Maker of Books
The Linotype Machine. Never has a single device so significantly and widely influened cultures throughout the world. Remarkably, there is a working Linotype just minutes from my house at the System Source Computer Museum (https://museum.syssrc.com).
If you don't know anything about the Linotype Machine watch this:
https://youtu.be/1MGjFKs9bnU
And this story about the last Linotype published paper.
https://youtu.be/DNa9XRoNRUM
Assignment
At least once a year here at 52Frames we challenge the Framers to take a photo of a common object that most of us have access to. It is really interesting, and a bit surprising, to see just how differently our large community style, compose and photograph the same object. This year our common denominator object (or objects) is/are books! Remember that a "book" is not necessarily a paper book, nor is it necessarily a romance or thriller. There are also cookbooks and travel books, notebooks and schoolbooks. Some books are actually scrolls while others are written in Japanese, Greek or another type of code. You could show us the "bookiness" of the book by focusing on the textures, words or dog ears. Or you can decide to photograph a pile of books arranged in a certain pattern or even shoot people interacting with books. Some people read books while others just peruse them. Some people use books as a doorstop while others press flowers in them. Stephen King said that books are a "uniquely portable magic". What better way is there to add some magic to your photography than by shooting a book?
