Great Escape Publishing

Posted February 1st, 2014 by Ralph Duke & filed under Travel Photography.

A camera in the hands of a true photographer is like a paintbrush in the hands of Rembrandt. Photography to me is a way to express my visions, ideas, and creativity. When I was working on the Amarillo book (“Faces, Places, and Open Spaces,”), I was excited to put together a collection of my photographs that would stand the test of time. When I first had a meeting with Christine Wyly, who did all the text for the book, she was worried about all the photos we would need. Not a problem, I told her. When we sat down at my 27-inch iMac, and she was amazed at how many photos I had in my archives. I set up files and started adding images, adding images, and adding images. Then came the hard part: cutting out the ones we didn’t want. After many meetings and numerous cups of coffee, we had the book ready for the publisher. If you decide to make your own coffee table photo book, I will tell you that communication and face-to-face meetings with the writer and photographer are vital. If you can do that, the process works. I was really pleased with the outcome of the book and proud to have my name on it. Each image in the book is seen through my eyes and my heart. Here are five of my favorites: Would I do another book? Yes, if the opportunity arose. Luckily I already have thousands of images that would fill more books. But the main reason I would do it is because I love photography. Every day, I get to fulfill my passion, and every day is something different. My viewfinder goes up to my eye; and I capture a moment in time. I see the world differently than everyone else. I am always looking for shapes, colors, and characters – things people walk by or over on their daily routine. I picked up my first camera in the seventh grade, witnessed my first black-and-white print magically appear in the developer tray, and I was hooked! I want my photographs to make people stop, look, learn and sometimes laugh. I want them to become part of the image. I will leave you with my philosophy about photography: “Without photography, we would have no history.” Share on Facebook