PRESS UPDATE: check out Gowanus Wild in The Atlantic!!!:  http://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2015/10/gowanus-wild/411754/

After many years of hard work, I’m thrilled to announce that the Gowanus Wild photo book is close at hand! I’m asking for your help today because I need to cover the printing costs of the book and make it a reality. Please make your pledge TODAY so I can bring you an awesome book! 

I can’t wait to delight all the fans who have followed the series over the years and welcome in a new wider audience which I hope this campaign will reach.

Reward Updates

Because you can’t modify rewards once they’ve been selected, I’m adding reward specials, updates and clarifications here:

1.) Backers at any reward level will now get a FREE proof print from the series! (This is essentially an upgrade/replacement of the ‘special edition thank you postcard’) These are open edition test 4×5 prints which we used to lay out, design and edit the book in the early stages. They consist of both images in the final book and raw outtakes, so this is a great behind the scenes look at what went into the project. Backers can pick theirs out when they pledge with me in person, or I’m working on a system where backers online can select theirs after they pledge (coming soon). Specific image availability is limited and first come, first served. Most of these I don’t anticipate ever printing again, so if you want a choice one, make your pledge ASAP!

2.) I’m running a Kickstarter only special for the exhibition print rewards (12″x12″ $500, 20″x20″ $800 and 30″x30″ $1400 reward levels). Now includes framing and mounting!!! This is a killer deal, especially for the largest sizes, a $100-$300+ value! If you’ve ever lusted after a Gowanus Wild exhibition print, now’s the time to snag one…

Overview

Gowanus Wild is a personal exploration of nature and wilderness in the paradoxical setting of a contaminated industrial environment. As the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, New York has been declared a federal Superfund cleanup site and seen over 150 years of continuous industrial use, one of my aims with the series is to show just how tenacious nature can be in the face of such grave environmental destruction. 

Matching nature’s resilience is the human potential to connect with nature in the most unlikely of places. I believe wilderness and adventure are natural longings and that satisfying these urges is closer at hand than we may think, if only we can alter how we view our surroundings.

Gowanus Wild has enjoyed a passionate following and been exhibited through numerous exhibitions at galleries and institutions such as The Vermont Center for Photography, Photo Center Northwest, Ground Floor Gallery, Tepper Takayama Fine Arts, Davis Orton Gallery, Adorama, and most recently, the Brooklyn Public Library. The series has been covered widely in the press by the New York Times, The New Yorker, Time Out, Brooklyn Magazine, PDN, City Atlas, Untapped Cities, and many others. (Full exhibition and press links here).

The Book:

Since I began shooting Gowanus Wild in 2012, I’ve always envisioned the project coming together as a book. I’ve often thought of these images as little discoveries found along the trail and that collecting them into book form would serve as something of a field guide to an urban wilderness environment. To that end, I’ve written short bits of poetry which I’ve paired with selected images, exploring a sense of urban transcendentalism. I’m raising funds to cover the bulk of printing costs and publish the book through a new imprint I’m launching, Tarn Editions. Gowanus Wild will be one of several other books in the pipeline to be published in the coming year.

I’m working on the layouts with the talented Emily Shornick, a photo editor and producer at New York Magazine. She has previously worked at Conde Nast, American Lawyer Media, Spin Magazine and The International Center of Photography. Her work has been honored by American Photography and PDN. Shornick currently sits on the board of ASPP NY and resides in Brooklyn.

Partners:

I’ll be publishing the book in conjunction with the Gowanus Canal Conservancy, an organization which serves as the environmental steward for the Gowanus Canal Watershed and envisions the evolution of an open, clean and alive canal and neighborhood. Additional support comes from Arts Gowanus, a local arts organization which runs the annual Gowanus Open Studios event and which is committed to ongoing support of Gowanus artists and this project. I’m really excited to partner with two great organizations which have done so much to connect local residents to environmental issues and the arts.

Book Specs:

edition: 1000

special collector’s edition: 50

size: approx 12″ wide x 11″ high

plates: approx 60

pages: approx 116

essays: TBD

editor: Emily Shornick

THANKS!!!

Thanks to the many organizations and institutions which have supported this project to date, I can’t thank you enough for your help:

Tepper Takayama Fine Arts • Brooklyn Public Library • Gowanus Canal Conservancy • Arts Gowanus • Ground Floor Gallery • Vermont Center for Photography • Davis Orton Gallery • Fitchburg Art Museum • Tufts University • Adorama • Canson • Photo Center NW • Old Stone House • Jeffrey Leder Gallery • Site:Brooklyn • United Photo Industries • Houston Center for Photography • Center for Fine Art Photography • and many individual fans, friends & followers.

Source: ICNW