What's Missing? Your dream photo mag ...

[Blix]

I read a lot of photo mags -- and I'm getting bored. Anyone else?

What would be in your dream photo mag?

My wish list:

New voices (Clean, clear, informative, provacative writing).
New angles on stories.

 

[Jeremy]

From what I have heard Emulsion (http://www.emulsionmagazine.org/) looks to be pretty close to the ticket.

Lenswork is also a great magazine, but it is more hit/miss as I don't particularly like some of the photographers showcased.

 

[roteague]

My favorite magazine, from the US is: Nature's Best Photography, published quarterly. http://www.naturesbestmagazine.com/ ; I find View Camera to be very useful.
I like a lot of the photo magazines from the UK: B&W, Outdoor Photography, Amateur Photographer, Photography Monthly.

Lenswork and B&W are fine, but I not really big on Black and White. I prefer nature and landscape work.; in color.

My only wish would be "no digital", but that isn't going to happen.

 

[Lee Shively]

If I were to design a dream photo magazine, it would be along the same lines as the old "photo yearbooks" the major photography magazines used to publish. There was little in the way of technical articles but a lot of photos and interviews and articles about the photographers. There was a nice balance between unknowns and celebrities.

Lenswork and B&W are close. I agree with Jeremy about Lenswork being "hit or miss". B&W is geared more toward collectors than photographers, with article emphasis on the most recent record amounts paid for photographs.

 

[jovo]

What's missing? About a hundred additional pages with just exactly the kind of photogaphs I like taken with exactly the equipment that I either have or want. And on the "Coming Next Month" page, a prominent picture of me announcing a 10 page feature on my stuff. Hey....I buy lottery tickets too!! Don't look at me that way....quit it!....c'mon now!

 

[Flotsam]

Dare I dream?
A few scant pages of articles shoehorned between lots of advertisements. Equipment revews that give little useful information to the reader but panders shamelessly to the advertisers. Monthly articles about the death of film written by twenty year old recently graduated journalism majors.

 

[Daniel Lawton]

Being new to B+W processing I find many of the articles in "Photo Techniques" interesting and informative. Unfortunately the editorial comments in the previous issue hint that they plan to focus more on digital photography as opposed to traditional methods. The increasing number of Photoshop "how-to" articles as well as articles singing the praises of switching to digital seems to back this up. Its unfortunate because every other photo mag out there has gone 90% digital with their content and for people like me trying to master film based techniques the choices are slim.

 

[BWGirl]

I'm with you, Daniel. I used to really like that magazine because it had 'how-tos' for B&W. How sad...

What I want is great articles that explain processes. I want to see photos that give more info on (for B&W) film development and printing techniques. For color, film & exposure info... maybe even printing techniques.

There are not many books out there that give this info, either.... Les McLean's does, and I really like it for that. But having that in a magazine would ensure my continued support of it!

 

[Joe Lipka]

Hey Flotsam - don't forget that all the advertisements sell their gear at "Call for Price." I've always thought that was a nice touch...

 

[steve simmons]

Now, what if, what if, and only maybe, maybe, maybe

View Camera went to quarterly schedule, added pages, added a reader's submission section, had more step by step how-to articles, and improved the reproductions.

The sub price would stay the same as the extra ages and repro quality would cost more each issue.

any comments?

steve simmons

 

[roteague]

Now, what if, what if, and only maybe, maybe, maybe

View Camera went to quarterly schedule, added pages, added a reader's submission section, had more step by step how-to articles, and improved the reproductions.

The sub price would stay the same as the extra ages and repro quality would cost more each issue.

any comments?

steve simmons

Everything except the quarterly schedule sounds great to me.

 

[roteague]

Dare I dream?

Since we are dreaming here, how about a publisher that sends magazines via Priority Mail? I'm still waiting to find March issues of B&W (US) and View Camera. Not to mention, I haven't seen B&W (UK) since December last year.

 

[blaze-on]

The one I most get excited about each year is Communication Arts Photography Annual. Some awesome work, albeit primarily commercial. But still inspiring.

Sixteen bucks for that one issue, or subscribe to the mag yearly for about $50...and get the Illustration, Design and Advertising annuals along with the monthly publications which are also worth an hour or two at your local coffee shop.

The best $50 or so bucks any creative individual can spend on a mag.

FWIW, if you had your "dream" mag...you'd eventually want something else.

 

[steve simmons]

Everything except the quarterly schedule sounds great to me.
__________________

Well somethings gotta give

any suggestions?

steve

 

[Charles Webb]

At the present time I am not subscribing to any photo magazines. I choose to go to the news stand and peruse through the individual magazines searching
for any tid bit of information that is interesting to me. I have found such trips to the news stand for me are generally a waste of time. I want to see
good camera work, preferably large format images that are well reproduced along with a few well written lines on "how, where when and why was the camera person presenting this particular image, rather than another. I realize
how old fashioned my likes and desires are, I am not a nut and bolt person,
I could care less how a particular lens fared on the bench when tested against some other over priced chunk of glass. I want to know how it tested in the field in bright sunlight. etc. So far I have not found anything I really
like in todays magazines, so I will continue to search. I am simply a Dinosaur that time has passed by.

 

[roteague]

Well somethings gotta give

I personally would be willing to pay more for the magazine.

 

[Monophoto]

The perfect magazine for me would combine the publication quality, intellectual content and portfolios of Lenswork, the technical scope of View Camera, the intensity of B&W (that book has to have more visual content per square inch of published page of any magazine going), and the down-to-earth practicality and hominess of the old British "Camera & Darkroom".

It would religiously avoid the crass commerciality of Pop Photo and Petersens, and also the geekiness of PhotoTechniques.

 

[Aggie]

Now, what if, what if, and only maybe, maybe, maybe

View Camera went to quarterly schedule, added pages, added a reader's submission section, had more step by step how-to articles, and improved the reproductions.

The sub price would stay the same as the extra ages and repro quality would cost more each issue.

any comments?

steve simmons

Trying to reinvent yourself into what we are doing?

 

[Digidurst]

Trying to reinvent yourself into what we are doing?

Ouch! By all means, don't hold back - tell us how you really feel ;-)

Oh yeah, we were talking about our magazine fantasies...
I like View Camera, LensWork, and Camera Arts (although they are mighty slow to mail).

I would like to see more details in the articles; Have ya'll ever read a 'how-to' and kinda felt like pieces of the puzzle were hidden [typically in a book mentioned in the article, ha ha]? Much less ads! More information about equipment that I might actually own as opposed to gear that costs so many thousands of dollars, I'd have to sell a kidney, a print of my kidney, and my kid's kidney to afford it. And as for digital, [gasp! she said the d word!!] I enjoy reading about the possibilities especially when they can be combined with my analog techniques/gear/goals/etc. Did I mention less ads?

I'm excited about Emulsion magazine but I never subscribe unless I can get a look at an issue first. Is that going to be a possibility?

 

[Thomassauerwein]

I quit buying magazine subscriptions a couple years ago with the exception Camera Arts. I do go to the stands every month and go thru whats there hoping for something new to see. Seems cheaper and more efficient to go thru all, find what is interesting for the moment and buy. Most mags are good for what I'm interested in, if I'm lucky a once a year. View camera, camera arts, b/w UK and lensworks are my favorites. Though they tend to rehash the same thing and people over and over again. It is tough I'm sure to be on the edge all the time but that is their job, I'd like to see less method and more energy put into original and modern content. Oh and get rid of those stupid things that fall out of the pages and onto the ground all the time!

Steve what about a "bookmark" with a new or original image and photographers statement/ quote that is a perforated tear out. I know I would use that in more than just the magazine but also in what ever book i'm involved with at the time.

 

[Chazzy]

I'm quite sure that my "dream photo magazine" would be a commercial disaster. There would be no pretty, oversaturated color landscapes that look (to my eyes) as if they belong on calendars. Lots of portraiture and fine art nudes. There would be some historical articles. Nothing digital. Reproductions would be top-notch, and the price of a subscription would have to reflect that. In short, I would probably be the only subscriber.

 

[arigram]

My dream mag unfortunately existed. It was a greek artistic BW magazine very heavy on the artistic side. Like Chazzy mentioned, it was a commercial distaster. If it was written in english it could have survived but it was way too high of a level for the greek photographic culture. It did not have any techniques or equipment, just portfolios, bios and interviews of great classic non-commercial photographers and new greek photographers and theory on art (articles like the essense of square composition, goverment support of arts, references to Bach, Giacometti and Van Gogh, up to how to make a great cup of coffee).
It wasn't just a magazine. It was an artistic movement on paper.

 

[NikoSperi]

I'm with you, Daniel. I used to really like that magazine because it had 'how-tos' for B&W. How sad...

What I want is great articles that explain processes. I want to see photos that give more info on (for B&W) film development and printing techniques. For color, film & exposure info... maybe even printing techniques.

There are not many books out there that give this info, either.... Les McLean's does, and I really like it for that. But having that in a magazine would ensure my continued support of it!

You need to somehow get your hands on the UK Black and White Photography (to which Les contributes regularly).

 

[Tom Duffy]

I think my ideal magazine already existed; it was "Camera and Darkroom" it was a rare, and probably never to be repeated, combination of some of the best writers and contributing photographers ever assembled in one place.

Honestly, its publication coincided with my renewed interest in photography and resetting up my darkroom after a 12 year hiatus. Something about newborn kids and renewed interest in photography, I guess.

If you go through the litany of contributors, Dave Howard, Steve Mulligan, Mike Johnson, Ctein, A.D. Coleman it was an amazing confluence of talent. It was a great combination of portfolios, practical how to, technique, critique, and essays about developing your vision. All that was missing was Bill Pierce. I don't think this will ever be duplicated.

Some people on this tread have mentioned that they are a bit bored and jaded by the current offerings. Is it us or is it the magazines? Looking at back issues of Camera and Darkroom, I think it still holds up, ten years after it ceased publication.
Take care,
Tom

 

[Jim Noel]

Check out the Australian magazine "The Black & White Enthusiast".
NO ADVERTISING!

Excellent, informative articles. Available in the U.S. only at Barnes and Noble as far as I know.
Information, and tables of contents, on their web site - www.blackandwhitemag.com