City of the Dead", an architectural wonder in various stages of decay. Wandering down winding avenues, past the graves of the famous and infamous, I passed mausoleum doors hanging by their hinges, sacred contents open to the public. In the background, distant wails of feral cats drifted through the haze. I vowed to return with my camera before my scholarship ended but was sidetracked by my exciting life in Paris.

I settled in Chicago, married, had a family and forgot Pere Lachaise, focusing on supporting myself and my loved ones. Over the course of the next 10 years I focused my attention on building a successful architectural photography studio until one day my interest in Pere Lachaise was rekindled. In a local paper I read of a recent controversy in Paris over the proposed removal and relocation of remains buried in Pere Lachaise. 

After getting approval to shoot in the cemetery, I returned in 1994 with an assistant and worked from sunrise to sunset shooting over 200 images.  During the years that followed I mounted several successful exhibitions of the Pere Lachaise photography. The next logical step, a book, proved to be more daunting. After several near misses with publishers I happened upon another article, this time discussing the merits of a public funding website, Kickstarter. It seemed like a perfect fit; if I could share my passion for Pere Lachaise with the public I might be able to realize my dream of sharing my work with a larger audience. 

THE BOOK

With your help, I will design and print a 12"x12" hard cover photography book. The slip-cased,cloth bound book will be of the highest quality and include 50-75 B&W images. It will open with an introduction by an established fine art photographer and a philosophical/historical essay on Pere LaChaise Cemetery. The photo reproduction will be exquisite and faithfully reproduce the look of the original prints. 

FUNDS

How will I use your kind pledges?

The majority of the money will go toward printing a minimum of 500 books. The balance will be used for scanning images, adjusting images for reproduction,postage,designing the book and puchasing consumables for the backer rewards prints. If I exceed my goal, there are a couple of different possibilities for the additional funds. Depending on the amount of additional money and demand, I might print a larger book (12"x15"), more books (1,000),hire a publishing company to distribute the book or any combination of these options. So spread the word, you could end up with a bigger book with national distribution, if I exceed my goal! 

REWARDS

Check out the pledge tier listed on the right for specifics on the rewards.

Included below are the images you can select from for your pledge print.

Visit Piezography.com and click on the ABOUT tab at the top to learn more about the print quality and longevity of Piezography prints.