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Day 2 at Steidl

Yesterday was a full day. . . of waiting! There are four teams competing for the time of the designers so we have to take turns. It’s interesting to hear the other teams talking to the designers about their book projects, and we’re learning so much, but hey, let’s be honest, we keep waiting for our turn! It’s like we’re happy for them and all but what about us!? Haha!

Rudi served us another amazing lunch and we got to talk more with Anna, Josh and Lunetta who are all great! Dianne and Pierre left yesterday. Listening to them all talk is so interesting. The drive and commitment they all share for their projects and for art is infectious. Josh and Lunetta are working on a book about Santu Mofokeng, the photographer from South Africa. Anna is working on a book of photos from Cuba.

We finally met with Victor at 5:00 and he showed us all the work he’d been doing during the day flowing the text and pictures into the new specs and we can envison the book emerging in its new design. It’s new for us and exciting after working on it in the current design for 13 years! We like it! The text will need to be edited down here and there to fit the new column widths and this will have to be done soon. Steidl flew to Paris today for something with Lagerfeld but he’ll be back tonight.

We went out for dinner to a restaurant recommended by Josh called Zum Szultenburger on Prinzenstrasse on the other side of the main square. At one point we got a little lost so when we stopped in the apothecary to buy a few things, we asked a lady for directions. Her English was pretty good and she was friendly so she told us a few stories about the city––such as the girl with a goose in the fountain of the main square. Since this is a university town, all the people who graduate with their doctorates have to kiss this girl in the fountain. She is believed to be the most kissed girl in the world. The goose is to warn her of danger. There are flowers hanging all over the fountain from recent graduates. We love this city!

While we waited for an outside table at Zum Szultenburger the waiter served us schnapps and beer! I had the huntsman’s dinner. Ken had schnitzel with peppers and onions. The portions of schnitzel were enormous! Another waiter came to talk to us during his break about his interest in Civil War history and he and Ken conversed for a while until the head waiter gave him the sign to get back to work. But before he left he gave us each a ferne brancha! I’m not used to so much alcohol! Luckily we didn’t have to drive home! But you just have to watch out for all the people on bicycles cuz you can’t hear them coming up behind you!

It’s now early in the morning…the sky is getting light and I can’t sleep. I’m way too excited about how the day will go since Steidl is back today and will undoubtedly take us all forward.

Victoria, Victor and Ken
Victoria, Victor and Ken
Victoria and Maren.
Victoria and Maren.
Ken with Victor.
Ken with Victor.
Fountain Girl with Goose and flowers.
Fountain Girl with Goose and flowers.
Schnapps and local beer. Yum!
Schnapps and local beer. Yum!
Prost!
Prost!
Ken enjoying life!
Ken enjoying life!
Talking with our waiter.
Talking with our waiter.
Back to work.
Back to work.

First Full Day at Steidl

Ken, Maren, Josh and Lunetta looking at recently published book.
Ken, Maren, Josh and Lunetta looking at recently published book.
Rudy serving lunch!
Rudy serving lunch!
Ken found a spot to get a little shut eye!
Ken found a spot to get a little shut eye!
Waiting for Steidl.
Waiting for Steidl.

Well—we survived our first day at Steidl! We reported at 7:30 this morning, fulling expecting to be told that our files and photos were not up to snuff! Instead, we were surprised to hear Steidl say, “Let’s give it to the designer!”

We couldn’t sleep last night and Ken worked all night on the files. We knew that there were some files that weren’t high enough resolution! When we went there this morning we realized that we just had to go with the flow and let go!

Ken had gone to Idaho last week to help move his father to an assisted living home. While he was gone we got the news that Steidl was ready for us to come to Germany to produce the book! It became a matter of getting him home and quickly grabbing all the files! That was it! No time to make sure that everything was the latest file or the highest resolution file. We just had to find a flight and get going!

After we told Steidl that we were concerned about some of the files, we were happy to hear him say that it was “No problem.” We were quickly assigned a designer names Victor! Victor re-layed out the book in a modern and clean layout – We love it! It looks great!

We spent the day waiting for Victor to place our file in his new Steidl layout and talking to the other 4 teams who were visiting with their book projects. There was Joshua Chuang, Chief Curator from the Center for Creative Photography in Arizona; Lunetta, from Maker in Johannesburg, South Africa; Dianne and Pierre from “La Bal” in Paris; Anna Davidson, daughter of Bruce Davidson, Magnum photographer; and us!

Rudy, the Steidl cook, made us a beautiful lunch. We are asked to stay while our projects are being worked on so that we can check them as the designers and printers work, so lunch is served! It’s quite amazing! Steidl is watching over every project carefully and we are called to talk over the project with him as it is worked on.

After our designer, Victor, went home for the day, we also left and  we had a nice dinner at the local cafe around the corner–the P Cafe! It’s not too far to walk and we were glad it was so close as we’re so so tired. We’ll have no problem sleeping tonight!

We toasted the book project and all the photographers in the book!

Here at Steidl in Gottingen

We had a wonderful trip. Angela drove us to SFO airport and we got right through checking baggage and security with ease. We had a really nice couple sitting next to us. He was from Hamburg so we were able to ask him some questions about how to pronounce a few things in German.

Then in Frankfurt we got the ICE train to Gottingen and after a lovely 2 hour trip through the German countryside, we arrived in Gottingen to be met by Heath, one of the people who work at Steidl. We walked from the train to “Steidlville,” at Dustere Strasse 4. We were given keys to the flat on the fourth floor where luminaries in the art world like Gunther Grasse have stayed, It’s quite surreal just looking around this simple and beautifully kept flat. Neither of us can sleep, in part from jet-lag, and partly from the boisterous college students celebrating the Saturday night!

Gottingen is a beautiful city with a big university. It wasn’t bombed much in WWII due to its lack of manufacturing or industry so the buildings are old and charming. We will try to walk around the old city when we need to stretch and clear our heads. But our main purpose being here is not to rest or sight-see. We are here to represent the photographers in the Golden Decade and to see this project through to publication.

We are honored to represent the Golden Decade photographers. It was Ben Chinn, Bill Heick, Cameron Macauley and Ira Latour who first interested us in this book project. But then when we met all the other photographers, we were completely captivated. We are reminded of their colorful stories, so varied and rich. David Johnson, who was the first African American photographer to study with Ansel Adams, and he took photos of the early Jazz scene in the Fillmore District in San Francisco and then of the Civil Rights Movements. John Upton, who worked closely with Minor White, co-wrote the photography text book still used by colleges today, in its 11th printing. Ben Chinn, who had been in charge of the Army photography department from the West Coast to the Mississippi, produced stunning photos in Paris and San Francisco’s Chinatown.

Women were well represented in the early classes. Zoe Lowenthal, Muriel Green, Pat Harris, Helen Howell, just to name a few, all contributed beautiful work and intellectual prowess. And their voices ring out loud in their stories. Their perspective was quite different from the men, and just as compelling.

Many of these wonderful women and men have died since we came to this project. We miss them so much, but feel so glad to have just gotten to know them long enough to be deeply impressed by them. For those who are still living we are working hard to get their stories into print for them and their families. We have all been edified by the Golden Decade.

For us, and me personally, I’m thinking of my own father, who tirelessly tried to show us all his love for photography but who had to put up with an often petulant family who didn’t like to pose for him or sit with him in his darkroom. I can’t take this back, but I can take it forward. Here’s to new beginnings!

Today, now,  promises to be exciting as we meet Gerhard for the first time and begin our journey at Steidl.

Heath came to meet us at Gottingen Train Station.
Heath came to meet us at Gottingen Train Station.
Ken by the door to Steidl apartments.
Ken by the door to Steidl apartments.
Steidl Publishing House!
Steidl Publishing House!
Victoria in Frankfurt Train Station
Victoria in Frankfurt Train Station
Ken in Frankfurt Airport.
Ken in Frankfurt Airport.
View from kitchen window of our rooms.
View from kitchen window of our rooms.

Off to Steidl tomorrow

We’re very excited to be leaving for Germany tomorrow to publish the Golden Decade Book! We will be going to Gottingen to work with world-premier art book publisher Gerhard Steidl. We are very honored and so pleased for all the wonderful photographers in the book. My father, Don Whyte, one of the photographers, was passionate about photography all his life. My family will attest to it. I’m sure he’s smiling somewhere.

We’ll try to post photos and write about our experiences at Steidleville for the week we are there. It will be amazing so Stay tuned!

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