A Richmond photographer is set to publish a book featuring photographic portraits and interviews with people who live, work and play in the Yorkshire Dales.
Guy Carpenter has already produced a sample copy of the book Dalesfolk: Photographic portraits from the Yorkshire Dales, and has now launched a Kickstarter funding appeal to get the book published.
The appeal has already attracted 22 pledges totalling more than £1,400.
Guy said he wanted to tell the stories of some of the diverse array of people who live and work in the Dales.
He said: “The Yorkshire Dales is a really beautiful place. Nobody’s going to argue about that and that’s why people come from all around the world to visit it.
“But it’s a really different kind of beauty to somewhere even quite close by, like the Lake District.
“When you visit there, the most important feature is the landscape itself, which away from the towns is really rugged and very wild. The Yorkshire Dales isn’t quite like that.
“It can be rugged and wild, especially in winter on a snowy road between Kettlewell and Coverdale, but on the whole, everywhere you look, there is some evidence of human activity.
“It’s actually a very human landscape, and when you spend any amount of time in it you quite quickly realise that there are a very diverse array of people living, working and playing in the Yorkshire Dales, all with their own stories and reasons for being drawn to the place. I realised that I wanted to try and tell those people’s stories as best as I could, so I came up with the idea of a photographic portrait book.
“I think though that it gives a really honest view of the person, and who they are and what they do. Plus, I interviewed each person, and their
interview in their own words is included alongside the photographs.
“There were some really interesting and unexpected moments in those interviews, and I think everybody, locals and non-locals alike, will find them a worthwhile read.”
Guy said he finished the bulk of the practical work on the book early this year and then began looking for a publisher.
“I found the publishing aspect of it all rather more daunting than talking to and photographing people.
“I did contact a number of publishers, and actually had a lot of positive replies, and several publishers saying that they did want to publish.
“Unfortunately, for various reasons including their projected timescales, I ended up realising it really was best for me to just self publish through Blurb.com.
“All the work is on me in that case, but at least I can get it done sooner rather than later, and I wanted to get it published while it is still fresh and relevant. Their quality is really excellent and definitely does justice to the project.”
He added: “I’ve decided to fund the printing via Kickstarter.
“Each copy of the book costs quite a lot to print, so people can order a copy prior to printing so I get an idea of how many to print.
“In addition to the book, you can pledge a bit more and get a print and day of photography tutorial if you want.
For more details click on the link here.
