06880 Authors Sign Their First Book - 06880: Pick Of The Pics
First Selectwoman Jen Tooker and Ted Horowitz, one of the contributing photographers presented their copies of the book to Lyah Muktavaram and 06880 editor Dan Woog to be signed on Sunday at Savvy + Grace, Main Street, Westport.
Photos and Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
Virtually everyone who has lived in Westport for more than a minute is familiar with 06880, Where Westport Meets The World, the very popular blog founded and lovingly run by Dan Woog, one of Westport's most well know local celebrities. Most of it's regular viewers see his "Pic Of The Day" feature which he began running on April 17, 2017 with a photo by local photographer Lynn Untermeyer Miller of a scene behind Westport's famous watering hole, the Black Duck in Saugatuck.
With such a collection of wonderful photographs, Woog decided to take the advise of his readers to create phonebook. He reached out to Staples’ superb Senior Internship program and enlisted the help of senior Lyah Muktavaram an Inklings (Staples school paper) editor with a passion for journalism who graduated in 2022 and now attends Wesleyan University.
On Sunday, Woog held a Launch Party at Savvy + Grace on Main Street and alongside Lyah signed copies for a long line of 06880 fans
Woog commented on his pet project, saying, "every night since, at 9 p.m., I’ve posted an image of Westport. Some are recognizable and relatable; others are artistic, whimsical or surprising. All are new, and fresh. Every day since — over 2,100 times — I’ve posted a Pic of the Day. Prominent photographers have sent in shots; so have people who never published a photo. Some are in their 90s, like Lynn’s father Larry Untermeyer; others are teenagers."
Many local photographers of note have contributed their work to this collection including John Videler, Ted Horowitz and even WestportLocalPress editor and photographer Jamie Bairaktaris and WestportLocal lead photographer J.C. Martin.
With such a collection of wonderful photographs, Woog decided to take the advise of his readers to create phonebook. He reached out to Staples’ superb Senior Internship program and enlisted the help of senior Lyah Muktavaram an Inklings (Staples school paper) editor with a passion for journalism who graduated in 2022 and now attends Wesleyan University.
Lyah took to the daunting task of reviewing thousands of images and creating the concept and layout for the 132 page phonebook. Woog commented, "She quickly showed she had an eye for picking the best ones — the prettiest, the most compelling or colorful or whatever — and laying them out in a clever, striking and thematic way." He continued, "Lyah taught herself production. She emailed each photographer for permission. She handled all the back-end publishing stuff with professionalism, promptness, and an intuitive understanding of what “06880’s Pics of the Day” are all about. Lyah’s work coincided with “06880”‘s move to non-profit status. Our mission is to “create a community for Westporters old and new, near and far, through sharing stories, news, events, history and perspectives, uniting all who love our hometown.”
06880: Pick Of The Picks can be purchased through Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/06880-Pick-Pics-Dan-Woog/dp/B0BCZSQRWX
Photos and Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.