Time flies as I get older. I cannot believe it has been ten years since I published my coffee table book "Washington D.C. • Home Again."
After 25 years living in the Philadelphia area, I returned to my hometown, Washington D.C., hence the title of the book. As I mentioned in the foreword, returning older, I saw the city with different eyes, more so when compared to how I saw it as a child when a day out of school on a field trip was more important than looking at a bunch of old buildings. I started making regular early morning visits to photograph the monuments and other iconic buildings. That morphed into a project that went on for a few years.
I was working on a permanent installation of my Washington D.C. photographs for Crystal Plaza in Virginia when the idea for aerial photos came up. I had photographs of the iconic sites and thought the aerial photos would be a dramatic addition. The aerial photos were taken from a helicopter, doors off, leaning out, camera rig in hand, secured by a harness. For me, that is exciting stuff. Three flights over the city on different days at different times enabled me to produce some magnificent photographs. A fellow photographer reviewed them and thought the shots were good enough to make a book. I only had about 25 of them, not enough for an aerial photo book but I did have another 100 or so from my earlier outings, more than enough if I wanted to pursue the idea.
I made the decision to produce this book on my own. The process started with editing the hundreds of photographs down to a cohesive collection. That took months. I engaged a designer, Elizabeth Feeney in New York, and Bernard Falkoff, an editor in Philadelphia, as co-conspirators. Our joint effort took about two years and the book went into print in the fall of 2016. I had 1,000 copies printed, paid for out of pocket. Ya' gotta believe.
Before any of this — before the helicopter, before Elizabeth and Bernard, before the book itself — I started taking the photos just because, meaning I had no project in mind at all. My approach to taking photographs is informed by my experience working for clients. Logistics matter, I have to get the right shot. That meant going back to a particular site, for example the Lincoln memorial, several times, chasing the right light. The sun hits the front of Lincoln's statue in this manner only a few days a year in the spring and the fall. I figured I went to each site three or four times to get the photographs I wanted.
There are other obstacles of course. I recall heading down to the mall early one Sunday morning to find the streets blocked off. I asked a police officer what was going on and he said something to the effect of "It's another run for something." I turned around and went home. Other times I would find the perfect angle for a shot, wait for the light to get exactly where I wanted, and seconds before I was to trip the shutter, a tour bus pulled into my frame. Add street signs littering the scene, scaffolding on buildings, food trucks ruining the view between the Capitol and the Washington monument — you get the idea. In the end, it was worth it.
The book done, 1,000 copies delivered to my apartment, it was time to get it on the street. There is a morning show on WUSA-9 called Great Day Washington. I sent over the book and they invited me to bring it in for an interview. Although I was a bit nervous, it went well — so well, in fact, that just a few minutes after the show — I was still sitting in my car in the TV station's parking lot — a woman who saw the show called to order a large print for her son.
Next up was Politics and Prose, one of Washington's oldest independent bookstores, it’s been open since 1984. I sent the book over for their consideration. The manager called and told me it was the finest photo book of Washington he had ever seen. If I had any doubts about the book, they vanished with that news. The book was given high visibility and sold well over the course of a year. At the same time, sales on Amazon were brisk and the book was earning 5-star reviews.
Crystal Plaza was kind enough to sponsor two book signings. The residents, familiar with my work from the installation bought dozens of copies..
All told — the TV spot, Politics and Prose, Amazon, and the signings at Crystal Plaza — 950 of the 1,000 copies were sold."
I've been asked several times if I intended a second edition. Ten years later and ten years older, I don't have the energy or stamina. Was all the effort worth it? Yes, yes, it was.