One photo in a book
A few months ago, I was contacted by a photographer in Iceland. He had seen my aerial photograph of my old hometown, Hofsós, on Flickr, and he wanted to use it in a book which was about to be published. The subject of the book was to be the use of geothermal energy in Iceland, with the main focus on swimming pools - of which he have over 160, most of them outdoors. He wanted the photo, because a swimming pool was being built in Hofsós at the time. When I shot the image (just after midnight in June 2007), they hadn't started building the pool.
Anyway, I decided to allow use of the photo, and in return I would receive a copy of the book. (In case you're wondering, no, this will not be my normal rate for image usage in a book.) And then I started waiting for the book to arrive. Every now and then I remembered that my book was on the way, and most of the time in between I completely forgot about it.
Last Saturday, Hofsós was in the news because the town's brandnew outdoor swimming pool was finally opened (watch the video and note the amazing placement of the pool). A geothermally heated outdoor swimming pool in a town of less than 200 people - not too shabby, eh?
Anyway (I'm too easily sidetracked right now), on that same Saturday I opened my mailbox and there it was - the book. With my photo in it. I like coincidences like that.
Geothermal Living by Örn Daníel Jónsson.
And on page 23 (hoops reference lost on everyone but me) - my photo.
After the exhibition
The exhibition is formally over. Jón Rúnar and I were both participating in our first photo exhibition, and we can easily say that we are happy with the results.
The night before the exhibition, my wife, my son, and my nephew joined me in taking little slips to every house in town (which are not that many), and even a few of the nearby farms, where we invited everyone to come to the opening the following evening.
Most of Thursday went into exhibition preparation; hanging the pictures on the wall, printing and laminating information tags, printing and folding the program, and such and such. We ran home to grab some dinner and have a change of clothes, and then we were back at school (where the exhibition was held) just after seven thirty.
At just a few minutes to eight, the first guests arrived. It started out fairly relaxed and easy, but before we knew it, the exhibition area was filled with people. At around quarter past eight, Alexandra Chernyshova, Jón's wife, sang a couple of songs, as we welcomed our guests.
Taken just before the place filled up and the coffee was finished.
Apparently, it is customary at openings such as this to offer wine, be it sparkling, red, or white, but we decided to break that tradition and offer coffee and homemade "kleinur" (made by my grandmother), and I couldn't tell other than it was well appreciated.
The exhibition was extremely well received, and it was clear from the start that our decision to only include photos taken in or around Hofsós, was a hit. Not everyone wrote their name in the guestbook, since a big line formed early on and there was no reason for people to sign as they came inside, but at the end of the night, we counted 103 names in the book. In a village of around 170 people, I'd say that's quite good.
Friday was on the slow side, which gave us good time to chat with the people that did show up.
Saturday started slowly as well, since we opened at 11 AM, but just after lunchtime we saw more and more people. When we closed that night, we counted 351 new names in the guestbook. That weekend saw a festival and two big family reunions, so we sure picked the right weekend for the exhibition.
In total, we saw 514 names in the guestbook, and quite a lot of people visited us more than once - without writing their names again :-)
Sunday was quiet, and when we closed the exhibition, we cleaned the premises and delivered the photos which had been bought. It was late Sunday evening, that we (me, my wife , and our son) drove back home, and it was truly strange driving away from Hofsós, knowing that we would come back for at least a year and a half, perhaps even longer.
But I would like to thank all of you, who came by, and to the rest of you: See you next time - whenever that will be.
Until then you can view the photos from the exhibition at hofsos2009.gunnarfreyr.com.
Photos off to printing – study visa acquired
Yes, things are going fast these days. We just got our study visa (or a placeholder, as we'll get the actual visa when we enter Canada). It was stuffed through our mailslot just after ten this morning.
As I've mentioned before, I will be participating in a photo exhibtion - half of it will be mine - and we finally have all the timings and can therefore start publicising it.
Photoexhibition - Út að austan
The exhibition will be at Hofsós Elementary School, and will be open as such:
Thursday, June 18: 8-10 PM
Friday, June 19: 1-6 PM
Saturday, June 20: 11 AM - 7 PM
Sunday, June 21: 11 AM - 3 PM
I'm about to send my photos off to the print shop, and I guess I'll buy a frame or two as well.
Yes, I'm looking forward to this all.
Preparing a photo exhibition
The annual Jónsmessa festival will be in Hofsós June 19-21. I intend, along with Jón Hilmarsson, principal of the elementary school in Hofsós, to start the festival a day early with a photo exhibition. The exhibition, which will be held at the school, will be called Út að austan, and we will combine for around 30 images.
For the past few days I've been trying to select the images I want on display, I've narrowed it down to 19, and need to take around four more away. It's not easy, I tell you. My photos are all take at or very close to Hofsós, but Jón's photos will possibly be from a slightly bigger area.
We will probably open on Thursday evening, June 18, at 8 PM, and will be open until 10 PM. Opening hours will be different and longer the other three days. I will post more information later on.
Why don't you drop by?