As I might just possibly have mentioned before, when I’m not slaving away at the coalface of publishing, I spend a not inconsiderable amount of time updating my personal books blog, Existential Ennui (much to the chagrin, it must be said, of my nearest and dearest, who – perhaps rightly – feel it would be more beneficial if I dedicated myself to more mundane but useful pursuits, like, say, tidying the house, or mowing the lawn, or even, y’know, getting up off my lazy arse once in a while). Existential Ennui is five years old now (although posting was decidedly intermittent in the beginning), but I’ve actually been blogging on and off for more like seven or eight years, and like to think that in that time I’ve become pretty knowledgeable about the dark art (or maybe craft) of blogging. But this month we’re publishing two books – Blogging for Creatives and The Web Designer’s 101 Most Important Decisions – which, together, made me realise there are still plenty of things I can learn.

Of the two titles, Robin Houghton’s Blogging for Creatives is the most obviously applicable. Aimed at the more arts, crafts and literary end of the blogosphere, Robin’s book takes readers through every aspect of blogging, from getting started to the various platforms and technology; from look and design to creating content; and from promotion and marketing to making money from your blog – all accompanied by insights from successful bloggers. Reading through the book, I picked up all manner of useful titbits, from the simplest things such as the width of one’s blog (I increased the width of Existential Ennui as a direct result of a comment Robin made about how computer screens are getting wider) to connecting with new readers via social media (that section inspired me to set up an Existential Ennui Facebook page, which is helping to drive traffic to my blog). So while Blogging for Creatives is certainly very useful for anyone new to blogging, it’s also stuffed with great, er, stuff for the more experienced blogger.

Scott Parker’s The Web Designer’s 101 Most Important Decisions, on the other hand, wouldn’t, on the face of it, appear to be quite as relevant to bloggers, excellent though it is; it’s more concerned with how to design or commission an effective, attractive website, distilled into 101 helpful tips. But even here, there’s much that will be of use to the regular blogger. I found the information on how different browsers can affect how one’s website or blog is viewed rather instructive, for example, and the same with how fonts operate on the web (as anyone who blogs will know, fonts can be the bane of a blogger’s existence). And digging a little deeper, there’s a wealth of info on navigation, html (and html5) and layout, all of which applies to blogs as much as it does to websites.

Scott and Robin will be popping up on the Ilex Press blog before too long to further extol the virtues of their respective titles, but I just thought I’d highlight how both of their books can be of particular help to bloggers – even those who’ve been at it as long as I have.

1. If you’re intrigued by the iPhone’s moviemaking capabilities, do check out our book on that subject – although you’ll need to be quick, as UK stock is running low…

2. Stephanie Calabrese Roberts‘ Art of iPhoneography is now number 3 on our all time UK best-seller list (here are numbers 1 and 2, if you’re interested) and we are gearing up to publish a revised and updated second edition this autumn (available in the US from Pixiq). Watch this space for news…

3. We came across this lovely graphic from frugaldad which beautifully illustrates how this plain little slab is revolutionising photojournalism. Enjoy!

Source: http://frugaldad.com

Romantic!

Melancholic…

Visionary?

Errrm…

To clarify: 25% of you came here looking for a picture of a pig.

The internet is inexplicable.

However, I am nothing if not keen to please, so here are two links which I hope will be of interest if you, gentle reader, are one of that 25%:

A picture of a pig

1. The source of the original image, at right, which I failed to link to first time round. Here you may find many more pictures of pigs.

2. Our sister company – the wonderful Ivy Press – is well into farmyard animals of all kinds, and from them you can obtain, if you want to share a picture of a pig with a friend, not only this selection of postcards, but this box of notecards too. If you would like to have a picture of a pig on your wall year round, you can place an advance order for a calendar, which has twelve.

In any case, thank you for dropping by, and please call again!

*obsessively

Well, yes and no. Each day we were confronted with alarming reports of Michael’s alleged violent crimes, his alleged blue-collar crimes, and his disappointing performance in the race to be Mayor of Blue Springs, Kansas (he lost to incumbent Carlton Ross). He was cited in the recent money-for-dinners scandal in Downing Street. We’ve even seen the odd obituary.

On the plus side, Michael Freeman is a County Attorney in the Twin Cities, a law professor at the University of Central London, a police chief in North Ridgeville, and many more besides. Either the name is often associated with the law, or Google’s news web crawler is.

Michael Freeman: Not known for his burglary or legal services

So, for the record, our Michael Freeman is the author of many photography books, including the new Photo School series, and a photographer with many more book and magazine credits besides those at Ilex. He has not, to the best of our knowledge, paid money to bend the ear of the Prime Minister or run through the southern United States on a crime spree.

The lesson? The internet is a very clever thing. Except Google Alerts, which is only quite clever (especially when used by mere humans like us…).

From the current issue of Amateur Photographer magazine

No more than John Beardsworth’s expertise deserves.

It’s a well-timed review as the books are right now hitting the shops. So whether you’re already well into B&W, or want to explore this fascinating area for the first time, why not check it out?

See more about Advanced Digital Black & White Digital Photography here - John is online here – Amateur Photographer finds itself here.

Apparently not all iPhone users are too chirpy about this, but hey, they’ll come round. After all, part of Instagram’s appeal has been in making interesting and arty photography available for all, with the help of their handy filters.

I feel I should probably plug Ilex Photo’s titles on smartphone photography at this point, namely The Art of iPhoneography and Android Photography (see, no bias here!) but really I’m just looking forward to sunny weather (if it will ever stay) and chocolate eggs.

Here are some flowers…

Just a quick note to draw your attention to my personal books blog, Existential Ennui, where I’ve just announced the three winners of the Ilex Gift Giveaway, which, you may recall, I plugged on ‘ere two weeks ago. So if you’re one of the dozens of people who entered the competition, head over to Existential Ennui to find out if you won.

(By the by, and apropos of nothing in particular, I’ve also recently introduced a new page on Existential Ennui, bringing together some of the most beautiful 1950s/1960s British book jackets from my personal collection. Go have a look if you like evocative, striking cover design and illustration.)

Waterstones have awarded their prestigious Children’s Book Prize to illustrator Jonny Duddle for The Pirates Next Door, his picture book “full of wit and invention” about a family of pirates (the Jolley-Rogers) who move to Dull-On-Sea. Geddit.

Jonny is a talented illustrator and concept artist, who worked on the new Aardman Animation film The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists.

The award recognises emerging talent, and we’re proud to say here that we’ve long been fans of Jonny’s work. Jonny’s illustrations have featured in Ilex Gift’s Fantasy Art Postcards and Fantasy Art Now, Volume 2, which he co-authored with fellow artist Aly Fell, along with Erotic Fantasy Art. (Warning: the latter is not suitable for young readers of The Pirates Next Door.)

So, three cheers for Jonny! Now you should all go buy his book, which you can do from Waterstones here.

Left, “Highland Minotaur”: a classic Duddlebug illustration, full of charm and character.

Just as we’ve done with our other iPad products, we used the extra interactivity provided by the iPad to extend the books that already existed, and included all of the words and images in the books; these aren’t mere cheap promotional gimmicks, but full-length books presented in an exciting format.

The Art of iPhoneography

One of Ilex’s best-sellers in print form is the beautiful Art of iPhoneography, which takes readers through using their iPhone to create and share photographic masterpieces. The book itself, with its rounded-corners and iPhone shape, has been a firm favourite amongst readers who want a book that looks good as well as serving a purpose. The designers of the App have followed in the footsteps of the print designer to produce something equally stunning, with the added advantage of touchable interactive instructions and beautiful full-screen imagery. (Find the Android version in Ilex Press Bookshelf.)

Complete Guide to Digital Photography

Not only adapted to interactive form, but completely revised and updated from the previous 5th Edition, the App version of Michael Freeman’s Complete Guide to Digital Photography brings one of the biggest photography books to the iPad. In these digital pages you’ll find all the answers you need to all your photography questions, and some inspirational material that will open up new avenues in your shooting. Comprehensive.

Finally the French-language edition of The Photographer’s Eye, or L’Oeil du Photographie, is also now available on the iPad if you’d prefer.