In commercial and editorial photography, personal projects allow for vital creative exploration. For photographer Luke Copping, a small Halloween-themed promotion became a profound, month-long endeavor called "Shrouds." This non-commercial series merged atmospheric imagery with an unfolding digital mythology, transforming everyday Western New York landscapes into stages for mysterious, sheet-draped figures and challenging viewers to confront the unseen in familiar places. "Many photographers picture the image first, but I tend to create a story in words and then work toward an image that expresses it," says Copping.

  Anyone who follows this page knows that I love books. All kinds of books. Home-made flip books. Scrappy zines done on copiers running out of toner. Art books. Design books. Photo books. One-off artists books. Stands to reason, being that DART exists solely because of two very special books, American Illustratio and American Photography, which have been celebrating the best in design arts for publication for going on half a century. This new DART Book Prize contest is my way ...