as i'm getting back into photography in a big way :) and have been scouring the internet for inspiration, i'm keen to start looking at some photographic magazines. the subjects i'm particularly interested in are portraiture and urban (street) photography. can anyone recommend a good magazine that might cover these subject areas? (and which is preferrably available in the UK?) i'd be interested in mags that have instructional/tutorial features as well as those that simply display photographs.

thanks.

Actually I find the UK photo magazine varieties better then their American counterparts. As concerns articles on specific subject matter, it's on a constantly revolving basis depending on the time of year. Cruise the newsstands and check for what you need. There always are books such as Rogers Hick's that are available that are very good.

The British "Black and White Photography" magazine is excellent. Practical Photography (also from the UK) is great as well, although it leans a little too far into the digital world for some.

Actually I find the UK photo magazine varieties better then their American counterparts. As concerns articles on specific subject matter, it's on a constantly revolving basis depending on the time of year. Cruise the newsstands and check for what you need. There always are books such as Rogers Hick's that are available that are very good.

Dear Wayne,

Thanks for the plug. If I may, I'll add www.rogerandfrances.com. The Photo school has lots of free information and of course I hope that people will subscribe as well -- but if they don't, that's fine too as I'm always happy to promote photography in general and film photography in particular.

Cheers,

Roger Hicks

I'll agree with Wayne that the UK mags are generally better for composition, technique and similar advice etc. Most of the American ones are heavy on gear discussions (this pleases advertisers) and so are very digi-oriented.

One big exception is Aperture magazine with is a publication by the eponymous Aperture Foundation. Each quarterly issue continues to fascinate me and even my wife, who is not at all into photography. Also, as can be seen in the most recent issue's inside backcover advertisement - there is still a sizable "silver contigent" in the readership. The ad in question features a number of firms who are also sponsors here! ;)

A relatively new publication is called Photo Eye (http://www.photoeye.com/). It might be a little tough to find, though definitely lots of more urban type shots in the few issues I have seen. They don't really discuss gear, so it is not like most photography magazines on the newsstand.

Many dedicated photography magazines are mostly about selling you new gear. Rarely are they about image, nor do they show many outstanding images. You might be better off looking at lifestyle magazines; while you will not know the gear in use, you can find great images in many of them.

Another two publications that I have felt often contained great imagery are Leica Fotographie International (http://www.lfi-online.de/), and Leica World (http://www.leica-camera.co.uk/culture/leica_world_magazine/). Both are dedicated towards photographers using Leica gear, though some medium format and other gear using photographers images are also shown. Both are relatively expensive, though use very high quality printing. You don't need to own nor use a Leica to be inspired by the images.

Quite often I have found that the most inspiring images I find are not in photography magazines. Usually that means you are given no clue what camera, lens, or even lighting was used. In some ways that might be good, since it can be all too easy to place too much emphasis on gear.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat
A G Studio (http://www.allgstudio.com)

Other than Aperture here in the US, I can't think of any, and Aperture isn't an instructional publication. Many of the US photo mags are interested in T&A, and pushing new gear.

The few British photo mags I've seen seem to have more of what you're looking for, and T&A. Ha!

Have a look at Lenswork, it has a little bit of everything. It also has a CD edition with extra stuff.
If you have an interest in large format, then View Camera is good. It does have gear reviews, but they are quite objective.
I agree with the other statements regarding the UK mags as well.

Wow, they pretty much got them all. My favs are definitely Black and White Photography (UK), Lenswork, Aperture and Photo Techniques. Ha! They missed one. Photo Techniques is good for the technical side of things. View Camera and the US's Black and White are good publications as well.

thanks everyone for the recommendations. i've checked out black and white photography today and bought a copy. photo-eye looks really interesting, i'll find out if this is available here in the UK. it seems to be a US publication. and i'll be sure to check out roger's webpage, too. thanks again!

A magazine I recently found here in Holland is called Silvershotz (The International Journal of Fine Art Photography). I think it is published in the UK.

Check it out at www.silvershotz.com

Anne Marieke

Call into Borders if you have one nearby. My local one sells the US and UK magazines. B&W Photography is a must, Silvershotz also good when I manage to see it.

Black and White Photography (UK)
Lenswork (USA) (http://www.lenswork.com/) No "instruction" but portfolios often feature portraiture - quality of the printed page is superb
Silvershotz (UK/Australia)
Photo Life (Canada) (http://www.photolife.com/) I especially like Richard Martin's columns on composition. Subscription prices are very reasonable.

And while I don't often buy it, I noticed that the May 2007 copy of Professional Photographer(UK) (http://www.professionalphotographer.co.uk/) has a number of articles on music photography (although the magazine focus is on digi photo and very little on film)

Martin

I too have found the UK publications good. Practial Photography, Photography Monthly and Outdoor Photography are my favoirites. While they are all shifting more towards digital many of the basic concepts apply to both film and digital.

hmmmm......