Kickstarter launches for epic, 38 year photography project
For the past 38 years, Blue Mountains photographer Peter Adams has been working on a mammoth project which is now finally close to completion.
The image-maker has photographed and interviewed hundreds of iconic photographers from all around the world for his ambitious and life-changing project, A Few Of The Legends.
It may have begun as a bit of trivia at the end of a boozy lunch, but even in the cold light of the next morning, Peter Adams wasn't daunted by his plan to interview and photograph 500 of the world’s famous – and some not-so-famous – photographers, spanning the length and breadth of 20th century photography.
And now, finally, after all Peter’s time, effort and dedication, his labour of love is with the printer.
Photographer Ken Duncan, OAM, who has supported the book, describes it as one of the greatest projects he has seen as a photographer.
"It has taken over 38 years of Peter’s life and is an amazing tribute to the photographic industry. I consider Peter to be one of the true legends of photography,” he says.
Each double page features a photo of the photographer, captured by Peter himself, together with a story about the artist. The stories, at times humorous, instructive or admiring - but always honest – are taken from Peter‘s own interviews with the legends he photographed.
The gargantuan logistics aside, A Few Of The Legends is also about tenacity, perseverance, patience and, when potential subjects were playing hard to get, some plain old “I won’t take no for an answer” stubbornness.
It’s inevitable, given the span of time, that quite a number of the legends in this book have since, to quote Peter, “departed to the great darkroom in the sky”. But that only adds to the historic significance of the undertaking.
And now with the book ready to go to the printer, the author’s first edition is close to being ready. However, Peter still needs to raise funds to get the book into print, with a kickstarter campaign, currently over its target of $8,000, underway. A pledge of $150 or more will secure a signed copy of the 600-plus page book.
If you want to support the publication of A Few Of The Legends, you can do so here.