I nearly bought the Oct. issue of B&W to read the article on scanning. But I gave it a quick look (scan) in the shop and realised that it was 2 pages of bla..bla...bla and no information until next issue. I did however consider bringing a case against the magazine under the trade description act, it calls itself Black & White Photography but every photo that I looked at was a shade of sepia, or copper tone. Can magazines no longer print photo's in black and white?
.... In the first 20 pages or so there are 5 full page ads. Then we get to the reader gallery which in recent months has that godawful Nova Darkroom graffiti across the bottom of SIX pages leading us to two more full page ads. I have stopped buying from Nova Darkroom purely because of this ugly ad that is now included in every magazine.
It makes the magazine look cheap and ugly, it distracts from the content of those pages.
Under Ailsa the magazine had a much more 'serious' feel. Now it just feels like an ad rag with a few articles thrown in.
Well I now have a copy of the magazine in question, July 2008, the Bjorn Borg issue. I must say that I was entertained by most of the articles, and enjoyed the dialogue between writer to reader, photographer to photographer, expert to novice. But I also agree with Andy about that godawful Nova Darkroom graffiti, the look and feel of the magazine and the overall paper/print quality. In the US I paid $11.99 for 96 pages of which 31 were ads, meaningless ads because they addressed UK readers or were DSLR related.
I would like to compare this magazine to the US B&W Magazine but it would be comparing apples to oranges. B&W (US) is primarily a portfolio/gallery magazine with a bit of news thrown in, and no dialogue. It has 38 pages of ads out of 128 (Mar '08) and cost me $7.95, but the ads are in b&w and of higher print quality. Of the 38 ads only one was of gear, the rest were images from books, galleries, shows. In general it has that thick 'serious' feel to it.
Would I buy B&W UK again? Yes, but no subscription.
I did however consider bringing a case against the magazine under the trade description act, it calls itself Black & White Photography but every photo that I looked at was a shade of sepia, or copper tone. Can magazines no longer print photo's in black and white?
TEX
You missed out the two pages of COLOUR Photographs being exhibited that they decided to throw in because it's family photography which matches the brief of the issue.... but kind of screws over the title and whole basis of the magazine. Seriously, they couldn't find an exhibit available at the moment with B&W family photography?
I regret buying this issue, the only thing that interests me is the 1 page written by Mike Johnston about finishing up projects.
I nearly bought the Oct. issue of B&W to read the article on scanning. But I gave it a quick look (scan) in the shop and realised that it was 2 pages of bla..bla...bla and no information until next issue.
With a new scanner ordered and on the way I saw this 'Scanning for Best Results" on the cover and bought it [its A3 flatbed for scanning prints for web display] I really wish the magazine would give the writers more space for their features.
Maybe this is a direct result of us all criticizing the magazine, they want fire off as many topics as they can hoping to please. No disrespect intended to Jerry Lebens but I really wish articles had more depth, even for a Part 1, this didnt even scratch the surface.
No disrespect intended to Jerry Lebens but I really wish articles had more depth, even for a Part 1, this didnt even scratch the surface.
Thanks for bringing up the topic of depth. Recently, I've been going through some of my older issues, especially the series of articles about master printers which ran around 2003-2004, and I couldn't help but feel what an opportunity was wasted. I mean, you get the likes of Mike Spry or Klaus Kalde and all you dedicate is 3 pages with another 3 tiny pictures thrown in. Were it my magazine () I would have given them 10 pages with a couple of full page prints and a much more detailed description of what goes on in their darkroom. Yes, some of these guys and women have published a book, but many have not.
I know...I've lost touch with reality And it's still better to have a 3 page article instead of nothing...
Cheers,
omar
Last edited by ooze; 09-15-2008 at 02:16 AM.
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I'm considering taking all my back issues of BW into the High Street with a can of petrol and setting fire to them in protest, as I feel so let down by the GMC editorial staff who are obviously in league with Beelzebub for foisting ADVERTS about photographic equipment and articles that are NOT about wet colloid plates and dead people. That they have the gall to price this despicable rag the same as a roll of 35mm film proves that they are money-grabbing despots that should throw themselves from their ivory tower and have the moment perfectly captured by Cartier Bresson who was terrifically good at that sort of thing and is dead or Weegie who did great dead-people photographs and is also dead.
Any chance future copies of BW could be printed by Caxton Press and arrive with a sachet of dust with a scratch and sniff 'Musty Smell' panel to give the readership that authentic old master experience?
I'm considering taking all my back issues of BW into the High Street with a can of petrol and setting fire to them in protest, as I feel so let down by the GMC editorial staff who are obviously in league with Beelzebub for foisting ADVERTS about photographic equipment and articles that are NOT about wet colloid plates and dead people. That they have the gall to price this despicable rag the same as a roll of 35mm film proves that they are money-grabbing despots that should throw themselves from their ivory tower and have the moment perfectly captured by Cartier Bresson who was terrifically good at that sort of thing and is dead or Weegie who did great dead-people photographs and is also dead.
Any chance future copies of BW could be printed by Caxton Press and arrive with a sachet of dust with a scratch and sniff 'Musty Smell' panel to give the readership that authentic old master experience?
Those who are unable to mentally unscan the Nova strip under the portfolio pics -- which one might imagine to be a small price for the exposure given to those exhibiting there (maybe, like me they too use a Nova darkroom clock :-)) -- may note that B&W uniquely, to my knowledge, supply a copy with absolutely no cover clutter to subscribers -- just the feature photograph of that month and the magazine title.
The US B&W magazine BTW costs about 3 times that of UK B&W in Australia and offers no technical advice or articles whatsoever. It seems to be aimed at collectors, not photographers. It also contains some pics found in other publications, such as Silvershotz
) I would have given them 10 pages with a couple of full page prints and a much more detailed description of what goes on in their darkroom. Yes, some of these guys and women have published a book, but many have not.
And it's still better to have a 3 page article instead of nothing...
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