Steve Richard’s Aerial is a book featuring photographs of nude aerial performers frozen in moments of beauty and power.
The goal is to fund the publication of Steve Richard’s latest large-scale hard cover book Aerial. Created between December 2012 and February 2017, the images in Aerial represent the most challenging and beautiful of Steve’s photography of the nude yet seen. This will be the third book that Steve has published, following 2010’s Cloud Busting (11”x13” hard cover, 128 pages, 73 images) which was focused on studio nudes of dancers and powder, and Obscuro (10.5”x13” hard cover, 192 pages, 113 images) which explores the beauty of the body viewed through water’s surface and was released December 2015 (thanks to Kickstarter).
Aerial features photographs of nude aerial performers frozen in moments of beauty and power. Like the surreal world Steve had created with Obscuro, the images in Aerial accomplish the impossible and appear to defy the laws of physics. Steve considers himself more of a sculptor or illusionist than a photographer and creates all of his images in camera. Each image typically involves hundreds of takes making small deliberate changes to body language, form and light until the image is perfect. This process can be difficult for models who have to work hours on a single image but for an aerialist positioned in the air repeating the same move hundreds of times, it can push endurance and patience to the extreme. Luckily for Steve most aerialists are true athletes who in their everyday training push themselves far beyond what most could normally endure, allowing for the creation of some of the most exceptional photographs Steve has ever created.
The introduction video and the prints to be offered as rewards offer a sample of the images that will appear in Aerial. When working on a long-term project like Aerial, Steve only shares a few of the images intended for the book on his websites or any social media. Over 90% of the images were specifically reserved for the book and have never been released publicly, keeping them exclusive and special.
The images for Aerial are complete and edited; all that remains is finalizing the book layout and the printing. Having published Cloud Busting in 2010 and Obscuro in 2015, Steve has gained the experience and professional industry contacts necessary to see a book created from concept to final product. In preparation for this Kickstarter, he has received printing quotes and selected the same fine art book printer that produced Obscuro.
As with Obscuro and Cloud Busting, Steve is planning on overseeing the entire printing process himself. Steve has spent many hours hashing out every detail, every cost, and is now ready to commence with the final stage in this project; this is the only way to ensure that he creates the best book representation of his photography possible.
PUBLICATION DETAILS
YOUR ROLE
Up until now this project has been completely self-funded and Steve has used the sales of Obscuro to provide 1/3 of the funds necessary to compete this project. With this Kickstarter your pledges will provide the remaining core funding to pay for the design and printing of the book. With successful funding it is expected the book will be printed and distributed to Kickstarter backers by September 2017. In October Steve anticipates the book will be available through other distribution avenues.
THE REWARDS
All backers from $45 will receive a copy of the Aerial book, signed by Steve Richard.
Additional rewards include original fine art prints; these are all produced under the direction of Steve Richard.
The “Book & Bonus 8×10” reward will include an 8”x10” print of the back cover image. This will be printed using traditional photographic chemicals, papers and processes (Digital C-Prints).
The “Trio Book Set” reward includes a signed copy of all three of Steve’s books – Aerial, Obscuro and Cloud Busting.
The “Book & 16×20 Print Set” reward includes a signed and numbered 16” x 20” print. The edition size for this set of prints will be limited to only five for each image. The images will be printed as C-Prints using traditional photographic chemicals, papers and processes . Unlike other limited edition series Steve will never release or sanction any other size of the images from this set. Other than the two artists proofs (the proofs are reserved for testing and are not usually released for sale) the five prints will be the only signed prints of these images to exist!
Following are the image choices for this reward series.
The “Book & Gallery Print Set” reward includes a signed gallery 24” x 30” print. The edition size for each of these images will be limited to one! Printing for the gallery series will be done using pigmented inks on fine art archival matte paper. Steve considers the images from this series as original works of art and he will only ever release one signed gallery print (one of one) plus two 11×14 artist proofs (the proofs are reserved for testing and are not usually released for sale). Steve will never release or sanction any other image size or variations for this series of images making each Gallery print extremely rare. Following are the images released for this reward series:
TIMELINE:
April – Kickstarter Campaign ends – book files delivered to book designer
May/June – finalize book design
July – finished design files to printer –
July/August – Steve oversees book setup and image printing
September – Finished Book Ships to Kickstarter Backers
October/November – Public book release
COMMENTS ABOUT STEVE RICHARD’S LAST BOOK OBSCURO (2015)
“I purchased this book from the original Kickstarter campaign. I can happily say I could not be more impressed! I have been following Steve’s photography for a long time, and just love the way his images create such vivid, rich, and highly contrasted images. It’s like looking at old master painting produced by a camera.”
“The book itself it beautiful. The prints are bright, easily legible, and of a very high quality. The paper is archival and durable, and the cover is a beautiful almost satin-like texture.”
“To anyone who loves contemporary art or photography, this book is absolutely gorgeous and I would recommend it to anyone, 100%, who may be interested. It would be a great personal purchase, but also a great gift to any loved one who has a vested interest in the arts. A great book for reading, adding detail to a room, or acting as a coffee table/interest book in the living room. I have friends and family who fell in love with the book who are the furthest thing from art appreciators as well.”
”Steve Richard’s latest book of fine art photography does not disappoint. The images are inventive, sensual, and strikingly beautiful. Every page in this wonderful collection guarantees a return visit.”
“The book is a delightful collection of art nude photography, beautifully composed and printed in a larger format than many other photography books; the full page images draw the viewer into the scene. With the dark environment around the model(s) and the absence of bubbles, the viewer will forget that they are underwater. A truly great book for the art photography collector.”
“I purchased this masterpiece that Steve Richard has created, knowing that it was going to be great!! Since receiving the book, I have to say it surpasses great, and would definitely be in the amazing category! Kudos to Steve for his perseverance in the project and also to the models who helped him achieve greatness.”
“Beautiful book from one of Canada’s most exceptional photographers. If you’re a lover of fine art, beautiful, ethereal imagery, or just want something on your coffee table to wow your friends, this is it.”
Steve Richard already has the images created, processed, and prepared for the book designer. All proofing, printing, binding and shipping processes have been decided and all costs are known. This is the third project that Steve has overseen (it is his second Kickstarter campaign) and he intends to follow the same process as the last one. He is using the same book designer and printer as Obscuro and there is very little risk of failure. The unexpected can happen and for this project the greatest risk is shipping delays or printing delays, but Steve is working to ensure that these delays are minimized.
If the Kickstarter doesn’t reach the funding goal, then your credit card is not charged. If we reach the funding goal, then it is just a matter of printing the book and distributing it.