Customer Reviews

A Year of Mornings: 3191 Miles Apart

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Absolutly loved this book. It made me realize how little we document our daily life and how we over look the beauty of simple things that are part of our daily routine.

A Year of Mornings: 3191 Miles Apart is a photographic collaboration between Maria Alexandra Vettese (Portland, Maine) and Stephanie Congdon Barnes (Portland, Oregon). The two met online and discovered that each had interests in crafts and a passion for simplicity in images. After a series of discussions, they embarked upon a year-long project in December 2006, in which each agreed to take a photo every morning for a year and then post that photo onto a shared blog. (http://3191.visualblogging.com)
They uploaded photographs that are posted as diptychs, and time after time had uncanny resemblances. On certain days, I wondered if the two discussed what to photograph--such as subjects, angles, etc. For example, the first set of images were both of eggs. There were also diptychs in which comparisons of colors were made--like green grass with a white ladder compared to a pair of green socks with a white embroidered design. Not all of them have such obvious comparisons, but still make for interesting diptychs.
I do have some complaints about the book. First, the paper that it is printed on dulls the colors, and I would've liked to see these images in their true colors, not a muted representation. Second, I wish that they would have showed all of the images from that year instead of just selections, and much larger than thumbnail sizes.
Overall, I think that the idea of the collaboration, as well as the content displayed on the website, was a fantastic idea that was poorly represented in the form of a book. Perhaps it would have been better left as a digital project.

Full disclosure: this is a book by a friend. But that said, I honestly find it lovely. I'm a book in hand person, not ready yet to go only for screen images so I was glad this book (based on a popular web site) was created. I received my copy during a difficult time and I found great comfort and distraction in the peaceful images. Both photographers have a fresh outlook and wonderful hand at simplicity and nuance. I got ideas about room decoration, hand made crafts while at the same time basic reminders of the cycles of life. This is a book I will return to for quiet times and times when I need creative inspiration. My only wish was that the book was a larger format.

I really loved gazing at these gorgeous photos in the "year of mornings" blog. Though it contains the same beautiful photos, I thought the layout of this book was a bit of a letdown. It could've been put together in a more aesthetically pleasing way, which was surprising, since it's a book of photos. All in all, it's still very nice.

Love love love the blog.

I wanted to buy this book because I loved the photos on the blog. I must not have paid attention to the description of the book, because it was not what I was expecting. I was hoping for a lovely coffee table type of book, but instead it's a small paperback and the photos are printed on regular paper and are pretty small on each page to boot. The book doesn't do the photos justice. This book will now just sit on my shelf not to be admired as I had hoped it would.

The biggest disappointment is how the photos are printed on regular paper!

I've been coveting this book for some time now and finally got around to ordering it. It almost has a Scandinavian aesthetic. As an introvert, I appreciate their quiet sense of seeing their surroundings and how the smallest of things resonate and become objects of beauty when you live calmly and beautifully in your home.
Well-done.

I love the idea of this project, the beauty and simplicity of the pictures, how they synchronize sometimes and sometimes not. I wish that the quality of the pictures was higher and the size of some of the pictures were bigger. Perhaps it would have been to expensive to print glossy, high definition pictures but something was lost in the lower quality of reproductions.

I was enchanted by the idea behind this book. Having recently rekindling a passion for photography I was excited to be inspired by the simple images of two friends, miles apart. I was a bit disappointed. I am not sure why the publisher choose to lay out the book in this way. The majority of the photos are thumbnail sized. This defeats what I felt the purpose of a collection of photographs is. I would have gladly paid more for a thicker volume where each photo was large enough to have impact. But this book picks and chooses which photographs to highlight and even those are not adequate in size.

I did like the simple pleasures and stillness that this book highlights. It inspired me to snap more shots of my daily routine as a window into my life right now, but the size of the photos was a huge hurdle.

This book has a beautiful message and the pictures are lovely. It would've been nicer, though, if it was a hardback book-- it would be a much better gift-giving book.

I purchased this book after seeing it highlighted in Better Homes and Gardens. Choosing this as a gift for someone on my Christmas list, I was enticed by the simplicity of the photos I saw in the sneek peeks. The actual size of the book is small, considering that the photos contain such sweet detail. This is the only negative comment, as the content is simply lovely. After purchasing the book, I have considered keeping this "Christmas gift" for myself. I guess that's a good sign it's a good gift. :o)