Vision' quest
Main Feature Story, Pacific Sun 8/28/09

Self-publishing gurus Kathleen Goodwin and Richard Blair, who've glossied up many a local coffee table over the past decade with their hardcover photo books Point Reyes Visions and California Trip, return to the picture-essay arena with Visions of Marin, the most quintessentially Marin entry in a series that's becoming the definitive visual history of the county.
Where Point Reyes Visions focused on the majesty of the western portion of the county, Visions of Marin points a far wider angle at Marin as a whole, chronicling the histories, apocrypha and legendary figures and monuments that have left their literal and figurative marks on the landscape. Chapters cover everything from towns and municipalities to parks and open space, "ethereal landscapes" and, toward the end of the book (apparently when they'd run out film), Goodwin's own plein air paintings of the county. Farms, bocce, the Coast Miwok, windsurfing, Blackie, Sir Francis Drake, the Mountain Play, Joseph Eichler, the Dipsea, John Reed, William Kent, houseboats, Frank Lloyd Wright, Olompali, tule elk, William Richardson, Marinship and the Grateful Dead are all in there as well. And they look great.

—Jason Walsh, Editor

To order a signed copy of the book from the authors, please click below. If you want a discounted copy that is a return from a bookstore please call 415 -663-1616.

371 Drakes View Drive Inverness, CA 94937

415 663-1616

Date to be announced...

We will be teaching a long-requested class in the art of self-publishing books. This includes the steps to make a book, from tips on typography and book design, to creating the book in a desktop publishing program, scanning photographs or drawings and fixing them in photoshop. The next step is choosing a printer and actually getting the book printed.

On the second day the class will focus on selling your book. How to get it into bookstores, what normal terms are, book distribution, going to trade shows, arranging book signings, publicity and advertising your book. We discuss the economics of book publishing.

Book publishing is one of the most fulfilling projects that one can do, with the books becoming a important milestone in your life. They can, and should be fun to do, while for those who care deeply about their subject matter, they are the most challenging things that they can do. There is no limit to the amount of work and skill that you can bring to your book, but many times, the excitement and freshness that a new author/publishers bring to their work can set new standards. A story I like to tell is that Gutenberg, when he made the first book with movable type, the Gutenberg bible, he created one of the finest examples of graphic design!

Why it is particularly good to have the class at our studio is that we actually have made 6 books here, as well as innumerable postcards, notecards, calendars here and we can show you with confidence the actual techniques and equipment that we used to create our work.

We will try to answer your questions, and not hold any thing back. Book publishing is great, whether you make a private edition for your family or your friends, or come out with a blockbuster best seller, either way it is very rewarding. Taking this class will help you get started. We have taught self publishing at Book Passage and privately. Among our students, we already know of six books that were published.!

To sign up please call 415 663-1616. The cost is $195.00 for 2 days. It is very information intensive and a great bargain for the amount of practical knowledge that you will receive.

The authors of the best-selling Point Reyes Visions have expanded their horizons to encompass the entirety of California. Richard Blair and Kathleen Goodwin bring a unique view of the state with the images and text in their new book, California Trip. Here is a link to see much of the book as a google preview.

Travelling thousands of miles throughout the state, they have captured its spirit with photographs that range from surfers, farm workers and movie stars to exquisite pictures of California’s deserts and mountains. This is an unusual book for the depth of perspective it gives the viewer of its cultural and natural landscapes.

From the hippies and the protests of the sixties to California today-the authors were there with cameras and a reporter’s notebook, recording vital details of California’s unique place in the world. Goodwin and Blair weren’t just reporting; they were deeply involved, freezing and frying in the mountains and deserts, demonstrating against the wars, dancing at concerts, always observing.

California has been brought to life–its people, craziness and peak moments of beauty and truth. The content is honest and revealing, breaking new ground for a California picture book by including ignored but important subjects, like earthquakes, immigration, gay and lesbian rights, the rise of organic farming to name a few.