Which LF periodicals do you read?

[jason_greenberg_motamedi]

While I have been using LF for many years, I have never subscribed to any

journals, magazines or periodicals. I wonder which periodicals people find

useful or enjoyable, and why.

[mark_sampson]

"View Camera" magazine is essential.

[bob_moulton7]

I subscribe to View Camera, Camera Arts, Lenswork. Each has something

to offer.

Bob

[enrique_vila1]

I would also sugest getting the back issues of the Zone VI

newsletter, I´m currently reading them myself (was not a photographer

when they first appeared), and can tell they have greate value.

 

<p>

 

They are still available from calumet.

[kevin_kolosky]

it just so happens I have 52 back issues of "View Camera" that I want

to sell.

[jorge_gasteazoro4]

Photovision, Photo techniques....

[raymond_bleesz]

Your question is a good one, and those magazine suggested are on my

reading list. I'm always looking for more as well, however, I might

suggest a periodical which covers "photography" from a different

perspective--one that covers a wider spectrum--one I find "essential"

just to knowledgable.

 

<p>

 

Photo District News---NYC----www.pdn-pix.com

Raymond

[ellis_vener_photography]

View Camera. Photo Technique. DoubleTake.<P>PDN runs a

regular feature about how some some (mostly advertising)

shots were made sometimes on large format film, but nothing i

find "must reading' on that subject. if you are a professional it is

a necessity. Try it at http://www.pdnonline.com

[edward_burlew]

Playboy! The centrfold is still shot with toyo 8x10 and a 14inch

lense.

[jerevan]

Black & White Photography, english mag, caters to us loonies shooting

B/W, pretty good mix of technical stuff and articles about

photographers and such. Thankfully it has very few camera reviews. If

I want my equipment fix, I surf over here. :)

 

<p>

 

B&W Magazine. Good (print quality is spotty sometimes) as a way of

getting to see B&W photos without having to fork out a lot of money.

It's good to see a magazine that's interested in pictures rather than

the next whiz-bang computer plastic wonder. I like it. The money

leftover after buying magazines goes into film and paper, rather than

photobooks, which with their small print runs, are priced out of my

range anyway.

[jerevan]

Of course, neither of the two magazines I mentioned above are LF

magazines, but out here in the sticks you have to make do with what

you find. Any source of inspiration does count. And a lot of the

photos showed in photo magazines could be taken with LF gear.

[jason_greenberg_motamedi]

Thanks for the suggestions. I was mostly curious about other peoples

'behaviors'. Although it is neither LF or strictly photography I have been a

great fan of DoubleTake since it came out, so I guess rather than technical

periodicals, I was interested in the 'larger picture'. For instance, last weeks

New York Review of Books had a great article on Irving Penn's "earthy nudes"

(or was it "Earthly", or--more likely--doughy?). This article, as well as a number

of DoubleTake's articles really makes me think. Through the 1980s "Aperture"

was really my favorite and had some really interesting ideas and articles.

However "Aperture" has become, over the past 10 years or so, really become

irrelevant to my interests, and I don't even bother looking at the library any

longer. What are your experiences?

[ellis_vener_photography]

Jason; "View Camera' deals witha lot of hose "bigger picture''

issues. CIt's sister publication "Camera Arts' is also a fine

publication.<P>

Two books that are a great help to me are <U>Why People

Photograph</U> by Robert Adams,<B> The Nature of

Photographs</U> by Stephen Shore, and <U>Ansel Adams; A

Biography</U> by Mary Street Alinder

[ellis_vener_photography]

<B> Just </B>killing a bad HTML tag </B></B></U>

[peter shier]

B&W is excellent and there are always LF photogs in there. There are

no technical details though unless the photog explicitly mentions

something in their interview. Many people (I among them) have asked

that they include a couple of pages at the back that gives some

technicals but they insist that their audience is art collectors who

are not interested in that stuff. Also, if you are selling your B&W

work they have a reasonably priced display advert section at the

back.

 

<p>

 

ED (zeke@idirect.com) - how do you know that the Playboy centerfold

is shot with an 8x10 (or am I being gullible here-:)?

[edward_burlew]

In one of the recent photomagazines there was na article on this and

it actually showed the setup withthe lights and the 8x10, I know that

in the 50's and 60's they used a deardorf 8x10, I was surprised too

but was also glad to see the old 8x10 is still the favourite.I think

the magazine has four different covers and says "what men really want"

[matthew_runde]

I am interested in editorial photography, and will study almost

anything that's on the rack. Even if the photographs were not made

with an LF camera, the techniques are often the same and may give me

ideas of things that I can do with camera movements.

 

<p>

 

Yesterday I bought <i>Elle Decor</i> and <i>T&L

Golf</i>, "preread," for dirt cheap. I can use so many of the

techniques that I've found in those, and I probably will.

 

<p>

 

In short, I have found that "non-LF" magazines can sometimes be as-

or more useful for my purposes than those that are dedicated to LF

photography or photography in general.

[peter shier]

The fashion mags are great source material and they are very cheap

(around $12-$15 for a 1 year subscription). Want to see what Annie

Liebowitz, Herb Ritts, Irving Penn, and other big names are doing

lately? Check out Vogue, Vanity Fair, Elle, etc.

 

<p>

 

Elle is actually run by a superb photographer (Gilles Bensimon) and

he usually has a couple of spreads in every issue.

 

<p>

 

For a long time I was studying Annie Liebowitz' group portraits

which I have always greatly admired. I was able to see her latest

almost every month in these mags.

 

<p>

 

They are also a great source if you are interested in portrait

lighting and composition. This is generally not LF work (usually MF)

but I have learned a lot of portrait technique from them.

[david4]

View Camera used to have really a fine layout. An A+. That all

changed when they moved the headquarters to New Mexico. Now the

layout is just an A-. If this were a government bond, the downgrading

would merit a headline in the business section. New Mexico--so far

from Heaven and so near to Texas. Who said that--I don't recall. Jack

Dykinga has started as a regular contributor. That's great. I hear

View Camera will be getting articles by David Muench soon and I look

forward to that. I miss some of the former California contributors --

Gene Kennedy, St. John of Carmel, Gordon Hutchings, and Charles

Farmer. View Camera reminds me of Olympic coverage: the event, the

biography, and the advertising. View Camera is more about people than

tools. Steve Simmons is introducing us to an extended family related

by common interest rather than place name or surname. They're his

kin: people with a passion, commitment, and challenge. The

contributors interact with with their subject. You get a sense of

what jump started, lit up, and juiced them. The magazine has a

personality totally lacking in PDN, Shutterbug, or Phototechniques.

There is a fair amount of creativity and original art among the

contributors. Do you remember the edition where the photographer

wrote about putting lilies in water, partially freezing the

container, them backlighting the petals? Wow. The pluses and minuses

of alternatives in solving everyday problems are well presented. A

good example was the recent article comparing various color

transparency films in capturing greens and oranges. The editor seems

to know his readership well--the format has been basically the same

since the beginning, and I assume, enjoys an ever expanding

readership.

[jim_galli4]

Photo-Techniques has long been my favorite. Less quasi-spiritual

bullshit and more useful and enjoyable info. They've started the

inevitable slide towards digital though. The kids bought me View

Camera and Camera Arts for Christmas. View Camera has just (barely)

enough redeeming info that it may get renewed. I doubt if Camera Arts

will come 2 years in a row. Black and White is challenging for number

1 position in enjoyment. It is a feast to the idea mill. Perhaps

that's because it's new to me and me to it. We're all a little

fickle, and needs and interests do change.