Your books & zines: ‘Seen.By.’ by Maria Maza

I’m always pleased to feature your great work in these newsletters and here’s a zine which really caught my eye. It’s from Maria Maza, who lives in Newcastle, and it inspired me to offer her an interview slot (see below).

What really intrigued (and impressed) me about this is that it’s a collaborative project involving a number of photographers and it really shows what can be achieved when we’re prepared to work together. Here’s what Maria says . . .

1. How did the idea for Seen.By. come about?

I am a street and documentary photographer and, like many, I feel compelled to go out and document what interests me. I have quite a large archive of images I have taken over the years, but I find it difficult to get my work seen in a meaningful way. I think there are so many of us on that same boat! I thought about printing zines of my own work, just to have, maybe sell a few, but I realised there was a way of both being seen and offering the same opportunity to others. All while establishing connections and opportunities for growth.

2. How did you find / select the photographers to become involved?

I knew I wanted to feature local-to-me photographers for the first issue of Seen.By., since I was looking to meet photographers in real life, so I posted in a few Facebook local groups, and I got a great response, either directly from photographers, or from people who knew them and tagged them for me. I also contacted directly a handful of photographers I knew of or had met before. Not every contact or lead panned out, but there were enough contributions to make the zine a hefty 80 pages in the end, featuring the work of 16 north east based photographers.

3. How long did the project take from concept to completion?

The idea came to me, almost fully formed, one night back in early summer. My brain must have been working away in the background figuring everything out! It all made sense to me, and I was determined to make it happen. I waited until mid-September to put the call out, as I would be busy with family in the summer, and I got the final printed copies from the printers at the end of November.

4. Who designed the zine? What difficulties did they encounter in putting it together?

I designed the zine myself, everything from the name, font, layouts, etc. I had done a previous project for a well-known photography organisation where I had to produce a booklet, so I had some experience with publishing software – but I have no training in graphic design or publishing, I went on instinct. The closest thing to this zine otherwise is a very DIY literal cut-and-paste music zine I did in the late 80s/early 90s. Very different things though! The hardest thing by far was liaising with so many photographers. Communications back and forth took longer than I had anticipated.

5. What advice would you give to others who are thinking of treading a similar path?

I would say, if it’s in your heart, definitely go for it! It’s unlikely you’ll lose money, you’ll at least break even. Give yourself as much time as possible, because things take much longer than you expect. Pace yourself and take care of yourself, especially if juggling zine making with family, jobs, etc. And learn everything you can about colour in printing, even if it’s black and white you’re dealing with. Learn about RGB vs CMYK!

6. What’s next for Seen.By.? What plans for the future?

If everything goes well, I would like to publish the zine quarterly. I would like to keep it flexible, sometimes featuring the work of many photographers, like this first issue, and sometimes concentrating on a single theme and/or photographer. Content will dictate. I have started receiving messages from other documentary photographers interested in submitting work for future issues, so I am very excited for the future.

7. What are your personal photographic goals / aspirations?

If you would have asked me that before I had the idea for the zine, I would have said ‘publish a book’ or ‘have one of my photos in a museum’. I still would like that, but I feel I am stronger as part of a community and would be happy to curate, facilitate and give exposure to others as well.

8. Where did you get the zine produced?

Like many in the Streetsnappers Collective, I have used Mixam. I priced the printing both locally and with other online digital printers, but Mixam came up top and was well recommended. I would definitely use them again. I had a problem with some of the copies I received, and they have reprinted them at no extra cost.

9. How and where can people buy a copy of the zine?

I have not placed many physical copies in shops, so the easiest way is to buy online on my ko-fi shop (here).

10. Is Seen.By. part of something larger?

I have mentioned that I wanted to meet other photographers in real life, and that I want to feel part of a community, but I haven’t elaborated. Plans are not fixed yet, and I am not necessarily going to rush into things, but I would like to be able to organise exhibitions, collaborative projects, etc., as well as to graduate to printing books.

11. Finally, do you have to be from the north east to be featured in the zine?

Absolutely not! I would love to see and publish great documentary work regardless of location. Please, get in touch if you are interested in working with me.

Email: seen.by.zine@gmail.com | Facebook and Instagram: @seen.by.zine