This series features interviews with independent photobook publishers. This month’s interview is with Ice Fog Press founder, Ben Huff.

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

Ben Huff: We do small run books of photography. Our books are made in-house in Juneau, Alaska. They’re laborious and lovely, and focus on the nexus of landscape and the human influence.

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

BH: I’d been kicking around the idea of a small imprint shortly after my wife and I moved to Fairbanks from Colorado. Making books has always been a part of my process, and I dreamt of expanding that into working with other artists. Each of my own projects go through iterations of small books that help me get a feel for the shape of the work. Most of those personal books aren’t meant to be seen, or have the intent of a finished object, but I try to bring that level of experimentation to Ice Fog Press.  

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

BH: I’m not sure that I really have a solid answer here. I’ve only made a few titles, but everything I’ve done so far have really just been excuses to work with other artists that I respect. With Eirik Johnson’s recent book, Barrow Cabins, I just wanted to make a book that I’d like to own. I always loved that set of pictures, and I wanted to find a way to realize them as a bound experience.

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

BH: Eirik’s book was a bit a breakthrough for me artistically. The process of working with him to make the book, brought me back full-circle to my vision of Ice Fog Press in the first place. Making books by hand is a laborious endeavor. Many days I ask myself why I’m taking on so many extra steps, but I believe in the process and the resulting object. To Eirik’s credit he was enthusiastic about the prospect of a small run, handmade object. And, I think we made a beautiful book.  

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

BH: I just released a book of my own work called The Light That Got Lost. So, I’m currently in full on production and shipping mode. Honestly, I’m drowning a bit in half-made books, but the support has been really wonderful. But, I can’t get my mind of a book I hope to be making later this summer with a well-known photographer who I feel really humbled by the possibility of working with. We are in really early stages, but the pictures were all made in Montana, Canada and Alaska in the 90s.  

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

BH: Our first book, Fairbanks in Winter, with Dennis Witmer is a book I’d like another crack at with the model that we’re working with now. For the first two books we made, we did traditional offset printing and had them bound locally. I’m happy with the book, but I’d love recreate it as a handmade object in line with the books we’re making now. I don’t intend to backtrack, but maybe one day soon I’ll revisit our first two titles as special edition handmade objects.  

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?  

BH: The thing that excites me about self-publishing, or the indie publishing movement, is that there are no rules. I love conventional publishers as well, and high production hardcover books, but I’m equally drawn to smaller books where you can feel the warmth of the hands that touched them. With Ice Fog Press I want to make books that may not fit another model, to take risks, and enjoy the process with other artists. I want to make the books that I want to see on my own bookshelf.  

View the Ice Fog Press website to learn more about their books.