Think local
I was inspired to write to you by your 365 photo projects feature ( Count the days, AP 5 January).
On 9 January 2017, I decided to take up walking from my house in the suburbs of Aberdeen. I walked around nine miles a day, four days a week. Initially, I took photos with a phone then with a Fujifilm X100, and for the most part with a Fujifilm X-T2. I posted the best photo of the day on my Facebook timeline. As an experienced self-publisher I couldn’t help but begin to design a book around my walking pictures. My one-year project ended on 9 January 2018, and by August, I had completed the project, put it in the hands of an experienced graphics designer and found a printer in Kaunas, Lithuania, to print the 184-page photo- quality hardback. The book arrived at my door on 27 October and was on sale the following week. Six weeks later I have only 50 copies left out of the 400 printed.
The lesson? Think local. This book has become the default stocking filler where I live and has been extremely well received. I titled it Under my very nose (www.undermyverynose.co.uk). It has changed the way I feel about my surroundings, as I began to recognise the beauty and variety within walking distance of my house. I am fitter, more involved in the local community and generally happier.
I would commend the exercise to others. It is the antithesis of ‘familiarity breeds contempt’. Ian Macilwain What an inspiring story, Ian, and food for thought for our readers – Nigel Atherton, Editor