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FrankB · 09-19-2007, 04:49 PM

Thank you, David.

I appreciate it was a really difficult (aka lousy) question and I really am grateful that you stepped up and gave me a damn good straight answer.

I appreciate that you can't ignore digital. (I'm fortunate in that I can!) As you say, you will have to find that balance that is right for the magazine. Whether that balance will also be right for me remains to be seen, but for now I'll wait and see. And help in any way I can.

Okay so, what would I like to see more of?

The printer's art (always my first stop! Especially if Leon's printing!)
Monochrome workshop (with some traditional content)
Portfolio and Reader Gallery

Edit - Darkroom Workshop ought to be in there too but Mike Crawford really doesn't do it for me. He's dropped some real clangers in the past which makes it hard for me to trust his guidance. Now if you had Les McLean, John Blakemore, Tim Rudman...

The features tend to be variable. If they're on a subject that flicks my switch then they're very good. If not then... well, I'm sure they're still very good but my switch remains unflicked!

It's be nice to see a series where monochrome photographers took us around their local area, showing us their favourite locations. Just within APUG UK you've got Leon in the South East, Les in Northumberland, Richard (RH Designs) in the Dales, etc., etc, ad (near enough) infinitum. If you get desperate I'll chuck something in from the North West (although you'd have to be pretty desperate!

). Look into Europe and across the pond and it'd keep you going for ages! - End Edit

What would I like to see less of?

Equipment reviews - Be different. Be the only photo mag on the stand without them! State it up front, make it a selling point! Be about the human aspects of the image - the vision and the technique, not the hardware. If you absolutely have to have them then make them of things that other magazines never review. For example - Enlarger lenses, slide projectors, matte cutters, hand-colouring dyes, toners, darkroom easels, etc. Reviewing things that are already reviewed by all the other photo mags and all the computer mags isn't really setting the magazine apart...!
DSLR listings - B&WP UK isn't "What DSLR" and (IMO) shouldn't be. Comparative listings are read in WH Smiths by people who then put the magazine back on the shelf and leave without buying it!
"Why I went digital" articles explaining how it solved all their problems (conveniently ignoring all the new ones it created)
Digital in general - I know you can't ignore it but the news stand is already super-saturated with it. CD-ROMs are crystallising out of digimags and appearing on the front cover! Be different. Instead of, "Oh, and we also do the token film-based couple of pages in each issue", CELEBRATE TRADITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY!

And the killer regular feature... -

Regular prominent coverage and support of Ilford's "Defend the Darkroom" initiative with what readers can do to assist!

My 2p.

Thanks again,

Frank

09-19-2007, 04:49 PM	#120 (permalink)
FrankB Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Northwest UK Posts: 2,147	Thank you, David. I appreciate it was a really difficult (aka lousy) question and I really am grateful that you stepped up and gave me a damn good straight answer. I appreciate that you can't ignore digital. (I'm fortunate in that I can!) As you say, you will have to find that balance that is right for the magazine. Whether that balance will also be right for me remains to be seen, but for now I'll wait and see. And help in any way I can. Okay so, what would I like to see more of? The printer's art (always my first stop! Especially if Leon's printing!) Monochrome workshop (with some traditional content) Portfolio and Reader Gallery Edit - Darkroom Workshop ought to be in there too but Mike Crawford really doesn't do it for me. He's dropped some real clangers in the past which makes it hard for me to trust his guidance. Now if you had Les McLean, John Blakemore, Tim Rudman... The features tend to be variable. If they're on a subject that flicks my switch then they're very good. If not then... well, I'm sure they're still very good but my switch remains unflicked! It's be nice to see a series where monochrome photographers took us around their local area, showing us their favourite locations. Just within APUG UK you've got Leon in the South East, Les in Northumberland, Richard (RH Designs) in the Dales, etc., etc, ad (near enough) infinitum. If you get desperate I'll chuck something in from the North West (although you'd have to be pretty desperate! ). Look into Europe and across the pond and it'd keep you going for ages! - End Edit What would I like to see less of? Equipment reviews - Be different. Be the only photo mag on the stand without them! State it up front, make it a selling point! Be about the human aspects of the image - the vision and the technique, not the hardware. If you absolutely have to have them then make them of things that other magazines never review. For example - Enlarger lenses, slide projectors, matte cutters, hand-colouring dyes, toners, darkroom easels, etc. Reviewing things that are already reviewed by all the other photo mags and all the computer mags isn't really setting the magazine apart...! DSLR listings - B&WP UK isn't "What DSLR" and (IMO) shouldn't be. Comparative listings are read in WH Smiths by people who then put the magazine back on the shelf and leave without buying it! "Why I went digital" articles explaining how it solved all their problems (conveniently ignoring all the new ones it created) Digital in general - I know you can't ignore it but the news stand is already super-saturated with it. CD-ROMs are crystallising out of digimags and appearing on the front cover! Be different. Instead of, "Oh, and we also do the token film-based couple of pages in each issue", CELEBRATE TRADITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY! And the killer regular feature... - Regular prominent coverage and support of Ilford's "Defend the Darkroom" initiative with what readers can do to assist! My 2p. Thanks again, Frank __________________ The destination is important, but so is the journey Last edited by FrankB; 09-19-2007 at 05:23 PM.