A Tale of Two Pubs — Birds Bugs Buds

Nope, not talking about those pubs.

When I was in high school, my greatest joy in those angst-filled years were my Journalism and Photojournalism classes. I had a special teacher who was really what every teenage kid should have – a mentor who was knowledgeable, fun and firm in equal doses.

I was on the yearbook staff which shared a cavernous classroom with the newspaper. This space, formally called the “Publications” room, sported a nickname: “The Pub.” Here we typed up our stories, readied layouts for print on large layout paper, and developed our film in The Pub’s darkroom. It was bliss.

Me, with appropriately teased hair for 1984.

The lessons taught in that room by my wonderful teacher are consistently in the forefront of my mind. Any time I sit down to write, pick up a camera, or create a layout with words and pictures, I feel like she’s by my side.

Such was the case as I worked on a different “Pub” – not a place but an object: my new photography book, Urban Birds.

Sifting through thousands of photos was a bit daunting, but I heard my teacher reminding me of composition, theme, color and contrast. As I wrote my introduction, I recalled Journalism class lectures on succinct word choices while developing one’s own style. When designing the book, I felt like I was back in The Pub, cutting and pasting stories and photos on layout paper with rubber cement.

I’m not big on tooting my own horn (though I did play trumpet in high school!), but I must say that I’m rather thrilled with how the book turned out. I learned from a great teacher.

The Pub may be in my past, but this Pub – Urban Birds – is now available! I’m offering each book at $45 and 50% of the profits go to the Wild Bird Fund, a wildlife rehabilitation facility in New York. (Please add $3 for shipping and handling.) To order, email me at sharieromar@gmail.com and we’ll arrange payment and where to ship.

Thank you!