Zine Exchange VII - January to April 2024

I received the zine from @Mr Perceptive a few days ago. It is an outstanding piece of work. The sequencing of images, layout, texts and quality of production all add to the picturing of this disquiet and haunting landscape. I first became acquainted with the Dungeness landscape through Derek Jarman's film, 'The Garden.' The shingle, Prospect Cottage, the Power Station, scattered dwellings and a still working fishing industry all contribute to an unreal reality, heightened with the striking photography. Thank you.
 
I also received mine yesterday (lol Northwich post) but haven't had a chance to go through it yet.
 
Received zine from @Motaz today
Another excellent project, well presented and professional production.
 
Motaz' zone arrived this morning. Thank you, both you and David (yesterday) for your fascinating zines.

Still waiting for mine to arrive arrive - there was an email last night suggesting a changed delivery date, but it was still showing the 14th.
 
Paul Morgan said:
I would completely agree with this - loved it. Visited Dunge many years ago (mid 80s?) and had a tour round the Power Station and tramp across the shingle - wasn’t the sought out photo destination it is now.
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Penlens said:
I received the zine from @Mr Perceptive a few days ago. It is an outstanding piece of work. The sequencing of images, layout, texts and quality of production all add to the picturing of this disquiet and haunting landscape. I first became acquainted with the Dungeness landscape through Derek Jarman's film, 'The Garden.' The shingle, Prospect Cottage, the Power Station, scattered dwellings and a still working fishing industry all contribute to an unreal reality, heightened with the striking photography. Thank you.
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ancient_mariner said:
Motaz' zone arrived this morning. Thank you, both you and David (yesterday) for your fascinating zines.

Still waiting for mine to arrive arrive - there was an email last night suggesting a changed delivery date, but it was still showing the 14th.
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Thank you for your kind comments, I put a decent amount of thought into this one, and am pleased with the result. Having done several zines now, I definitely find it easy working with 210x210 format as opposed to A5 - must be how my brain works - anyway pleased it has provided some enjoyment to others.

Harlequin565 said:
I also received mine yesterday (lol Northwich post) but haven't had a chance to go through it yet.
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Why am I not surprised, I nearly went to theh Post Office in Lime Avenue, then I could have delivered it personally!!
 
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The zine of @Motaz arrived with me this morning. It is a very impressive production, considering how much reported frustration there had been in seeing this project to fruition. I'm very taken with the size of the zine and the arrangement of the photographs. The matt paper added a different and positive viewing and tactile experience when encountering the images of history, pattern and street life. Yes, it's a great zine of Andalucian life and places. Thank you.
 
Thanks everyone for your very kind comments. I'm very glad you liked it. I also just received David's great zine. I'm impressed by the print quality. I agree with the shape I think your photos are better in this form. I particularly like the full page photos. I don't know if you saw this other project about Dungeness:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOdCiQ5TcFw

It's how I heard of it, yours is a different take indeed.
 
I've just spent some time going through @Mr Perceptive and @Motaz zines and within a couple of pages I had the same smile creep across my face that I had with the others I've looked at so far. It just felt that the photographer had spent time with their subject, and that the photos had been taken with love/care and that it was really obvious very quickly. The Andalucia zine was the last one I looked at and that phrase at the end "you do it with love" really summarised what came across in all the zines I've received - not just this time, but in previous exchanges too. There's a real sense of "care" about the theme, subject, topic, area, or whatever the photographer decided to do. Did anyone else get this sense or was it just me?

I know some of us have gone around the block a few times with this exchange, but that sense of care is what keeps me wanting to do it again. Not just to put more of my crap out there, but to see what other people give a s**t about.

I feel quite privileged, not just to see new content from newcomers, but to get to know those whose zines I've seen a few of, a little better. (Clumsiest sentence in the world, but hopefully makes sense)

Some questions if you feel like answering...

1. How much effort was required to make your zine? (Out of ten, based on the whole time you had)
2. How much panicked effort was required to make your zine? (out of ten based on the time you gave yourself to do it)
3. How satisfied were you with your zine (Grade yourself as if you were a teacher: A, B, C, D, E etc. + and - allowed - school report text optional)
4. Do you feel like that project is now finished, or was this zine an exploratory part of a bigger thing?

I have a fifth question but I'll save that for when all the zines are in....

My answers...

1. 1/10 Had loads of time, used almost none of it.
2. 6/10 As the organiser, I made a decision to do something quite late on, then got on with it. Probably did the whole zine from concept to shooting, to completion in about 3 weeks. Had lots of ideas, none of which really inspired me.
3. Quite pleased with it. School report: "A really good effort but appeared a bit rushed. Could do better with more planning, research and care with counting chickens" Grade: B-
4. Project is definitely done although I have thought about making a really big book (A2 sized) just for the fun of it.
 
Harlequin565 said:
1. How much effort was required to make your zine? (Out of ten, based on the whole time you had)
2. How much panicked effort was required to make your zine? (out of ten based on the time you gave yourself to do it)
3. How satisfied were you with your zine (Grade yourself as if you were a teacher: A, B, C, D, E etc. + and - allowed - school report text optional)
4. Do you feel like that project is now finished, or was this zine an exploratory part of a bigger thing?
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1. About 5 out of 10. I had a specific project in mind for a local subject, spend nearly a day shooting, then came back and processed but found for various reasons I'd lost key pictures, so went back to re-shoot. Then after grappling with processing over several evenings realised it was work & not inspiring me, so went back through the work of the last three years sorting, curating and reprocessing the pictures for something that DID excite me, then put the zine together over the eqivalent of about 2 working days.

2. No panic - 8/10 - because I'd left enough slack to complete by the end of June deadline. If I hadn't completed last weekend then it would have been a bit different, but delivery without stress within the deadline is fine.

3. Having not yet seen it in the paper I'd say B. I made certain choices about paper and finish because this time it's all colour, and I'm not certain they will be optimal. There are some images I might have done slightly differently if I were to re-do it and I might also have been much more adventurous with layouts than I have been. My first zine (in the previous round) was landscape and I've selected that again because I liked the possibilities it brought. There was another zine between in portrait, but that layout didn't fit the pictures so well. The text might have been a bit more 'professional' too, and less personal.

4. More zines are planned, likely also in this area, as well as others. I hope eventually to produce photobooks.
 
Harlequin565 said:
Some questions if you feel like answering...

1. How much effort was required to make your zine? (Out of ten, based on the whole time you had)
2. How much panicked effort was required to make your zine? (out of ten based on the time you gave yourself to do it)
3. How satisfied were you with your zine (Grade yourself as if you were a teacher: A, B, C, D, E etc. + and - allowed - school report text optional)
4. Do you feel like that project is now finished, or was this zine an exploratory part of a bigger thing?
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1. I like photo projects, I usually have several on the go (as I still have a day job, I can't dedicate significant blocks of time to things), some of these projects are long term, others are brief, depending on my interests at the time. For this zine, I initially decided to use a new project rather than work with just archive material, I started worked on a project about the River Weaver and the Weaver Navigation, I made a dozen or so trips out (it's local so easy), took lots of photos, but it wasn't flowing (no pun intended as I hoped), and then we had a period of a lot of rain (especially at weekends) making outdoor photography difficult, so I started looking at an alternative projects. An indoor project would mean that I wasn't weather dependant, so I started working on an idea of a zine about zines! I have acquired several hundred zines over the last 4-5 years, and so an opportunity was there. I had a banker that I could utilise if needed.

Then in late March I decided to take my 85yo Mum on Holiday, and I booked a small cottage in Deal, Kent. I knew I'd get some time to myself, and intended to revisit Dungeness which I had really enjoyed on a previous visit in 2018. I had a mid-week day there arriving early (8am) and was completely captivated by the place (again), and spent teh day wandering about taking photographs. I revisited for a couple of hours later in the week taking my Mum, this time the shingle was off-piste, so all images where captured from the road. On returning home, I processed my images, and then reviewed again the images I had taken in 2018, and thought, this would make a great zine, and I am enthusiatic about this, so the "Within One Mile" zine was born.

I spent about 1.5 days - putting toether teh zine, by rediting images, selecting, sequencing, and writing the text - again it was raining, and I found it enjoyable. I then left it for a couple of days before undertaking a final review and sending off for print.

In terms of effort, very little really, it came together quite easily, despite not shooting some of it until very early May, I never felt pressured (remember i still had a couple of banker solutions), difficult to give marks out of 10, but say 3/10

2. No panic or pressure at all, I find that working with a couple of ideas usually results in banker that I could use if needed (and still can!!!) - I had plenty of time before the deadline despite other participant zines dropping through teh letterbox!! I'm used to working to deadlines (and it wasn't like making teh zine was my first!), and try to stay ahead of them, so again 3/10 no panic from me!

3. I'm very pleased with this zine, I do feel that it is probably the best one I've made so far, the images feel much more curated and the sequening and layout I really enjoyed. I can always do better, out of the 10 zines I've put toegther (8 of which have been printed), its the best, the most complete so A-

4. Dungeness is several hours away from my home, I'm sure I will visit again, but unless I actually stay on one of the AirBnB's on the shingle (which is something my wife and I have talked about, a week at Dungeness and spending the whole week there, not driving anywhere, just exploring the estate itself all within walking distance. I'd love to be there in stormy winter light conditions) then it is unlikey that this project will form part of a larger project. But never say never.

Making a photobook is the next natural step, but as I said before still having a day job, makes it harder to put together a larger body of work - though I have spent years photographing the decaying slate quarries in Wales - probably though this is a retirement project!

I would like to thank @Harlequin565 and all teh participants, the zine making projects is one of the most enjoyable things I have done photographically and I look forward to participating in many more 'exchanges'
 
Motaz said:
Thanks everyone for your very kind comments. I'm very glad you liked it. I also just received David's great zine. I'm impressed by the print quality. I agree with the shape I think your photos are better in this form. I particularly like the full page photos. I don't know if you saw this other project about Dungeness:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOdCiQ5TcFw

It's how I heard of it, yours is a different take indeed.
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Yes, I had seen this, and looked at the kickstarter (and I'll probably back it, besides collecting zxines, I seem to have acquired a large number of photobooks!). I'd be interested how this works with the Dungeness Estate, as they have quite stiff fees for any commercial work (photography/video) on the estate


I did buy this though - as I have more than a passing interest in architecture especially post war architecture

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harpercollins.co.uk

Dungeness: Coastal Architecture

The Kent coastal strip of Dungeness is a unique environment. Harshly vulnerable to the elements yet protected from inland development, it has enticed many architects, artists, photographers and creative thinkers, including of course renowned artist and film-maker Derek Jarman. Its exposed position
harpercollins.co.uk harpercollins.co.uk
 
Hi all sorry I haven’t got much time lately to give my feedback about the zines I’ve received so far. Sat down this morning with a fresh cup of coffee to enjoy looking at them again. I Received “Caustic”, “Within One Mile” & “ Photos from Andalucia”.
Paul, David and Motaz can’t express enough my appreciation for receiving these very beautifully presented zines with amazing content
 
1. How much effort was required to make your zine? (Out of ten, based on the whole time you had)
2. How much panicked effort was required to make your zine? (out of ten based on the time you gave yourself to do it)
3. How satisfied were you with your zine (Grade yourself as if you were a teacher: A, B, C, D, E etc. + and - allowed - school report text optional)
4. Do you feel like that project is now finished, or was this zine an exploratory part of a bigger thing?

1. Difficult to give grading for these answers. Lots of time meant many day trips walking around in the early part of the year and realising that I wanted to photograph a landscape from a different perspective. It meant revisiting certain areas, so a lot of effort spent in re-shooting particular places.
2. I had a vague sense of a zine idea, and it was only when I was reviewing my collected images that a stronger zine format began to take shape.
3. I always ask - 'does it work? / would the viewer be carried along by the sequence? / what's the story?' I've always been interested in the relationship of the printed image and the paper on which it's printed. So, for this zine I wanted something different which meant searching for an alternative printing company. I came across PRINT.WORK, based in Leeds, and gave them a go. The zine was printed on a 115 gsm Beluga paper which has a shiny, satin finish. Yes, I liked it for its capacity to run the narrative throughout the zine.
4. Yes, I think this project is now finished and I am now ready for something very different. Photographers are storytellers, and I want to tell a different one next time. I recently traded in my digital gear for analogue stuff - 35mm and 6x6, so I now feel I'm going to start all over again with new subjects, techniques and approaches, which I'm excited about.
 
Harlequin565 said:
1. How much effort was required to make your zine? (Out of ten, based on the whole time you had)
2. How much panicked effort was required to make your zine? (out of ten based on the time you gave yourself to do it)
3. How satisfied were you with your zine (Grade yourself as if you were a teacher: A, B, C, D, E etc. + and - allowed - school report text optional)
4. Do you feel like that project is now finished, or was this zine an exploratory part of a bigger thing?
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  1. I would say 8, the original idea came one night whilst browsing Lightroom folders , I realised I had quite a few images on the theme which appeared to work together.
  2. Panic set in when addresses supplied and I set out to print, all my previous work on the project had disappeared , I had to do a quick recreate but I feel that the second time round produced a more coherent layout.
  3. Looking at all the different ones received so far I would award myself probably a C , could do better. As with previous zines I print at home and had a few problems with the paper. With hindsight I should really have been more selective and reprinted pages I was not happy with.
  4. I think I will continue to ‘look down’ on my walks but as a printed body of work it’s finished.
I have an idea for the production of the next one, just have to find the right theme and of course wait for the challenge to be set.
 
Got the excellent BRUTAL zine this morning from @FishyFish. I too love brutal architecture and this zine covers an example so well. The use of monochrome is perfect when looking at both the interior and exterior views. Water and reflections, acute angles and the vertical lines along the passage ways and stairs. All superbly caught. I love it!
 
gjhill said:
just have to find the right theme and of course wait for the challenge to be set.
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And it will be! Once they're all delivered we'll start thinking about round 8.

Penlens said:
Got the excellent BRUTAL zine this morning from @FishyFish.
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That means I have at least another 2-3 day wait :(
 
Mr Perceptive said:
Mine turned up today so it should have got as far as the Northwich sorting office!!
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It seems that the next step is a hurdle the local PO don't seem to be able to leap.
 
Since mine will be delivered to work, I'll just have to be patient. ;)
 
Harlequin565 said:
1. How much effort was required to make your zine? (Out of ten, based on the whole time you had)
2. How much panicked effort was required to make your zine? (out of ten based on the time you gave yourself to do it)
3. How satisfied were you with your zine (Grade yourself as if you were a teacher: A, B, C, D, E etc. + and - allowed - school report text optional)
4. Do you feel like that project is now finished, or was this zine an exploratory part of a bigger thing?
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  1. 6/10 - This is mostly because I spent some effort on another idea for the zine before deciding that I would really need to spend more time on that one and that it would be a shame to put together something that I knew I could do better. So I fell back to my backup position, which was the zine that you should have in your hands shortly. At the time I made the images for that one, I didn't really consider them as the subject for a zine, but with hindsight I felt they would make a good subject. The actual putting together of the zine in Affinity Publisher was very quick - no more than a couple of hours. I tend to go for a stripped back, clean layout though, so there's not a lot of effort required to put it together. It's mostly the sequencing of the images and writing the intro text that takes the time.
  2. I'd been receiving other zines for weeks before I even started to put mine together (although I already had the images), so I could feel the urgency building, but I knew the turnaround would be quite quick, so didn't get too stressed about it.
  3. C+. I think I could have done better, even though I'm happy with the results.
  4. Yes, this is finished. There's scope to do other stuff around a similar theme, but the specific location I used has probably been covered now.
 
Harlequin565 said:
1. How much effort was required to make your zine? (Out of ten, based on the whole time you had)
2. How much panicked effort was required to make your zine? (out of ten based on the time you gave yourself to do it)
3. How satisfied were you with your zine (Grade yourself as if you were a teacher: A, B, C, D, E etc. + and - allowed - school report text optional)
4. Do you feel like that project is now finished, or was this zine an exploratory part of a bigger thing?
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1. My initial idea didn’t come off and it was by chance that Caustic came about really. So in terms of subject 4, pulling together 6 as I had an Affinity Publisher template ready but last minute glitches died unnecessary effort. The hardest part was making it smaller!
2. 3 - only the last minute glitch on page numbers.
3. I’m quite satisfied with it - B. Need to do better on sequencing and aspect ratios.
4. Caustic has led me to look at the wider story of limestone so this is the start of something bigger I think. Started the planning for a longer form project.

Loved everyone’s zines and looked forward to 2025.

Paul
 
Paul Morgan said:
Can’t understate how much I have looked forward to the arrival of the zines so I wait with bated breath @ancient_mariner
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Then I hope it's not a disappointment. ;)

Brutal is good, strong architectural stuff with a good mix of longer shots and carefully selected details. I'm especially impressed at the double-page spreads.
 
Brutal arrived!

Awesome. I too like the double-page stuff. It's almost like they work well individually, then you put them together and blammo! I now need to go back and look at the other zines to see if they are the same...
 
Here we go:

“Within one mile” @Mr Perceptive
The cover has a wonderful texture that I can't stop touching. I love it! The pictures you captured are fantastic. The composition perfectly satisfies my OCD need for clean lines. Having seen your work before, I expected nothing less than this amazing set of images, which beautifully convey a sense of abandonment and stillness. The image in the middle of the zine and the cover are my favourites like paintings. David thanks for sharing your work with me!
“Caustic” @Paul Morgan
Your zine has an abstract quality that draws me in. When I first look at an image, I don't tend to focus on the details. The cover, for instance, initially struck me as an ancient artifact. It was only after flicking through the pages and returning to the beginning that I realized it was a tire. Despite the topic being something I find personally sad, you've managed to reveal the beauty in something typically seen as ugly and unnatural. A theme that is quite unusual and something I wouldn't have had the chance to see otherwise. Thanks for sharing your zine with me Paul!

“Photos from andalucia” @Motaz
You’ve done an excellent job capturing the essence of the place and accurately reproducing the colors on the printed pages. I loved the mix of architecture, detailed shots, and candid street photos. Looking through the pictures really transported me there; I could almost feel the sunshine, the vibrant street life, and the interplay of movement and stillness. My favorite image is the street scene of the couple sitting on a stone bench, taken from above. It’s like a frame within a frame, with vibrant colors leading to the main subject—simple yet so effective. Thanks for the zine Motaz!
 
Guys who’s Zine is Ceàrnagach? Apologies but I can’t seem to find the name on the address list I was sent by Ian @Harlequin565 .
Also got Nigels @FishyFish zine. I’ll comment on the above Zines when I get the time again. Now for the last one @ancient_mariner !
 
Thanks for the kind comments about Brutal. I'm glad people liked the double-page spreads - it's the first time I've attempted those and wasn't sure how they'd work, but they're better than I could have hoped. The double-pages were primarily a way to get landscape format images into a primarily portrait format zine without losing resolution.
 
gjhill said:
Received @ancient_mariner zine this morning, another excellent presentation ,

I think it’s one more nail in the coffin of my home produced efforts.
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No, no - no nails and no coffins! There are no rules for zines; they can be what they want to be. Highly polished, highly raw or something in between. Keep going!
 
As said, a zine doesn't have to look like mine (obviously made with a particular plan in mind) or anyone else's - it should reflect what you want it to. We don't have the printing capability here to do what I want, never mind the kit to bind and staple etc, so a home-produced zine is quite an acheivement.
 
Thanks for all the great comments, I will definitely continue to produce at home , as stated previously I already have an idea as to how to present the next one using decent quality paper. …. Just need the content
 
Mr Perceptive said:
Now that I have a copy of each of the zines, I have to say that this zine exchange has been brilliant, I've received a variety of zine formats, a variety of zine productions, and most of all a varied and simply fantastic set of content. Well done all, I've really enjoyed this zine exchange.
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I would entirely agree @Mr Perceptive - a great variety of subjects, styles and approaches. Feel it was a great boost to the collection and everyone should award themselves a pat of the back and a swift half before getting back to it.
 
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