True confession: I will always love print. Fresh out of college, I worked at several newspapers and then went on to publish a Canadian motocross magazine called Racer X Canada. I loved the long hours on deadline putting the puzzle pieces of stories and photos together into epic layouts. I loved staying up til 2 a.m. fired up on Red Bull to hit the send button. I even loved the two weeks between that late night and when the new issue arrived. Then I loved flipping through the pages to see the results and ultimately I loved when the readers got the new mag in their hands.
After a full season shooting alongside Sam Buschbeck last year with the Owen Sound Attack, we had an idea to bring the thousands of images we shot to life on the printed page. We approached the team and we were able to pull together the first ever Owen Sound Attack Photo Annual. I recall proofing pages from a café in Baja while Sam was probably driving between livestock locations and then passing on changes to my colleague and designer Dawn McClintock. I was lucky enough to be able to work with the same designer from my motocross days on this project. I felt the buzz again, that same satisfying feeling of seeing your work come to life in a much different way than on a tiny iPhone screen.
We pushed to have the Photo Annual ready for the Attack baseball game, BBQ and awards. Then, like kids in a candy store, we waited for people to get it in their hands. If you’ve never put something out for public consumption, there’s definitely some nerves about how it will be received. I can still remember the players crowding around their copies, and Deni Goure walking over to say, ‘I can’t believe we all got our own pages.’ But perhaps the best moment for me was when Dale DeGray walked over with some cash in his hand and a copy of the book. ‘I just keep staring at it and wondering why this is the first time we’ve done this?’, he said. He was on his way to buy another copy. High praise for a project that was just a dream a few months before.
Like any new product, we’ve had some bumps and bruises. Trying to know how many to order and what price point to sell them at in year 1 was a challenge but now you can reap the rewards. You can still pick up a copy of the Owen Sound Attack Photo Annual at the Attack Shack this weekend or buy one online here. Whether you’re a fan staying for this Sunday’s final IPC skate and want to get your copy autographed, a player wanting a keepsake for the future, a parent turning the page on your son’s OHL career or just someone who wants two motivated photographers to know you love their work, there’s a book with your name on it at the Bayshore.
We’ll be evaluating the feasibility of a 2023/24 book in the coming weeks. Our hard drives are busting with images waiting to be seen in print. With any luck, we’ll be collaborating from who knows where in late April. Thanks, as always, for your support.
