New Bonsai photo book

Stephen Voss

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Hi all,
I'm new to this forum and wanted to introduce myself.

I'm a photographer based in Washington, DC and for the past year, I've been photographing the bonsai at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum here in DC.

I just launched a campaign to make a book of the photographs on Kickstarter and I would love to have your support.

You can see the book here:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/131074671/in-training-a-book-of-bonsai-photographs

You can also follow along on the Facebook page for it here: http://on.fb.me/1NasxgJ

Thanks for taking a look, I've posted a couple of images below.
Stephen
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washington, dc
stephenvoss.com

 

zachkent29

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Great idea. Two questions:

If backed completely, how much do you expect the book to sell for retail?

Are these photos only of trees at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum?
 

Stickroot

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I love books, I probly have $2500 worth of bonsai books!
One book I bought at Mo Botanical gardens was $140.
So I can't wait to have one of yours!
 

Stephen Voss

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Thanks everyone for the kind words!

Zach - I'm still waiting on a final price from the printer, but I anticipate the book will sell for a bit more than the $75 price on the Kickstarter page. This book focuses on the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum here in DC. If the book is successful, I'm planning to work on a second book that focuses on bonsai in the American West (Mirai, the Pacific Bonsai Museum, Elandan and more).
 

Alain

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Awesome pictures! :cool:

I recognize the Japanese White pines in training since 1625, that's the one who (because at this age it's who, not which) survived Hiroshima right?
 

Alain

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rockm

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Hi Stephen,

I think I saw you once at the Arb. taking pictures. Great project. Good luck with it.
 

Stephen Voss

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Cool - please come say hi if you see me again... I'm still out photographing for the book, hoping to get a few more nice images to add.

Hi Stephen,

I think I saw you once at the Arb. taking pictures. Great project. Good luck with it.
 

rockm

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Cool - please come say hi if you see me again... I'm still out photographing for the book, hoping to get a few more nice images to add.
I will.

BTW, Have you thought about photographing some of the Arb's bonsai pot collection? There are some containers back in their storage room that are more impressive (in age, worth, etc.) than some of the trees. Some are never put on display, which is a shame.
 

zachkent29

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I will.

BTW, Have you thought about photographing some of the Arb's bonsai pot collection? There are some containers back in their storage room that are more impressive (in age, worth, etc.) than some of the trees. Some are never put on display, which is a shame.

Agreed!
 

Stephen Voss

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That's really interesting - I didn't know they had a pot collection beyond the pots the trees are shown in. Sounds like a neat idea - I'll bring it up w/ Jack Sustic next time I see him.
 

rockm

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I got a tour of the room back when Warren Hill was the curator after the first ABS bonsai pot competition. He showed me some spectacular containers that had been donated by Japanese, Chinese and American potters and museum patrons. There is a particularly notable ancient Chinese bonsai pot and another donated by a Japanese businessman that Warren said was worth half a million dollars. I don't know if that's true, though. The pots donated by Nick Lenz (or their former owners) are great too--one of the big ones has detailed etched images of "before" and "after" scenes of a clear cut logged landscape on its sides, and another has intricate clay applique work.

The Arb also has quite a collection of bonsai "stuff" scrolls, stands, etc. too.

Might be worth asking if those things are still around and if you could take some photos.
 
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Stephen Voss

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I have to confess my knowledge of bonsai far exceeds my knowledge of the pots, but now you have me really interested. I will definitely check in with Jack next time I'm there.

Many thanks for the education on this, one of my favorite things about the bonsai community is how willingly knowledge is shared, it makes for such a rich experience as I continue to learn.
 

brewmeister83

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That image of the Drummond Red Maple... Fantastic! The use of negative space and the hint of the table along the bottom edge - it looks like the maples you see growing along the wetlands near my home, like the edge of the forest by a woodland pond. I've seen that planting in person myself, but you really captured the spirit of the trees in that photo. I'm more than happy to support this book - just pledged. Good luck! I sincerely hope you reach your goal, I can't wait to see the other photos.
 

Stephen Voss

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That image of the Drummond Red Maple... Fantastic! The use of negative space and the hint of the table along the bottom edge - it looks like the maples you see growing along the wetlands near my home, like the edge of the forest by a woodland pond. I've seen that planting in person myself, but you really captured the spirit of the trees in that photo. I'm more than happy to support this book - just pledged. Good luck! I sincerely hope you reach your goal, I can't wait to see the other photos.
Many thanks, Kevin. I love that tree. The leaves had just started to show when I took that. Now it's fully covered in leaves and in some ways, a bit harder to really appreciate its form.

Thank so much for your support, I really appreciate it.
 

zachkent29

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Okay, one last question. I'm really digging your photos (started following you on Instagram as well). I like the close-up views you've shown, but will the book also have the full tree for each close-up?
 

Stephen Voss

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Hi Zach - the book will contain what I think are the best photos representing each tree. Most of these trees have been photographed in full for many different books/magazines, so I didn't think I could add much to that body of work and decided to take a different approach.

thanks,
Stephen
 
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