Nh3
Well-known
Rangefinder is a free (by subscription) monthly magazine, which I receive here in Toronto. Unfortunately all this time that I have been getting this glorified brochure of photography-related advertisements I have yet to see a single article about a rangefinder camera. Not only that, I have yet to see a proper article in the magazine, most of the articles are promotion of a product or a photographer under the guise of a 'review' or photographer profile.
The worst part about this magazine is the sheer nauseating amount of cheesy ads. From the typical denim wearing camera-toting male models to silly bimbos posing for stupid portraits to the over-processed landscape shots advertising some piece of equipment to close-ups of jewelry and every conceivable array of visually tiring rubbish... And of course there is the thick freaking piece of cardboard right in the middle of the magazine pushing some printing lap which automatically opens the magazine in that page so you can see it and it makes it a pain to browse through the other pages, and once when i tried to rip it off it tore two other pages with it as well, its glued with some industrial-strength adhesive.
... And the most annoying aspect of these photography-related advertisements is that they’re trying to sell the image of a photographer more than anything else. They have somehow managed to make people with ridiculously long zooms and big cameras look cool and convince anyone with penis-envy (or equivalent) to buy the longest zooms they can and be a "photographer".
Then there is advertisement for overpriced camera bags, and many other assortment of useless and unnecessary garbage pushed at the glib amateur and overzealous pro. Even the Leica owners are guilty of paying $200 for cow-skin cases for their Leicas, what the heck for?
Sometimes as a photographer one feels like a fool who everyone wants to sell something for a higher price and something which one does not really need. For example the other day I almost bought a Nikon F5, not because I needed it, just because I wanted to own a Nikon F5 and show it off to people and feel good about it. It did not matter that I might never use it but I just wanted own it, how stupid is that?
The sad reality is that photography has turned into an industry and billions are spent to make people become photographers. Whether this will help photography as an art or tool for social change I don't really know, because anyone who falls for these cheesy ads, certainly hold no promise of intellectual prowess or artistic ability.
The worst part about this magazine is the sheer nauseating amount of cheesy ads. From the typical denim wearing camera-toting male models to silly bimbos posing for stupid portraits to the over-processed landscape shots advertising some piece of equipment to close-ups of jewelry and every conceivable array of visually tiring rubbish... And of course there is the thick freaking piece of cardboard right in the middle of the magazine pushing some printing lap which automatically opens the magazine in that page so you can see it and it makes it a pain to browse through the other pages, and once when i tried to rip it off it tore two other pages with it as well, its glued with some industrial-strength adhesive.
... And the most annoying aspect of these photography-related advertisements is that they’re trying to sell the image of a photographer more than anything else. They have somehow managed to make people with ridiculously long zooms and big cameras look cool and convince anyone with penis-envy (or equivalent) to buy the longest zooms they can and be a "photographer".
Then there is advertisement for overpriced camera bags, and many other assortment of useless and unnecessary garbage pushed at the glib amateur and overzealous pro. Even the Leica owners are guilty of paying $200 for cow-skin cases for their Leicas, what the heck for?
Sometimes as a photographer one feels like a fool who everyone wants to sell something for a higher price and something which one does not really need. For example the other day I almost bought a Nikon F5, not because I needed it, just because I wanted to own a Nikon F5 and show it off to people and feel good about it. It did not matter that I might never use it but I just wanted own it, how stupid is that?
The sad reality is that photography has turned into an industry and billions are spent to make people become photographers. Whether this will help photography as an art or tool for social change I don't really know, because anyone who falls for these cheesy ads, certainly hold no promise of intellectual prowess or artistic ability.
