Decided to send out a letter to other Photographers/Artists to see if this idea is something that they would be interested in. The people I have selected are not necessarily my favorite photographers in the industry but are people who I believe have integrity and believe in creating something interesting and pushing the boundaries.
The letter/email I sent out was as follows:
"Hi there
I am attempting to produce and get published a book collecting images from some of the countries most passionate and talented Music Photographers. The idea started after becoming more and more disillusioned with the current Music Photography scene, after spending years travelling the country photographing bands just for the love of creating something interesting, it then becomes very frustrating to go online the next day to see the 100 badly lit and framed photos of a show taken on someones phone and now all of a sudden they are a Photographer.
Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that Photography is popular at the moment and that more people want to be involved, I work in a studio that provides workshops to Amateur Photographers and I enjoy sharing ideas, concepts and techniques with people who want to shoot more. But thats the difference, there should be more than just pressing the shutter and hoping for the best. I want this book to contain images that have a certain powerful element behind them, images that have been considered and draw you in.
Basically, to get to my point, would you be interested in providing imagery for this idea? All Photographers will retain copyright. At the moment it is just something I wish to put together to see if there is an interest. It is not my aim to make money from others, it is purely an idea of bringing together a group of artists to produce something we could all be proud of................and if we get a publisher interested, then we talk payment for use of imagery etc.
Look forward to hearing from you.
Ps. Please excuse the bulk message format, but if I have contacted you it is because I love your work and would love for you to be involved.
All the best.
Phil H
philiphardmanphotography@gmail.com
www.philiphardmanphotography.com"
