The Black and White Enthusiast magazine
-
A
- Thread starter Dave Miller
- Start date
Recent Classifieds
-
Sold SOLD!
- Started by B.S.Kumar
-
For Sale Very nice 300mm f/6.3 Komura Commercial in Copal 3S
- Started by Steve Goldstein
-
For Sale Very clean 90mm f/5.6 Super-Angulon in Copal 0
- Started by Steve Goldstein
-
Want to Buy Folding Pocket Kodak Plate Holders, Cut Film Sheaths, and Ground Glass
- Started by trichrome
Forum statistics
Forty Pages?!
As I remember, if you stripped the advertising out of Popular Photography, you were left with about two and a half pages of actual content
.
As I remember, if you stripped the advertising out of Popular Photography, you were left with about two and a half pages of actual content
.
Not only does it become cheaper, it actually becomes easier to find.
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2002
- Messages
- 367
but the U.S. can't produce anything for the B&W (mostly) analog enthusiast.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
How any of you supported Photo Vision?????
no it was not my magazine but they tried a black and white traditional magazine an got very little support
steve simmons
How any of you supported Photo Vision?????
no it was not my magazine but they tried a black and white traditional magazine an got very little support
steve simmons
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2003
- Messages
- 5,698
I can't find the UK B&W mag. Kind of annoying. I would like to see one and decide If it would be worth pursuing.
I looked at Photo Vision a few times then it went away.
The American B&W is alright but too many adds. I like the interviews with the artists. Since I am no where near a place to buy these things I read them very seldom.
Hell I only see steves mag a couple of times a year. So far it has been sold out every time I get near a book store that would have it.
I looked at Photo Vision a few times then it went away.
The American B&W is alright but too many adds. I like the interviews with the artists. Since I am no where near a place to buy these things I read them very seldom.
Hell I only see steves mag a couple of times a year. So far it has been sold out every time I get near a book store that would have it.
jovo
Membership Council
steve simmons said:
I subscribed at the time...Steve Anchell took my order as a matter of fact and we had a pleasant conversation about 'Voss' (no relation that I know of) photographic products. I was sorry to see it evaporate. I admired his courage in bucking the digital tide...
I subscribed too, Steve took my order as well. Seems the mag folded a bit too soon for it to be a lack of interest, something else was giving it trouble, maybe shakey backer finances. We may not know anytime soon.
steve simmons said:
I never saw it on the newsstand but subscribed practically the minute I became aware of it from a post on a message board. I got exactly one issue, then it went belly up. My remaining subscription seems to have been transferred to Outdoor (Digital) Photographer. Maybe if they hadn't pulled the plug when they did a ninth-inning rally could have been staged. Promotion seems to have been a problem too, as I never knew it existed until the last gasp, but I have no idea what they could have done differently. Maybe it was too little too late, but I tried to throw my support behind them, and that despite the fact that the magazine didn't exactly fill my needs (I would have liked more instructional articles and less portfolios, which is more or less what the British and Aussie magazines provide. I'll take my own photos - help me take them better!)
I realize magazine publishing is a risky, expensive venture, and that the relatively small base that would support such a periodical wouldn't provide much of a return on the investment that those involved would require to make it worthwhile, especially to a small publisher. But I do wish that one of the major publishers would devote the ink (and operating funds) to a small, almost vanity press loss-leader small run quarterly devoted to traditional photography(color as well as B&W). If it just broke even the big-boy publishers could probably write it off in some way, and use the goodwill to promote their money making magazines. Wishful thinking, I know...
Steve Simmons said,"How any of you supported Photo Vision?????"
Well, I for one did send them money. After they folded I finally got the rest of my money back without resorting to using lawyers. It took about 3 months but I got a check.
lee\c
Well, I for one did send them money. After they folded I finally got the rest of my money back without resorting to using lawyers. It took about 3 months but I got a check.
lee\c
OP
OP
Is there no onelocal to him that can through Mark a back issue, or two? Where do you live Mark?mark said:
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2002
- Messages
- 367
I do not have inside info but it is my impression that PV died because it was not financally viable. There were very few ads and many that were there were given way free so they did not generate any revenue. Anchell made several appeals on this forum to giveaway free samples to try and intice people and I do not remember him getting much response. Kodak, Ilford, etc. are no spending money to advertise their black and white products because they see the market as shrinking anyway so why spend money (I do not agree with this attitude but ??). PV also had an extremely small subsriber base that appeared to be shrinking
I actually contacted the publisher of PV and offered to have either CameraArts or View Camera finish his subscription obligations but he wanted me to pay for that opportunity and I declined.
Any thoughts of a company doing a traditional magazine only as a loss leader are completly unrealistic.
Both VC and CA do as much if not more traditional black and whitework as any US magazine. I this issue of CA we did an article on print masking. In a previous issue we compared PMK and HDwith FP4+ and we did a similar comparison with Tri-X and FP4+ in the July issue of VC. We also regularly show black and white portfolios with how-to info on both magazines and have supplemental articles on our web sites. VC has never missed an issue in 16 years and CA has not missed an issue in 6 1/2 so I think either isa safe bet. Ifwe had a stronger group of traditional black and white photographers we would do more but this is not what people have been requesting.We have forums asking what people would like to see and traditional black and white is not what our readers are asking us to do.
If you want a US magazine to take on this task you need to support those that do or make your wishes known by telling a publisher and then supporting his/her publication.
steve simmons
I actually contacted the publisher of PV and offered to have either CameraArts or View Camera finish his subscription obligations but he wanted me to pay for that opportunity and I declined.
Any thoughts of a company doing a traditional magazine only as a loss leader are completly unrealistic.
Both VC and CA do as much if not more traditional black and whitework as any US magazine. I this issue of CA we did an article on print masking. In a previous issue we compared PMK and HDwith FP4+ and we did a similar comparison with Tri-X and FP4+ in the July issue of VC. We also regularly show black and white portfolios with how-to info on both magazines and have supplemental articles on our web sites. VC has never missed an issue in 16 years and CA has not missed an issue in 6 1/2 so I think either isa safe bet. Ifwe had a stronger group of traditional black and white photographers we would do more but this is not what people have been requesting.We have forums asking what people would like to see and traditional black and white is not what our readers are asking us to do.
If you want a US magazine to take on this task you need to support those that do or make your wishes known by telling a publisher and then supporting his/her publication.
steve simmons
OP
OP
Strange that we have never met, I live just east of there.mark said:
Aggie said:
Aggie, I'm not sure where you're at in the Bay Area, but I get my copy of B&W Enthusiast at North Bay Photo Supply in Santa Rosa. Barnes and Noble also used to carry it, but I haven't seen it there for some time. Finding a good selection of photo magazines in stores seems to be getting tougher and tougher.
Cheers,
James
David A. Goldfarb
Moderator
I bought a two-year subscription to _PV_ (got my check eventually after it folded, too), and have two-year subs to _View Camera_ and _LensWork_ as well. Others I pick up occasionally at the newstand.
In some ways, I suppose interactive forums like this one have taken the place of magazines that focus on technical information. At a place like APUG or the LF forum, you can exchange information directly with a lot of knowledgable people, and if someone says something that is in error, you don't have to wait two months for the correction, because someone else will usually point out the mistake, and maybe a few more people will add more interesting information than one author might be able to provide in a single article.
On the other hand, look at Ed Buffaloe's unblinkingeye.com. Ed's format is a lot like a magazine, with articles rather than forums, though the articles can be updated easily, unlike a print magazine. I think it succeeds because it's well edited and he's invited good people to write for the site, but at the same time, I don't think authors are being paid, so it's not exactly a commercial venture in the way that a magazine is, but is a bit more like an academic journal in that particular regard.
Magazines like _LensWork_, _Aperture_, and _Contact Sheet_ offer reproduction quality that gives some value that can't be found on the web. Publications like _Afterimage_ are aimed at a more academic crowd--I like it, but it's not what a broad audience is looking for.
In some ways, I suppose interactive forums like this one have taken the place of magazines that focus on technical information. At a place like APUG or the LF forum, you can exchange information directly with a lot of knowledgable people, and if someone says something that is in error, you don't have to wait two months for the correction, because someone else will usually point out the mistake, and maybe a few more people will add more interesting information than one author might be able to provide in a single article.
On the other hand, look at Ed Buffaloe's unblinkingeye.com. Ed's format is a lot like a magazine, with articles rather than forums, though the articles can be updated easily, unlike a print magazine. I think it succeeds because it's well edited and he's invited good people to write for the site, but at the same time, I don't think authors are being paid, so it's not exactly a commercial venture in the way that a magazine is, but is a bit more like an academic journal in that particular regard.
Magazines like _LensWork_, _Aperture_, and _Contact Sheet_ offer reproduction quality that gives some value that can't be found on the web. Publications like _Afterimage_ are aimed at a more academic crowd--I like it, but it's not what a broad audience is looking for.
steve simmons said:
Well Steve, you've kind of hit the nail on the head of the problem - for me as a subscriber, anyway. One article that I might be interested in out of an entire magazine doesn't give me much bang for my subscription or newsstand buck. And you've also, through your mention of seeking requests for content from your forum, exposed what has always been the failing of majority rule. But again, I understand enough about the periodical publishing business that it is fed by advertising to a much greater extent than subscriptions or newsstand purchases, and that advertisers want to reach the greatest number of readers and that the greatest number of readers - as far as photography is concerned - don't want to read what I want to read. In a more perfect world it would be cost effective for a publisher to also cater to smaller niche markets, but that isn't the fact of experience we find ourselves in. But simply telling the other publishers that I want to see more articles on traditional B&W and Color isn't going to make it happen, no matter how many subscriptions I buy, because when Kodak or Ilford or the others prepare their ad copy it's going to be for inkjet paper and other products of the digital milieu because despite there being a dedicated market for the film-based items, it's not large enough to warrant the spending of precious advertising dollars.
As an aside, I have checked out Camera Arts Magazine a few times and it is a very fine publication, of which you have every justification for being proud. But it just doesn't speak to my needs and desires often enough to capture my rather limited magazine budget. Should you completely alter the editorial content just to make me happy? I'd be flattered, but of course the answer is no. There are no easy or definitive answers to this conundrum, but wishing out loud never hurt anyone.
Joe
Our dear (snail-) mailman just put in our mailbox the Vol.3 Ed.3 of the (ex-) Black and white enthusiast that has been renamed to "SilverSchotz". I have also recieved a set of 10 older issues, from Volume 2 and 3. I was very pleasantly surprised with the average quality of the content (the images) and the paper and printing. Although some of the old issues have some not-so-well-printed pages, the last one is great, from the cover to the end...
Digital talk is usually only a couple of pages long and easy to ignore...
No ads, means more context... as previously mentioned.
I will suggest to all of you that want to get a good mag about the photography we love, get subscribed. They need the subscriptions to keep going and we need this kind of input to keep motivated...
Digital talk is usually only a couple of pages long and easy to ignore...
No ads, means more context... as previously mentioned.
I will suggest to all of you that want to get a good mag about the photography we love, get subscribed. They need the subscriptions to keep going and we need this kind of input to keep motivated...
steve simmons said:
Dead Link Removed
19 years of existence
Of course, it is not a traditional B&W kind of magaine
OP
OP
I've just received the latest copy of Black and White Enthusiast, except that it's now called Silvershotz. Never mind same high quality means it's still a good read.
Silvershotz
Silvershotz
Dead Link Removedsteve simmons said:
Shots seems to be nice. The fact that they print colour pictures in B&W doesn't really thrill me, but if they can't afford to print in quadrichrome, then I suppose I can't complain...
Us Greeks have a similar thing happening in our country, it's called Photo-book:
http://www.photo-book.gr/english/index.htm
It is published three times per year, in colour. The format is nice and the printing and paper quality are good. There are only a couple of pages of ads and they're found only in the beginning and the end of the magazine.
They accept work by any photographer that is willing to see his/her work published (inked) and recieve nothing else in return.
The problem (in my opinion) is that "photo-book" has no theme for each issue, so you can see quite different kinds of photographs published side by side, which is sometimes disturbing. The "theme" thing that "Shots" is promoting is much better for the general aesthetics of each issue.
The average quality of the pictures published in "Photo-book" is also not really high (IMHO), too...
Us Greeks have a similar thing happening in our country, it's called Photo-book:
http://www.photo-book.gr/english/index.htm
It is published three times per year, in colour. The format is nice and the printing and paper quality are good. There are only a couple of pages of ads and they're found only in the beginning and the end of the magazine.
They accept work by any photographer that is willing to see his/her work published (inked) and recieve nothing else in return.
The problem (in my opinion) is that "photo-book" has no theme for each issue, so you can see quite different kinds of photographs published side by side, which is sometimes disturbing. The "theme" thing that "Shots" is promoting is much better for the general aesthetics of each issue.
The average quality of the pictures published in "Photo-book" is also not really high (IMHO), too...
| Photrio.com contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. To read our full affiliate disclosure statement please click Here. |
PHOTRIO PARTNERS EQUALLY FUNDING OUR COMMUNITY:  |