This week's Amateur Photography Magazine (UK) is titled "The Great Film Revival"

[klownshed]

11th March 2017 issue.

The cover photo is by Tim Rudman and it has articles from 35mm, 120 and LF photographers. It's nice to see film not just mentioned but on the front cover of a major photography publication.

I'm not judging the content, I'll leave that for others

 

[tezzasmall]

I haven't bought AP, or many other photo mags, for quite some time now, previously having some on subscription. I do browse the racks though when in town in W H Smiths, occasionally picking up and buying one if there's enough content of interest, which is rare. I will definitely take a long look at this issue though. A trip into town is a calling...

 

[pentaxpete]

Thanks for the tip - we have a WH Smiths here in Brentwood so may pay a visit and shell out a Shilling -- or has it gone UP in price --------- ?

 

[pentaxuser]

Thanks for the tip - we have a WH Smiths here in Brentwood so may pay a visit and shell out a Shilling -- or has it gone UP in price --------- ?

Yes I have a few mid 1950s copies of said magazine at one shilling. This is an interesting one. Most of the advertisements for cameras and other equipment were a lot bigger a percentage of the then average wage than is the case now so we have real drop in prices since the mid 50s. At one shilling when average wages were, say £10, represents 1/200th of the average wage. Is the current price of AP less or more than 1/200th of the current average. Current price is £2.75. At the same 200th of the average wage then average wage is now £28,700.

I think this indicates that whereas camera equipment may have gone down in price compared to the mid 50s the price of AP may have gone up

pentaxuser

 

[pentaxpete]

I have never seen £28,000 !!! When i was working the MOST I ever 'grossed' one year was £ 16,000 and that was being available 7 days a week, no holidays, for Freelance Photography. Now all work has GONE -- all Freelancers out of work and I rely on my Retirement Pension and small 'Personal Pension' of about £438 a YEAR which is Taxed at 50% as HMRC use that to get back Tax as Retirement Pension is over the Personal Allowance !!

 

[Willyekerslike]

This is very interesting, I cancelled my subscription a few years ago when they changed editors. The new one was less than complimentary about film users if I recall correctly.

I will look for this copy in the supermarket but the last one I bought had but a column on old film cameras and was also covering “Classic Digital Cameras” in the same column at times. Seems you only have to be knee high to a grasshopper to be considered a classic by AP. Plus there was no real useful information on the cameras that you could not pick up on a quick search on the internet.

Bring back Ivor Mantele and give him at least two whole pages then I may start buying it again on a regular basis. IM was very good I have many many of his AP articles filed away in binders that I use for reference.

 

[klownshed]

Considering its target market, I think they've done a reasonable job. It's obviously not aimed at the film-only, digital-is-the-devil type of photographer but they go through the reasons why people still shoot film and give advice to those wanting to try.

Amateur photographer is a weekly and never gets particularly in depth, but it's nice seeing film being talked of sympathetically and they've mainly avoided the tedious comparisons to digital that can drag these kinds of features down. The articles about photographers such as Tim Rudman help add a little more weight.

Prints magazines are in a similar situation to film, with digital means of consumption eating into their market share. Funnily enough, they don't meantion that parallel...

Anyway, I've done my bit. It was worth £3 but I don't think I'll become a subscriber.

I still have a print subscription to one magazine, Black and White Photography which is more about photos than gear, which suits me better.

 

[Willyekerslike]

With you on Black & White Photography that is the only print mag I now subscribe to, pretty much for the same reasons.

 

[tezzasmall]

Well, just back from the shops. Where I went had three copies left, from which I bought one. So, now I will sit down for lunch and have a read. Will do my best to comment later on...

 

[klownshed]

They are on a bit of a film kick at the moment, the latest issue's cover issue is an article about "The art of B&W filM" and another article about Ilford.

It's nice to see film getting a mention in the magazines, as most camera magazines these days have the word "Digital" in the title and are aimed at people that like psychedelic colours with the saturation turned up to eleventy.

 

[Kevin Caulfield]

Nice to hear. I stopped subscribing to a UK film magazine when they basically became digitally obsessed.