In Celebration of Briar

The Story:

This is a preview of images from my new 2008 Calendar, “In Celebration of Briar.” This is something I've wanted to do for a long time, and thanks to a little prodding from a dear friend, and the “miracle” of Print-on-Demand technology, I published the first version for 2007. With 2008 only a few short months away, I've prepared the next edition for the early-birds.

Almost everyone who visits my page knows me as a tobacco alchemist, but not everyone knows that I've been an avid photogapher since I was eight years old, when, in my dad's darkroom, I developed my first print. The magic of seeing that image appear in the mystical red glow is still burned on my grey cells. Over the past few years, I've switched almost exclusively to digital, and I do miss the red glow, the smell of fixer, but the passion for the art still burns within.

I've been shooting work for this portfolio off and on for a couple years. It's an ongoing project for me, one of many, and my intention is to one day bring it together into a book. (Fat chance, Pease, selling a book of PIPE pictures in the anti-tobacco world we live in. Well, we're going to try!) I'm hoping that through this work, I can expose more people to the beauty, the artistry of the briar pipe, and perhaps help to reverse some of the vilification it's suffered through its association with the evil weed. Remember when the pipe was associated with good, gentle people? Okay, forget about Stalin and his Ilk. I'm talking about Eintstein and Father Knows Best. The pipe is a good thing!

So, while I continue working on the portfolio (I've sold a few limited edition prints, and some of the images have been featured on the “Parting Shots” page in Pipes & Tobacco Magazine), I've decided to make some of the photographs available to a wider audience in this form. The quality of the printing is excellent. The photos look great in pring, and the paper is heavy enough to maintain the “fine art” feel. Kudos to Lulu Press for their fantastic work.

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How to Order:

This large format calendar is 13.5“x19”, spiral bound at the top, and beautifully printed on very heavy, coated stock. This is a very high quality product printed by Lulu Press, not the typical inexpensive, thin, cheaply printed calendar you may be used to seeing from lesser “print-on-demand” publishers. From everything I've seen, Lulu Press is the absolute best there is at this sort of thing. The price for the large calendar is $28, and the quality is well worth the price. Think of it as getting 13 nice, framable prints for just over $2 each, with a calendar thrown in for free. More details can be found on this page, or you can simply and quickly purchase one (or more) by clicking on the button below.

Thank you for your support of this project. -glp

What People are Saying:

“Your calendar arrived here the day after christmas, in perfect time for the new year. It has found a place in my office, opposite of my desk. Every day of the rest of this year, I'll have a glorious pipe photo before my eyes. I like it a lot, and if you should decide to have a calendar for 2008 I'll be buying.” -MR (Germany)

“The calendar arrived and it is magnificent; not even the pictures on the web do it justice.” -TB (USA)

“CALENDAR ARRIVED! WOW!!! I had no idea it was so large or so classy - in person it's 10x better than the pictures convey....honestly!” -LH (USA)

“I've finished my previous message in hurry forgetting to write you my compliments for your calendar: wonderful pipes and wonderful photos. I sincerely think you're not only a great tobacconist and collector but a passionate animator of the pipe-world as well.” -MT (Italy)

“Well, now, this is interesting... my reaction surprised even me. After 30 years of pipelife, I figured (assumed is a better word) there was little in it that I hadn't seen. It is, after all, a pretty well-defined domain. Then I looked through your pics and was amazed. The perspective shift was alarming. (Meaning in a pleasant way.) If these have been on your site all this time, I missed them somehow, but that's good I guess because of the surprise factor of seeing them all at once. VERY nice, GL. The technique, composition, and subject are all first rate, and the overall resuting interpretation is arresting. (My nephew in KC is a pro photog who does the art thing on the side, and I've been to MANY shows and exhibits... that "arresting" thing is the hardest of all to achieve, IMO.)” -GD (USA)

“The calendar arrived today, it¥s much larger than I figured, I never converted the inch measurements. It¥s very nice photos! And two with Bengt pipes! It¥s already hanging on the wall. One thing I wonder why U.S start the week with Sunday?? Doesn¥t make sense to me and U.S being such a religious country too! Do they start the week with rest???” -PB (Sweden)

Update:

The 2008 model year is here early! In addition to the calendar, a rather prestigious photogaphy magazine has shown interest in publishing part of the portfolio. As the details are worked out, I'll make an announcement.

Click the button below to go to my ImageKind gallery to order prints.