In the hands of machines??

Well, we are aren't we? How many times have you been to some institution with a query (banks etc), and the assistant says something like...'according to the computer...' As if it's some kind of sentient being. So what's that got to do with art? Well, I'm a strictly 'for fun' painter, I make no effort to sell stuff, I just like doing it. So I end up with a mass of pictures and drawings. A few years back, I made a family photo album (not art) for my sons. I used one of these online photo-book sites. We were so impressed with the quality of the book, I thought I'd do another. My sons said 'why don't you use it for your art'...no doubt dreading wading through reams of pictures when I pop my clogs. So I did. I have two art books now, I compile them throughout the year, wait for the Christmas 60% off offer and get them printed. I'm compiling the third book now. The photo-book website have just updated the application used to compile your book with what they call a 'smart assistant'. You just click on the folder your art is stored in, it uploads them, and then...wait for it...'CHOOSES THE BEST' and then creates a photo-book. Now I know it isn't making a critical assessment of your work, it's looking at composition and sharpness etc, because its primary function is to produce a PHOTO album. Just for the fun of it, I tried it out on my art folder, and limited the number of pages to 20...it wouldn't be able to get ALL my pics in 20 pages (You can have as many pages as you want - it just costs more). It did it. So it was making some kind of mechanical selection of my pictures...a kind of rudimentary critique. It was very interesting. Didn't pick the ones I'd have thought. I didn't save it of course...I'll compile my own. But it makes you wonder how soon it'll be before applications DO make 'creativity based' judgments. Never, of course. But...but... I just thought this might be of passing interest. Lew.

Sylvia, my first book was with ALBELLI, but they've been taken over by BONUSPRINT...thankfully with the same quality and the same photobook assembly application. I get the 21 x 28cm size, they start with 24 pages, but you can add however many pages you want. I make up my own pages in photoshop and put them in the app as 'full page' pics...that way I can arrange them as I want and put text where I want. Obviously most people use their photo and text layouts. And now, they have this 'smart assistant' that does it all for you. For my book last year, I added 22 extra pages, chose an illustrated cover and the 'lay-flat' page option. These extras all cost more. They always seem to offer big reductions near Christmas. So my book that should have cost £60 plus actually cost £27. I think they are excellent and worth the money (but I wouldn't buy them without the discount...because I'm tight.) This is how I lay out my pages...they are 21 x 28...and I chose the 'full page' option in the application. So I'm not knocking the photobooks - they are good, it's just the notion of having a computer application deciding which pics are 'Best' that prompted this thread. Spooky. Lew

Thank you Sylvia. And Stub, these books and calenders et al are good things, I wasn't knocking them. I think they are great. As I said, I compile them throughout the year...I'm on page 37 of this year's effort. The app gives a running total as you go, it's showing £54 at the mo (full prices), around Christmas they'll be offering discounts of 60% (one year it was 70%)...so I expect to be paying about £25-£30. So far this year, they've already offered 50% off three times. So your calendar should be a bargain. But it'll be looked at by some artificial critic. (Maybe). So far it's made no comment, but early days yet, maybe next year it'll suggest I take up stamp collecting. Lew.

Yes Pat, there are plenty of good suppliers out there. I tend to go for 21 x 28 cm (landscape or portrait). The start point for these is 24 pages for £29. But I always wait for the offers...in this case they vary from 25-70% off, usually the best offers occur around Christmas. No doubt your supplier is the same. Lew.

No Pat. I started using Albelli, they've been taken over by Bonusprint. But the quality and the application used to compile the books remains the same. I guess the prices are pretty much the same across the board. When you find one you like, I guess it's best to stick with them. Lew.