This series features interviews with independent photobook publishers. This month’s interview is with Calin Kruse of dienacht.

Don’t Take Pictures: How would you describe dienacht to someone who has never seen your books?

Calin Kruse: Die Nacht means “the night” in German, I just write it in one word. And I call it “the night” because the night is a kind of parallel universe to me, it’s a source of inspiration. By night, you see and perceive things differently. In a city, you would see wild animals on the streets—foxes, raccoons, boars. So, I’m interested in hidden things. Things that are there, but you usually don’t see them. That’s also what dienacht Publishing is—I want to show hidden topics, and also personal stories. And we try to find a language for every single book, in terms of design, paper, materials. So that every book is unique in its own way.

DTP: What series of events led you to start your own publishing house?

CK: I started with the photo magazine dienacht Magazine in 2007, while I was still studying Graphic Design, and from here things developed. I didn’t really plan anything that happen, but because I was doing the magazine, I was invited to hold talks and lectures about the work in the magazine; then I wanted to leave the format of the magazine, so I organized and curated exhibitions with artists from the magazine.

I (self)published small and handmade zines for a while, but publishing other people’s books happened because (in a nutshell) I had one submission for the magazine that was so extensive and so many photos were high quality, that would be impossible to cut it down to a magazine feature. So I decided to make a book out of it, it was Dead Traffic by Kim Thue, which was published in 2012.

DTP: How do you find photographers that you want to work with and how do you determine what might make a good photo book?

CK: There is not “one way.” Sometimes I find a project and ask the photographers if they would like to make a book together. Or the photographers send me a project. Sometimes someone would send me a project for the magazine and I think it’s so great and also so complete, that a book would be the better format.

I think there is not one factor that makes a photo book good. I like personal stories and when I can connect to them, even though they are not MY personal stories. So in this respect, a good project would be when a project is personal, but so open for interpretation that many other can subconsciously relate to it, they can still “read” it. I also like projects that show me something new, a new story, a new perspective or view on a certain topic. And of course, as mentioned at the beginning, hidden stories.

DTP: Have there been any books that have been particularly rewarding to produce or that you felt a special kinship with?

CK: Of course, having a book nominated or winning a prize is always rewarding, but since we don’t publish many books, I feel connected to all of them. We spend a lot of time and energy (and money) on every single book. We are two of us for two years now, before it was just me doing everything from communication to design to distribution to admin work. So you really spend a lot of time with the projects. Also, the print run can be very variable. The highest print run was 1500 copies, the lowest was 10 handmade copies. And everything in between. So especially with the handmade books, spending 3-4 hours with every single copy: you can’t do it without connection.

DTP: What are some forthcoming titles are you particularly excited about?

CK: I’m waiting right now for Invisible Waves to come from the printer, the third book we publish with Belgian photographer Christopher de Béthune. It’s a personal story and it took a long while until we finished it, but I think it will be a very nice book with silkscreened silver cover, some pages printed on silver paper and a print inside. 

DTP: What was one of the most challenging books that you have published and why?

CK: It was the second book I published, Nocturnes by AM Projects. On the one side it was because there were six books in a box, with a design, paper and own binding for each book. The covers were silkscreened and the box had also a kind of booklet wrapped around, that was closed with a velcro. And the box was also silkscreened, with phosphorescent color. 

On the other side, it was financially challenging. I was still a student when I published the book, and didn’t have the money to publish it. But in the end, it turned out well. 

DTP: It seems that an increasing number of photographers, at all stages of their careers, are looking to publish a book. What should photographers think about before they embark on the book process?  

CK: To be realistic. Is it a project that might be interesting to a broader audience, or just to her/his circle of friends (which are not your public). Is it more than just a book with pictures, is it a book object? Does the form of the book transport, translate and enhance the work? Has the work or the dummy more than one layers? I guess the most important question is: Is it a book project? Different projects work in different mediums, and yours might look great as an exhibition, but it doesn’t mean it should become a book. 

Visit the dienacht website to learn more about their books.