#61: Offline Journal Newsletter : 21 Nov '23
Black Friday deals around photography
THE ADOBE INDESIGN ALTERNATIVE
UK software developer Serif is currently offering its excellent Adobe InDesign competitor Affinity Publisher at a 40% DISCOUNT in a Black Friday sale.
If you want to significantly reduce headaches in designing and producing print-ready artwork for your own photography self-publishing efforts - such as Zines, photobooks, flyers or even promotional visual materials for the web - Affinity Publisher is hard to beat at its normal price, so this Sale offer at £40 is a steal (when compared to Adobe currently offering InDesign at approx £22 per month as a standalone Creative Cloud product subscription).
Unlike Adobe, which forces you to use its Creative Cloud monthly subscription model, Affinity Publisher is a one-off license purchase for the current version v2 - available as a desktop App on Mac OS or Windows.
I switched to Affinity Publisher whilst getting underway with the second issue of Offline Journal back in early 2019 and have been using it for all Offline Journal printed materials, and been happily recommending it to photographers ever since. Don’t miss this chance to grab a bargain!
Get up to speed quickly with Publisher
I’m also planning a live tutorial to share a workflow to efficiently design a photography zine ready for print using Affinity Publisher. Taking place in December via Zoom, this session will be limited to 5 participants to allow some relaxed Q&A - plus a personal follow-up Zoom session for each participant in January 2024.
If you’d be interested in a place, drop me an email at offline.journal@gmail.com and I’ll send you some further info.
RRB Photobook Sale
RRB Photobooks is offering their current and back-list photobook titles in a Black Friday sale currently running on their website.
With titles by photographers based in Wales - such as Tom Wood and David Hurn - as well as others from around the UK and internationally - this is a great chance to get one or two bargains for Christmas presents.
TISH - showing from this Friday in Cardiff
Having now had its launch in England, don’t forget Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff will be screening the new ‘Tish’ documentary film on the life and photography of Tish Murtha – starting this Friday 24 November through to 30 November.
The 6pm screening on Saturday 25 November will have Director Paul Sng attending to give a talk on the film.
You can view the Chapter screening dates and times and book a ticket via the button below
To help mark the release of TISH, the filmmakers have launched a UK-wide project titled DOCUMENTING YOUR COMMUNITY…
A new Photography Project celebrating the work of Tish Murtha titled ‘Documenting Your Community,’ invites people to be inspired by Tish Murtha and take photos of their own community, capturing life in contemporary Britain. Participants don’t need to be professional photographers - the project organisers would love to see photos that capture anything from local shopkeepers or people in the park or pub.
The British Culture Archive, in association with Modern Films and supported by the BFI, will showcase a range of work on its website that shows the breadth of modern life today. If you’d like to be part of this photography project, then all you have to do is post your photo on Instagram and tag it #tishmurthafilm with a line or story about what your photo is about. You can also submit your photo via contact@britishculturearchive.co.uk
There is no deadline for submitting images and the project will run until the end of 2023. The photo copyright remains with you, and by tagging the photo, you will be permitting the project to post the photo online on The British Culture Archive website. British Culture Archive will show a selection of submissions.
FORTY YEARS ON: NEWPORT COLLEGE of ART EXHIBITION
An exhibition of work by staff and students from Newport College of Art is scheduled for 2024 in Newport Museum and Art Gallery.
Wales Arts Review has an interview with organiser Neil Carroll on their website.
FFOTON CONVERSATION - Pt 2
Ffoton’s second of the three-part conversation with respected international photojournalist Steve Benbow is now available on the website and all good Podcast players.
Part one covered Steve’s route into photography; his time on the Newport Documentary Course; starting his career as a freelance photojournalist; and efforts with others in forming the original Ffotogallery in Cardiff in the late 1970s.
The second part covers his move to London at the formation of the NETWORK Agency, getting shot whilst covering the Troubles in Northern Ireland, moving to America, Paris and back to Wales; and the importance of retaining copyright in his work throughout his career.
Listen free on www.ffoton.wales
In 2014 myself and Pembrokeshire-based photographer Emyr Young, started Ffoton Wales in an effort to uncover photographers, working in or with links to Wales, and earning a living through photography.
Over those nine years, we’re very proud of the sixty-two ‘feature’ - and additional ten ‘Watchlist’ - conversations recorded with photographers we and others felt were producing interesting work but not receiving due attention in Wales. More are planned for 2024.
We need your help to pay for the website hosting and keep these important conversations available to you, emerging talent and everyone worldwide to listen to - free of charge. We know many believe Ffoton is a unique and important platform that showcases photography talent in and associated with Wales.
You can help the Ffoton website stay online by making a donation as small as £5, or any amount you feel comfortable with, by using the payment link below.
Alternatively, between now and midnight Sunday 26 December, you can contribute just £7.50 and receive the two Ffoton zines #PORTRAITCYMRU and #URBANWALES with free postage and packing in a Black Friday deal.
CITY STORIES - Pete Davis
CITY STORIES - the documentary images of Cardiff made by Pete Davis from 1969 to 1977, are now being exhibited in the galleries at Aberystwyth School of Art through to 26 January 2024.
The photographer will be giving a talk ‘Observations - Collections - Recollections: A Lifetime in Photography’ in the Art School from 5 - 7pm on Wednesday 6th December 2023. All welcome.
Signed copies of Pete’s ‘Great Little Tin Sheds of Wales: Redux’ catalog accompanying the exhibition currently showing in Ffotogaleri y Gofeb in Machynlleth are available from the Offline Journal online store for £12 via the link below.