It is a small book, but it is special to me as it is the first time I have had a set of my digital photographs printed on paper. Using the Kodak Gallery website to create an online archive of photos and then to design the book was very easy and enjoyable. I chose a set of photos from the last 16 months or so and loaded them into my account, organized into albums (album).
I then selected 20 photos for the book and the system created the first draft. The next step was rearranging the photos in a sequence and then choosing the various elements of the book (cover, background, corners, etc.). The website allows you to model the whole book or each page individually: you can work on multi-page or single-page view, which is very helpful.
True to my minimalist nature, I kept every element simple: a series of photos, one per page, connected by some association, black background with just a hint of a design, no frame and no captions (to maximize photo size). The final decision I made was the title: Fantasia is the Italian word for fantasy, chosen for itself and also because of the musical composition and the beloved Disney movie. Once satisfied with the look of the book, I had it printed and I received it within a couple of days.
I am pleased with the result. It was nice to page through the book and see my photos from a new perspective. As expected, my images on paper (carta) look different than on the computer screen. I am happy with my choices dictated by my love of simplicity. You can flip through the book by following this link. While most of the photos are of food and have been featured on this blog, some have other subjects, in particular, my beloved Pacific Ocean and the poppies (papaveri) that bloomed in my garden in late spring. Come to think about it, this book says a lot about me.
Many thanks to the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program and Kodak Gallery for offering me the opportunity to make the book. It was a very nice experience.
Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:
or launch the libro di fotografie audio file [mp3].
Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]
FTC discosure: as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program with Kodak Gallery, I received a medium hardcover photo book at no charge. I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for discussing the book on my blog.
Kodak Gallery is providing an 40% discount on a medium hardcover (like the one I made) or a large Photo Book. If you are interested, follow this link. The offer is valid until 8/31/2011.
Congratulations on your first photo book of your own images!
I tried to follow the link to see the pictures, but was told "album not found".
Posted by: Merisi | August 16, 2011 at 03:32 PM
Thanks for the review Simona. I've wanted to make something similar - it makes a really nice gift in an era where everybody is just sharing their picasa albums or posting pictures on Facebook.
Posted by: Caffettiera | August 17, 2011 at 02:33 AM
Ciao Merisi. Thank you so much for the alert! I honestly don't know what happened: I had tested the link and it was working when I published the post. After seeing your note, I tried to access my account but was unable to, so I asked for help. It looks like now things are back to normal.
I agree Caffettiera. In fact, I am planning to make a couple of copies as gifts.
Posted by: Simona Carini | August 17, 2011 at 11:36 AM
Beautiful book!
Posted by: Paz | August 17, 2011 at 09:34 PM
Glad you like it, Paz.
Posted by: Simona Carini | August 18, 2011 at 10:45 PM