WRITING THAT FIRST BOOK
Word processing was in its infancy back then, and I didn't start using it until 1986. In the meantime, my trusty Olivetti portable typewriter did the job. Actually, I first scribbled everything on yellow legal pads, using sticky notes for additions and revisions (I still do this). By the time it was finished, I had probably typed the whole text four or five times over. After editing, this was sent to a typesetter who manually keyed the whole thing into a phototypesetting machine (or worse, a Linotype machine with its smelly molten lead). The final output was pasted onto a "mechanical," and photographed onto a printing plate using a "process camera."
TAKING PHOTOS FOR THE BOOK
Yes, I had to furnish photos for the book, a lot of photos. Nearly 100. And they had to be in black-and-white since conversions at that time were not very satisfactory. To cut costs, I used a 35mm Olympus OM-1 camera with a zoom lens, and bought 100 rolls of a cheap off-brand B&W film, which I developed myself in the kitchen at home. As a former photographer, I was quite experienced at this, so the results were more than good enough. Today, of course, I use either a film camera with color print film and scan the selected prints, or a digital camera. In either case, I run them through Adobe Photoshop Elements on my computer for cropping, conversion to B&W, and general messing with.
Interested in photography? Check out my "Assisting Avedon" blog.
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