Kudos to Black & White Photography magazine

shadowfox

shadowfox

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... the one from UK

I have been thumbing through a copy each month for several months now. I am constantly surprised and amazed at how dedicated but at the same time relaxed they are to the art and craft of BW photography.

It almost bring tears to my eyes to read a photography magazine that are fresh, full of articles that exceeded my expectations instead of rehashing stuff that I can learn from the internet, or worse... repeating "sharp, vivid colors", cut and paste reviews for the 100th time for the DLSR flavor of the month :bang:.

As my thanks, I ended up walking out from the bookstore with the purchased copy in my hand. And I'll continue to do that, as long as they maintain their vision.
 
I subscribed for a few years ever since I found my first copy on a trip to Hong Kong when I was living in Beijing. I stopped my subscription this last year though as I really thought the mag was going downhill. It seems the attitude there really changed over the last year or so from a mag that really went above and beyond to stay serious to one now run by people who really think B&W photography is "neato"! They changed their focus to more mainstream and even more amatuer market segment. But then maybe that's a direction they needed to go to grow the subscription base and be profitable. Seems a number of articles are written by a staff who, while enthusiastic, often seem to know little about photography and it often shows. Also the quality of images seems to have gone down quite a bit. Reminds me unfortunately of how good Outdoor Photography was in the beginning and now that mag is little better than Pop Photo. Not that Black & White Photography is that bad but I do not like the direction it was heading and found each issue more and more vacuous.

I guess compared to many mags it's still a good mag but does not seem to be going in a direction I liked and I felt the $75+ USD annual subcription fee just was not worth it anymore. Since then I've thumbed through it at the local bookstore magazine racks when I see it and have bought the occasional issue but have found too many not all the interesting. And they used to Wow! me.
 
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Best photo magazine out there, IMO... I subscribe and am always impatiently waiting for the next issue. Whether it's better or worse than it used to be is up for argument but I sure do like the change in format that occured about a year ago.

And the subscription copies with very little writing on the cover is a brilliant idea!
 
Shadowfox, you might also be interested in Lenswork magazine. Each issue presents the work of a few photographers - some professionals, some amateurs - and has short interviews with them. I find these interviews to be very informative from various perspectives and the editor's end notes are always delightful.

There is virtually no discussion of equipment (beyond the reasons for a photographer having chosen a specific format) and certainly no painful comparison of brands, etc. It is a magazine dedicated to, as it says on the cover, "photography and the creative process."

Nikhil
 
nixarma said:
Shadowfox, you might also be interested in Lenswork magazine. Each issue presents the work of a few photographers - some professionals, some amateurs - and has short interviews with them. I find these interviews to be very informative from various perspectives and the editor's end notes are always delightful.

There is virtually no discussion of equipment (beyond the reasons for a photographer having chosen a specific format) and certainly no painful comparison of brands, etc. It is a magazine dedicated to, as it says on the cover, "photography and the creative process."

Nikhil
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I would agree with that assessment on Lenswork mag. Fantastic magazine, and in many ways is very opposite in tone, attitude and presentation of what Black & White Photography magazine is.

Another great magazine I like (though not purely B&W) is Camera Arts:

http://www.cameraarts.com/
 
Lenswork is a masterpiece of photographic literature, and it is a magazine that I enjoy reading and looking at immensely.
I find B&W just too full of advertising for my tastes, though there are great photographs in it.
 
I bought a B&W to read on a recent plane trip. While interesting, all stories, even interviews, were selling something: an upcoming show, tour or guided trip. I liked the photos but there was no supporting info. I'll look into the others mentioned here.
 
Just to be clearer about which magazine the OP was referring to:

Black & White Photography (UK)

BW.jpg



B&W (US)

51YP1CK1TSL._SS500_.jpg
 
Guys, good comments, and I'll try to find Lenswork and Camera Arts.

My original post was meant to compare B&W Photography with other magazines that are populating your local bookstore chains, where common people (not photographers with impeccable taste such as y'all 🙂 ) come to look at magazines.

So the comparison is against Pop Photo, Pro Digital SLR, Digital SLR Pro, SLR Digital Pro, Pro SLR Digital, Pro Digital Ad Infinitum and all the other permutation of mind-numbing publications out there.

I agree with the comment on Outdoor Photography, the last issue, IIRC, one of the reviewer stated something like: There's no difference between digitals and film unless you print really big, so digital wins.. Huh?? and this is coming from a predominantly landscapy crowd ==> big prints.
 
shadowfox said:
So the comparison is against Pop Photo, Pro Digital SLR, Digital SLR Pro, SLR Digital Pro, Pro SLR Digital, Pro Digital Ad Infinitum and all the other permutation of mind-numbing publications out there.
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In one corner, there's the "Monthly pro digital plastic slr camera photoshop magazine" fodder. In the other, one magazine (in the UK anyway) dedicated to a specific genre.

The phrase, "Empty oil drums make the most noise" springs to mind. 😉
shadowfox said:
I agree with the comment on Outdoor Photography, the last issue, IIRC, one of the reviewer stated something like: There's no difference between digitals and film unless you print really big, so digital wins.. Huh?? and this is coming from a predominantly landscapy crowd ==> big prints.
Click to expand...
... and to print big in digital, you've got to pay. And then you've got to get a camera with more megapixels (according to the industry), then more media cards, then more BIG bulky (and white!) lenses, then more ink, then more "Best ever" software (even better than yesterdays), then...

... then maybe people will wake up.
 
I enjoy B&W Photo when I can be bothered to buy it. I think I bought an issue the other month when it had a free roll of Ilford film on the front. I'm sure I still have the film in the fridge.

I managed to buy an issue last september that had me hooked from cover to cover, as it profiled a lot of photographers and the images were quite pleasing I must admit. I've bought a couple issues since and not been as impressed I don't think. I thumb through it on occasion but I rarely find myself with enough spare change and the time to visit the newsagents.
 
Me too Ash, usually I go into the bookstore and check them out and leave 'em on the stands for someone else to buy. Lenswork was a birthday gift.
 
Hmm, I checked out Lenswork.

While the quality of the images are superb and the interviews are good, me personally, I don't enjoy a whole magazine that has *only* interviews, I like Black & White Photography better because it has the variety, and yes including some Ads.

But the Lenswork Extended CD sounded intriguing, anybody has them/enjoy them?

Btw, I can't find Camera Arts but I did find Camera View (the Large format magazine), boy that's one eye opener 🙂 they have a feature on the largest pinhole camera in the world, made out of an F-18 hangar.
 
I dont know if this is the correct place to ask this, but thought I would anyway as it is about Lenswork.
I am in the UK, have been trying to get Lenswork unsuccessfully here, I have heard so many good things about it, and wondered if I could make an arrangement with anyone in the US to send me some copies, either for money or trade with the UK Black and White mag?
The UK Bland and White is probably the best monthly mag here, and... I have a letter in the current issue with one of my photos taken with my Voiglander!!
If anyone can help me out, please contact me, thanks (hopefully) in advance.
 
Thea said:
I dont know if this is the correct place to ask this, but thought I would anyway as it is about Lenswork.
I am in the UK, have been trying to get Lenswork unsuccessfully here, I have heard so many good things about it, and wondered if I could make an arrangement with anyone in the US to send me some copies, either for money or trade with the UK Black and White mag?
The UK Bland and White is probably the best monthly mag here, and... I have a letter in the current issue with one of my photos taken with my Voiglander!!
If anyone can help me out, please contact me, thanks (hopefully) in advance.
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Thea, I just called Lenswork for you. Crystal there tells me they do not distribute Lenswork in the UK but they do overseas mail subscriptions: $78 USD to the UK. With a regular US subscription being $39 USD I doubt you can arrange with anyone here in the US to get it for you and ship it any cheaper. I'd just subscribe yourself: www.lenswork.com
 
Hello again,
Rich, thank you for your efforts about the subscription, it is very kind of you to do this. I already knew how much it cost, I didnt really want a sub, more afew old issues someone didnt want - I have never seen a copy of the mag, and wouldnt want to subscribe for this kind of money without being 100% it was the right magazine for me.
Also, I subscribe to Aperture, and have to pay approx double to include the postage,(although they do a student rate, which helps abit) but it takes a rediculous amount of time to get here, last issue 3 months!!

So Perhaps I should rephrase what I meant, and sorry for any confusion to anyone.
I meant Does anyone in the US have any spare Old copies of Lenswork, if so, I would be very pleased to buy them or trade them for some copies of the UK Black and White. Please contact me if interested.
Thea
 
Thea, you can also buy CDs of the older issues of Lenswork, for example issues 1-50 can be had on one CD. Newer issues can be had in Extended versions which have more images and longer interviews than the print version.
 
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