It's windy and a little rainy this morning. Cool temperatures here on the windward side of the mountain. Preparations are well underway for the journey east, to begin early next week. New print portfolio has been lashed together, along with sets of limited edition prints culled from my travels in SE Asia. These will be given to art buyers after meetings as gifts and leave-behinds.
As part of that preparation, I have been reaching out to major players in the east-coast publishing world, friends of friends, who have been generous with their time and advice on who to see & what to show. Just a few moments ago, I hung up the phone after a very human conversation with the great Design Director/Art Director & photographer Lloyd Ziff. Lloyd was mentioned in the previous blog post as having been included in the film biography on the late Robert Mapplethorpe. Prior to concentrating on his own photography, Lloyd was a celebrated Art Director for several national publications, including Vanity Fair, Conde' Nast Traveler, House & Garden & Rolling Stone. I have known of him for years, his reputation in the NY world of publishing made him a giant in the industry. Lloyd is the uncle of some close old friends from the east and last night, I called him out of the blue, seeking any wisdom or advice he might offer on my plans to flog the book thru NYC and other points east. The call went to voicemail and I nervously left a message. This morning, the phone rings and it's Lloyd! His advice and generosity to my questions was reassuring and most welcome. Mahalo Lloyd!
Now there is one more call of advice I await... a recently retired Photo Editor from National Geographic. Another close mutual friend has put me in touch with her and she has generously agreed to review my work and offer advice on whom to see and what to show them.
Just now the phone has rung again. It's the call I've been waiting for... former NatGeo Photo Editor Elizabeth Krist with words of advice and an offer to pass along links to my work to colleagues at the Traveler title. Another industry heavyweight whom I offer thanks for her kindness, consideration, time and advice.
By the time the plane leaves a week from today, I should be fully prepared & pumped!
