my Young Musicians book is completed and ready to order!

(Click on my book cover image to see it larger)

I see that I first wrote a blog entry about my young musicians project on March 8, 2011. Well, nine months later, almost to the day, my "Young Musicians" book became a reality. And yes, it was an eventful pregnancy and birth, not always easy but always a labor of love.

You can see and, if interested, order this book by going to

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2903195

Once there, if you click on "Preview Book!" you can see every one of the book's 160 pages filled with 271 photos of the amazing participants in the 2010-2011 season of Detroit's Civic Youth Ensembles. The book Introduction gives you some background on this program and how I first learned about it. By the way, to see the photos in full page format, be sure to click on the square icon on the bottom right of the Preview page.

The responses to the book that I've received thus far are immensely gratifying. The director of the CYE program wants to order a good number of books to give to donors. Last night I showed the buyer at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra store a copy of the book and he expressed interest in selling it there. But, most importantly, the young musicians and parents who have seen the book, love it. It was so they could see the photos I'd been taking that I created the book in the first place, so their response means the most to me.

But you know, every part of a photographer's life must satisfy the photographer him or herself. You can't be in it for recognition from the outside. You must truly love the process in and of itself. And I do. I love the late-night editing just as much as the out-among-them time shooting. And playing with sequencing is like eating peanuts to me; I can't get enough of it.

I have to admit, though, this time I am as pleased with the product as I was with the process. The book looks better than I ever could have imagined. Yes, my friends, mother and child are doing very well indeed!