p.1 #1 · Nostaglia for magazines, brought on by the folding of DPReview
Everything changes, everything ends. Very sorry to see DPR folding, as they have been a valuable source of photographic knowledge for so long. Calls to mind the similar feelings I had when my favorite photo magazines gradually faded away.
What were your favorite photo magazines, or other sources for learning, comparing and buying?
Here's my favorites...
Always my favorite - look at all those cool cameras!
the friendly competition with 'Modern' kept it interesting
A British publication that I only saw rarely, but enjoyed.
p.1 #2 · Nostaglia for magazines, brought on by the folding of DPReview
I miss PhotoLife magazine. It was truly great Canadian photography magazine. I suspect it was struggling prior to 2020 but the pandemic put the nail in the coffin it seems.
p.1 #3 · Nostaglia for magazines, brought on by the folding of DPReview
While I read Popular Photography for years, I developed an extreme dislike for the blatantly biased articles. They were always in favor of their biggest advertisement clients, Nikon and Canon. It seemed like whoever paid them the most in advertisement would get more mentions in their articles.
p.1 #5 · Nostaglia for magazines, brought on by the folding of DPReview
Reading these magazines fueled my desire to learn photography. I learned enough to get a job in a large camera store (Lobby Hobby in Detroit, 1960s) and start getting paying gigs.
The next step was also inspired by a magazine - Linhof Photo Technik. I learned the magic of view cameras.
p.1 #6 · Nostaglia for magazines, brought on by the folding of DPReview
araudan wrote:
I miss PhotoLife magazine. It was truly great Canadian photography magazine. I suspect it was struggling prior to 2020 but the pandemic put the nail in the coffin it seems.
I used to buy Photolife here in the states at the local B&N. It was a really nice magazine.
Modern and Popular were both gear focused and ok if you wanted to know about the latest toys but neither were great for actually learning about photographers and seeing work. I always preferred magazines like Aperture, Lenswork etc that actually showcased worked. One of my very favorites was Doubletake which featured both photography and writing and was published for a short time in the 90's by The Center For Documentary Studies at Duke University. I wish it had survived.
p.1 #7 · Nostaglia for magazines, brought on by the folding of DPReview
I remember as a kid perusing the multi page ads with price lists for places like 47th st photo, comparing prices and imagining my dream kits and what they’d cost. Did manage to get my parents to buy a K1000 and later a Nikon FE via mail order for me, even though they probably couldn’t afford it at the time.
It is probably a good time to launch a lux photo magazine. Capitalize on resurgence of film, Fuji X100 phenomenon and tap into Gen Z, Gen Alpha nostalgia.
p.1 #9 · Nostaglia for magazines, brought on by the folding of DPReview
jwpstl wrote:
I used to buy Photolife here in the states at the local B&N. It was a really nice magazine.
Modern and Popular were both gear focused and ok if you wanted to know about the latest toys but neither were great for actually learning about photographers and seeing work. I always preferred magazines like Aperture, Lenswork etc that actually showcased worked. One of my very favorites was Doubletake which featured both photography and writing and was published for a short time in the 90's by The Center For Documentary Studies at Duke University. I wish it had survived.
Yeh, those gear based magazines had very shallow reviews and were totally biased by the companies spending advertising dollars with them.
p.1 #10 · Nostaglia for magazines, brought on by the folding of DPReview
Cracking up that anyone misses those publications...I only remember them for the competition in the back for the customer $..think B&H and Abes among the NY photo houses. It kept the local stores honest.
p.1 #11 · Nostaglia for magazines, brought on by the folding of DPReview
The only magazine I really liked was the French edition of Photo. The rest that I knew of, both here and in my home country, were bland photographically and their gear reviews weren’t worth reading.
p.1 #13 · Nostaglia for magazines, brought on by the folding of DPReview
mogul wrote:
Cracking up that anyone misses those publications...I only remember them for the competition in the back for the customer $..think B&H and Abes among the NY photo houses. It kept the local stores honest.
I always enjoyed the Spiratone ads and their unique/interesting gadgets. Sort of the Aliexpress of the days.
p.1 #20 · Nostaglia for magazines, brought on by the folding of DPReview
My all-time favorite, and the one that got me into photography, was Aperture when Minor White was editor. (Actually the end of that period: late 60s to early 1970s.)
Minor White was teaching at MIT when I was there (72-76), but I realized that a hyperactive computer nerd and a Zen photographer were probably a bad match, so didn't bother him. I'm not sure if I regret it, or consider it one of my more sensible decisions in life.
Whatever, the images in Aperture of that period were amazingly wonderful. (I've checked out Aperture on a couple of occassions since then, and it didn't speak to me. YMMV, as they say.)
