Pentaxians Yearbook 2018
Bela Nagy & Stephen Obermeier, 2019, 249 pages
Each year the Pentaxians Group on Facebook (a group for photographers who use Pentax photographic equipment) produces a book showcasing the best photos that the group members have taken in that year. This results in a diverse collection of photos containing many high quality images, as you night expect with every contributor submitting their best photo of the year. (Disclaimer: I was one of the photographers who contributed to the 2018 Yearbook.)
Although intended as a showcase for Pentax photography, the Yearbook can be enjoyed by anyone who appreciates photography: there is no advertising or overt promotion of the Pentax brand.
The Yearbook uses a square format with one photo per page, so horizontal and vertical photos are given equal prominence. Other than a brief Foreword, there is no text. Photo captions are limited to the photographer's name, country, and camera & lens used. The lack of any explanatory captions was a bit of a disappointment.
There are no chapters or other specific organization, but the photos are loosely grouped by genre: people (including portraits, street photography, nudes, etc.), sports, architecture, landscapes, close focus & macros, and wildlife. Most of the photos are in color.
There was no jury selection or competition involved in the photo submissions. Each submitted photo was published, but each group member could only submit one photo, and it had to have been taken in 2018 with a Pentax camera (film or digital).
The Yearbook is published as a free PDF file (over 16,000 downloads as of this writing). A printed version was also produced and sold at-cost; over 400 printed copies were sold.
The free PDF version of the Pentaxian Yearbook 2018 can be downloaded at the link below. This file is available to everyone; you do NOT have to be a member of the Pentaxians Facebook group to download: