Dreaming of Steidlville
It should come as no surprise that bingeing Alex Soth’s new YouTube channel has got me itching to make a photobook. The latest video about a book called “Encampment, Wyoming” just got the juices flowing. And of course any discussion of photobooks quickly ends up at Steidlville.
Steidlville, for the uninitiated, refers to Gerhard Steidl’s printing and publishing operation in Gottingen, Germany. He has long been considered the best printer and maker of photobooks ever, and literally any well-known photographer you can think of has probably worked with him at some point. A legend essentially. I watched “How to make a book with Steidl” several years ago, but my current wave of obsession started when I watched this 6-minute conversation between Gerhard Steidl and Dayanita Singh.
All it takes to submit work to Steidl is to send him a physical book dummy by mail. He is said to look at everything that is sent to him, approximately 2,000 submissions a year - and even though it takes around 3 months before he has a chance to look at something, and only 1% of the submissions actually turn into real projects - all you gotta do to get in the game is make the damn thing, wrap it up, and mail it to him.
And so it begins. With new work pretty much at a standstill, and the darkroom still closed, what better project? Most photographers dread having to “deal with” everything they’ve shot over the years, but I already have some ideas. It’s early days, and I’m not going to get into specifics just yet, but let’s just say every available surface in our apartment (vertical or horizontal) is currently covered in prints. For work that I didn’t already have darkroom prints for, I’ve scanned negatives and made shitty little Walgreens prints for 10 cents each.
As with any creative obsession it hurts. Waves of euphoria and despondence. Ooh this one pairs well with that one! Ugh, how delusional can I be? But maybe this is how everyone who did anything worth doing felt in the beginning, and I just got to slowly massage this mess into something meaningful. Who cares what I think - I just gotta put in the work and let others be the judge. Is it too personal? But isn’t that how you make it universal?
I feel most optimistic in the mornings, so I better hit “Save & Publish” quick before I change my mind. And then go chop a salad for lunch.
See you in Steidlville!