My books The Missing Mondrians, 2014
C&N – Brandt a gradual realisation, 2020
I&P – A fair likeness, 2021
LPE - Attitudes to Landscape, 2023 26 diners and motels in Newport, a homage to Ed Ruscha, 2023
My first book dealt with the reconstruction of lost Mondrian paintings. My second was at the at the command of my C&N tutor who set me the task of creating a zine based on my work on that module. I was bitten by the bug and vowed to create a book for every subsequent module, leading to A Fair Likeness (2021) for I&P. I made two books for LPE, Attitudes to Landscape and 26 diners and motels in Newport, a homage to Ed Ruscha (see Postcards),
I call them Zines in honour of my C&N tutor’s instruction but they are books really. They are best viewed on the Wordpress sites.
The degree module zines are self-printed and bound. My distribution strategy is by stealth: I create (or in the case of The Missing Mondrians pay for the printing of) a small number of copies and secrete single copies in appropriate locations. For this year’s, that will probably be in the bookshops of The Photographers’ Gallery and two or three other galleries holding exhibitions of photographs or landscape paintings that I attend, and I keep a copy for myself.
As noted in the blog, the RPS Landscape Group is keeping me afloat with projects and the next book will be …
Eltham Palace, serial playground
The rules are,
The Landscape Zine Project
Introductory briefing 13 April 2023, project finish 31 December 2023
The zine (pronounced zeen) is an exciting and different way to get your photography project seen. Descended from the fanzine with its low-tech look and do-it-yourself feel, today’s zines have risen from the ranks of amateur publishing to a phenomenon enjoyed by photographers of all standings and genres.
Whilst never restricted to a single shape, size or format, photozines generally contain a small project; are printed quickly and cheaply and are the polar opposite of expensive, luxury self-publishing. Great for giveaways, zines are also an ideal vehicle for concluding those photographic projects that seem to linger on desperate for an ending.
In Tim’s introductory briefing, you will get to see a wide range of inspiring photozines and learn how easy it is to put one together using Lightroom, Affinity Publisher or Photoshop. We will look at all the options available to you for home and commercial printing together with different papers, binding and costing it all out.
For those unable to attend the briefing a shorter recorded briefing will be made available afterwards on the website.
A follow up review and Q&A session with Tim will be held in autumn 2023 (date to be confirmed). We will be encouraging you to submit a PDF file of your zine for review by Tim on the evening. Depending on numbers we may need to restrict the reviews to 25 zines.
Information on how to submit your PDF for review in the autumn and your printed zine in January 2024 will be provided in due course.
The only limitation, apart from your imagination, is your zine concept needs to fit with our definition of landscape, which is “Landscape photography is defined as the photographic portrayal of all elements of the land, sea and sky whether natural or built or influenced by human endeavour. Examples include mountains, hills, farmland, coasts, bodies of water, forests and populated and industrial areas”.
Tim is Senior Lecturer in Photography at Chester University. His specialist subjects are photography production and artist's publishing. Tim teaches on all levels of the BA Photography programme with special responsibility for practice based modules, and also contributes to the MA Fine Art programme. Tim has had many photography books published, and has been teaching RPS workshops for a number of years. He is a member of the RPS Photobook Distinction Panel.
The project is being managed by Fiona McCowan FRPS. Fiona was awarded a FRPS in 2021 for her handmade photobook In the Offing. She is also a member of the RPS Photobook Distinction Panel.
In 2024 a selection of the submitted zines will be chosen by a panel and will be displayed in a web gallery after the project closes. Other options may be considered such as a special edition Landscape Group magazine.
The Landscape Zine Project, RPS Landscape Group
