Our Story

I'm a freelance photographer and writer, whose photographs and articles have been used by publications and businesses for over 35 years. I specialize in Fine Art and stock photography of Arizona, and my Fine Art photographs can be found on permanent display in the New State Motor Building Gallery in Jerome, Arizona and on rotating displays in various businesses in Arizona. To learn more about me, visit my blog http://www.TheCreativesCorner.com, a site for those who create, and use, photographs.

In this campaign I'm raising money to create a photography ebook of the Old West that will be sold as an online download, and on an imprinted disk with a custom insert in a jewel case. This first book in the series will focus on Jerome, Arizona. This former mining town, and ghost town, is now an artists community. But look a little deeper and you'll see the amazing history of this town.

Look closely at the photographs in this book, and you will be taken back in time. You will see houses, cars and machinery that are vanishing, or already gone. Gone forever from our world, and never to return. They are victims of time, neglect and Nature's eternal and Herculean efforts to turn everything to dust.

These are photographs of houses that have since fallen down, been renovated to look brand new, or burned to the ground. In one case a demolition crew arrived just minutes after I started photographing an old house. That wonderful old structure was torn down and unceremoniously carted off by the end of the day. Today, a brand new home stands on this old lot. While it's a lovely home, it’s also another nail in the coffin of the Old West.

The West moves slowly, but it does move. It can turn buildings, monuments, machinery and homes to nothing more than memories in an instant. Not long ago there was a barn that was a glorious old codger. A structure made of 120-year-old wood, built with sweat and blood to help a homesteader survive, and thrive. Time finally caught up with him, and he succumbed to time, gravity and the cycle of life. Overnight, this grand old structure became nothing more than a pile of wood.

Look at this book as a window into the past. See how people lived very nicely in small homes; used machinery, cars and trucks that had an artistic flair; and were more a part of the fabric of life and Nature than most of us are today. Days were simpler, things moved at a more leisurely pace and every aspect of a person's life was more visceral and alive.

The book will cover much of the history of Jerome. Here's the outline.

• The History of Jerome
  
• The Big Mines
• Smaller Mines
• The Town 
• Signs of the Times - Signs painted on walls
• On the Fringe - Things around Jerome
• Old Homes and Buildings - A shadow of their former selves
• The Gold King Mine and Ghost Town
• Plants
• Water
•  Intimate Details
• Cemeteries

Sit back and enjoy this trip through America's rich past, and realize that everything you see here will some day be gone, forever.

Have Fun,

The Impact

My book will show people that parts of the Old West still exist. You can see and touch it. Get a feel of what it was like to raise a large family, or run a business, in a building that's smaller than most modern people's living rooms. I want people to know that history is still alive, still around them. Making them aware of this can lead to a better understanding of our past, and preservation of those amazing pieces of history that still exist.

I also want to preserve this history before it's gone forever. In my book I have photographs of several homes that are now gone forever. Some were renovated, torn down to their foundations and rebuilt into brand new homes. Others have been demolished or were destroyed by fire or nature. Even though they no longer exist, my photographs will preserve them for future generations to learn from and enjoy.

The timing of my book coincides with the Arizona Centennial. It will help celebrate the rich history of Arizona with the rest of the United States and the world.

Without this book raising the awareness of this wonderful history, people will be distanced from their past and their history. They won't know what wonderful Old West buildings, machinery and cars are still out there for them to see and experience. They won't realize they can stand in a house that's over 100 years old, or touch mining vehicles and equipment that were responsible for producing 3,000,000 pounds of copper a month. These are amazing parts of the past that can and should be experienced. 

What We Need & What You Get

The funds I'm raising will be used to purchase ISBN numbers and bar codes so the book can be sold in stores and businesses. It will also pay to have the book put onto custom imprinted DVDs with printed inserts, and put into a jewel case and shrink wrapped. Combined, this will cost almost $700.

The funds will also pay for a mailing that will go to over 200 Arizona businesses and organizations letting them know about The Vanishing Old West - Jerome book, how they can carry it in their stores and even how they can advertise in the book. The direct mailing will cost about $200.

The rest of the money will cover the shipping of "Perks" to people who donate funds, and to cover the fees charged by IndieGoGo, PayPal and credit card companies.

The Perks I'm offering vary based on the amount of the donation. A donor will receive:

• A download of the book for a $10 donation
• The book on DVD for a $25 donation
• A download of the book and an 8.5"x11" Fine Art print from JeffColburn.com for a $50 donation 
• A download of the book and a 13"x19" Fine Art print from JeffColburn.com for a $100 donation
  

If I don't reach my goal of full funding, then the money I do raise will be used in promoting my book to potential advertisers in an effort to reach my funding goal.

Other Ways You Can Help

Even if you don't want to donate to my book, you can still help. Tell your friends and coworkers about my campaign. Tell the on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, e-mail them and tell them at the water cooler. Spreading the word about my campaign will be a great help to me, and the history of the Old West.