I have a friend who needs a publisher, and because I adore his work so much, I am reaching out through my networks and beyond to see if I know anyone who can help. I’m a good connector, so I have to believe this can work. Can you help?
Jim Graham and I have been friends for a crazy long time. We met in 2001 at a workshop in Santa Fe, and have worked together intermittently over many years, shooting incredible weddings around the country.
His work is exceptional, no matter where he chooses to focus his lens. His ability to see minute detail, sweeping dramatic panoramas, bold graphic compositions, and everything in between, has always been spectacular. He captures subtlety and nuance the way few photographers do, and even then, only when they are deeply passionate about their subject. Jim takes a lot of workshops as an excuse to keep traveling and honing his vision, and creates beautiful pictures in Iceland, Nantucket, and everywhere he goes.
But this particular body of work focused on fox hunting takes my breath away, and he shoots them right next to his home in Delaware. Jim loves these people, their dogs, the horses, and the land, and I can feel it in his pictures.
I don’t hunt, don’t know much about it, and don’t hang out with horse people. I'm personally against hunting on principle, and I get that this is a very privileged glimpse of a controversial activity in today's world. And still, I cannot deny the beauty of this work. And apparently everyone is happy to let the fox get away. It was all for the fun of the chase!
This book brings me so deeply and magically into a world I could not easily enter. I would buy this book, for the sheer beauty, elegance, and creativity of the images, which feel both awe inspiring and intimate depending on the page. I am amazed one photographer has created this gorgeous range of photos, so many of which feel like paintings, all of which feel infused with love and passion.
I recently finished a book incubator course where I learned all kinds of things about publishing a book. Probably the most depressing realization was the idea that you need a platform and a whole lot of followers BEFORE a publisher will consider you. I get it. Publishers are struggling too, and they want to take advantage of your network. They want to know you are a sure thing before they gamble on you. Where's the fun in that?
Well, I'm not much of a rule follower. And I'm probably a generation too old to buy this story. I want to believe that inspired creativity can still come out of nowhere....from invisible to visible in the blink of an eye (am I supposed to say click of a shutter?) I want to prove the theory wrong, show how the system is broken, or perhaps share an outlier with you. Because honestly, the best photographers I know absolutely suck at self promotion. And Jim is one of the best photographers I know.
I want you to see what I see, and KNOW that this is a book worth publishing, even if you have never heard of this guy before.
Have a look. These are a few of my favorite spreads from the version he sent me.
Feel free to reach out to me, or to Jim directly if you want to be his fairy godmother or godfather.
Any day is a good day to make someone's day!
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