I'm Kickstarting a Book of Photos I Made in Japan (with my 1936 K.W. Pilot 6)

[tunalegs]

I wasn't 100% sure where to put this. Here, the SLR section, or the Books section. Please move it if I've placed it incorrectly.

I've been wanting to make a book of some sort about my trip to Japan for a couple years now, but wasn't sure which direction to take it. Until I realized I'm no good at writing, so a photo book is what it had to be!

Most of the photos in the book were taken with my 1936 K.W. Pilot 6, on Ektar 100 or Fuji 400 film. The Pilot 6 is a primitive medium format SLR, which is really surprisingly tiny. But with only three shutter speeds and an f/6.3 lens it can be a little challenging to use. For better or worse, I've completely succumbed to its innate charms over the past few years, as well, the tumultuous history (Kamera-Werkstätten was a Dresden located, Jewish owned business in 1936...) behind it is captivating.

Interested yet? This is the link to the kickstarter.

I'd also like to make this thread a place for me to report my experiences making the book. I've never run a kickstarter before, so we'll see how that goes, and if there is any interest, I'll let you know all about it.

The book itself was printed by Lightning Press, which was recommended by a friend. The quality is, so far as I can perceive, qiven the quality of the original photographs, excellent. I admit I first though there may be a fault in printing, until I realized they had just accurately reproduced the corner softness and chromatic aberrations of a 1930's K.W. anastigmat. I printed on 70lbs. paper which is about the heaviest stock they offer for print on demand, and would say anything lighter would've been unsatisfactory particularly for pages with dark photos on one side and light on the other. I'm happy I paid extra for the thicker paper. I also took the option for a matte laminated cover which works especially well when a photograph is most of the cover. I would be happy to answer any questions about the book making process if people have them.

Anyway, thank you for your attention, and I hope some of you will be interested in the book.

 

[Jamie Pillers]

Book looks great! And the camera is an intriguing bit of kit. Sent my pledge today.

 

[tunalegs]

Thank you for your support. 🙂

 

[tunalegs]

So, not quite 24 hours since opening, and already 1/4 funded. I've heard the first and last days are usually the ones that bring in the most funding, so if I get 1/4 funded on the first day and 1/4 funded on the last day - I'll hopefully pull in the other 1/2 on all days in between.

I didn't really plan any stretch goals, so if for some reason the project goes well beyond 100% I suppose I'd just print a few more books.

I've been contacted by two different people over kickstarter's messaging service, who're telling me I need their help to increase pageviews. I think I'll pass. I intentionally set a modest goal to meet so I wouldn't have hassle myself with advertising and constant social media bombardment of friends, family, and strangers, to raise interest. I have some more thoughts about the site and process, but will save them till after the kickstarter is over in a month.

 

[B-9]

Looks like you are well on your way to meeting that modest goal!

Cool stuff!

 

[tunalegs]

Thanks! Funding is at 49% today! 25 days to go, and 21 books left as rewards.



As expected things did slow down after the first day, but I've had at least one person pledge every day since the start, so I think it'll make it.

 

[tunalegs]

Fundraiser reached 100% a couple days ago. Still ten days left. Time to gather up all the postage materials. 🙂

 

[Out to Lunch]

Congratulations!

 

[tunalegs]

All U.S. orders have been sent out. I was delayed a bit by how counter-intuitive the kickstarter site is. First had to wait a bit over two weeks for the funds to be transferred to me. Then had to figure out how to get mailing addresses for orders. Which, although I couldn't find any info about this in the FAQ itself, I eventually just figured it out on my own. Will post in detail about the whole process soon. I think at this point I can say the venture was completely successful, even if I had stumbled over some basic stuff in dealing with the kickstarter site. I hope those on this site who contributed will enjoy their books as they receive them.