p.2 #1 · Nostaglia for magazines, brought on by the folding of DPReview
I miss magazines terribly - especially while traveling. Backpacker was my favorite. I never really found a photography magazine I loved (outdoor photo should have been it...)
p.2 #2 · Nostaglia for magazines, brought on by the folding of DPReview
None of the "photography" mags ever appealed to me. Half the pages were overt ads and the rest were ads disguised as stories. I have always found better quality photography in topical mags like Nat Geo and Architectural Digest. PDN was a decent resource for industry gossip and some technical info.
Better technical info seemed to always come direct from manufacturers. Retail camera shops often had free print copies of camera equipment brochures and catalogs that had lots of nitty gritty technical details. Some manufacturers like Sony still produce PDF product brochures but you really have to dig to find them online.
Before the dpreview, I don't recall a print magazine with any kind of unbiased camera and lens comparisons.
p.2 #3 · Nostaglia for magazines, brought on by the folding of DPReview
I was just looking for a newspaper or magazine the other day. My dog was acting up bouncing around. The mere holding it up like I was going to swat,was enough to make her hump her back run off and behave. That is what I miss.
p.2 #4 · Nostaglia for magazines, brought on by the folding of DPReview
davidjl wrote:
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.)
Aperture was the only photography magazine I ever subscribed to, I loved it.
In a weird coincidence, when I lived in Lincoln, Massachusetts I used to bring my shoes to a cobbler there who turned out to be Minor White's former darkroom assistant.
p.2 #6 · Nostaglia for magazines, brought on by the folding of DPReview
white wrote:
I miss the glossy brochures from the camera manufacturers. I use to pour over them with lust and GAS.
You and me both. I still have a few of them around. The Rollei and Nikon brochures, in particular, cost me a lot of money in the 70s. (I shot with most of these cameras over the years, except for the Alpa; never got a chance to try one of those.)
p.2 #7 · Nostaglia for magazines, brought on by the folding of DPReview
MikeEvangelist wrote:
You and me both. I still have a few of them around. The Rollei and Nikon brochures, in particular, cost me a lot of money in the 70s. (I shot with most of these cameras over the years, except for the Alpa; never got a chance to try one of those.)
p.2 #9 · Nostaglia for magazines, brought on by the folding of DPReview
I used to pick up the occasional issue of Outdoor Photographer (mostly in airports when I was desperate for something to read), but after about 2010, the only photography-related print media I'd buy was B&W because I found the featured photographers consistently interesting.
p.2 #11 · Nostaglia for magazines, brought on by the folding of DPReview
Ordered my first SLR out of the back of a Pop Photography back in 1988 from a place that I would later discover was a fake storefront in Brooklyn: Two weeks later a Minolta 7000 with a 50mm 1.8 arrived. Everything was gray market but I had no idea what that even meant at the time
Then they sent you a seriously gorgeous color pro/studio photography magazine 6 times a year or so. It was really gorgeous. Like, jaw-dropping gorgeous. Did I mention it was gorgeous? It really was.
Apr 04, 2023 at 12:53 AM
AmbientMike Offline • • • • • • [X]
p.2 #13 · Nostaglia for magazines, brought on by the folding of DPReview
Used to like pop photo, mostly because of the lens tests. Subscribed to Leica Fotografie for a few years, really nice. Shutterbug classifieds used to be the place to buy used gear. Had a subscription.
I agree I found it frustrating to see pop photo shut it's doors. Obviously I never looked at the books, but it seemed like the remaining subscribers probably older and had a lot of disposable income. You'd think that has value. Felt like they got rid of it because it is old tech as opposed to being unprofitable. Seems like the same is going on with DPR.
Sure it'll never be as popular as in 2010, but I'd think if you could buy it at the right price, DPR could go. Other sites like TDP, KR, etc have only 1 reviewer. Is it bring closed because it isn't, or can't be profitable. Or because amazon is not really interested, doesn't align
p.2 #14 · Nostaglia for magazines, brought on by the folding of DPReview
Too much condescension and self-imposed superiority. Like most photo forums.
MikeEvangelist wrote:
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?
p.2 #17 · Nostaglia for magazines, brought on by the folding of DPReview
I enjoyed View Camera magazine, American Photo, and a few others.
Interviews with photographers and showing their work, and articles on specific subjects, ethics, locations etc. I felt most equipment reviews were not all that competently made; I much prefer actual photographers' accounts of what they use and why (since the preferred equipment is very much dependent on application). I guess forums satisfy that now.
I prefer a time when making high-quality images was a bit more difficult so that we were not inundated with technically good images of subjects that are not very interesting and only viewed for brief moments before moving on, not really stopping at any image.
I prefer seeing images printed and with context and stories given in text with skillful layout rather than just images in isolation. However, of course print has its disadvantages, it gets wrinkled and dirty over a lot of use, and has to be stored or recycled. Since photo magazines were littered with gear reviews and ads, they were a bit embarrassing to show people, it gave the wrong impression of photography as just gear, just like dpreview do/did. However, fortunately there were magazines and books which actually exhibit(ed) photography rather than gear. However, books show mostly the work of one photographer, rather than being a review of multiple people working on different topics, so they're more narrow in scope. Fortunately there are books which show compilation of multiple photographers working on a topic, which can be the most enjoyable.
Now I guess the older photo press have been largely replaced by videos of talking heads who talk endlessly about themselves and products, rather than photography or more important topics. Video is also a poor way of showing photography as the quality is low (not as low as in the past, but still) and the moments are fleeting while photography in print can be studied at length. In videos it is almost always the talking head which takes the majority of the time rather than the photography itself, which is sad.
p.2 #18 · Nostaglia for magazines, brought on by the folding of DPReview
I liked magazines. Still enjoy them at the dentist office. They are out there still to some extent, photography publications that is. Nowhere near what they were. I rarely print photo's, I mean I have a half dozen things I like printed, but I miss the paper and the real thing. Something that is, without having to be have something else to exist, like a computer. I think as time goes on magazines and papers are gonna make a comeback. Not in any news way, which it can't compete, but as books and photos that you can finger through. We as humans are nostalgic. We remember when things were better even when they might not have been.
p.2 #19 · Nostaglia for magazines, brought on by the folding of DPReview
MARKFER wrote:
I liked magazines. Still enjoy them at the dentist office. They are out there still to some extent, photography publications that is. Nowhere near what they were. I rarely print photo's, I mean I have a half dozen things I like printed, but I miss the paper and the real thing. Something that is, without having to be have something else to exist, like a computer. I think as time goes on magazines and papers are gonna make a comeback. Not in any news way, which it can't compete, but as books and photos that you can finger through. We as humans are nostalgic. We remember when things were better even when they might not have been. ...Show more →
Actually looking at all of this I’m so glad I grew up in this era. I went from 4x5 and other formats with film and learned that for my first 20 years or so until I went digital in the early 90s very early adopter of digital until now. I learned and enjoyed so much over the years that am very grateful I lived in these times. At least for me it was very enjoyable and my learning growth was very expansive especially with film and no checking system in place like LCD screens today you learned to nail it out of the gate as no going back. Good times . Seriously as I’m inching into retirement looking back for me is very gratifying.
p.2 #20 · Nostaglia for magazines, brought on by the folding of DPReview
GMPhotography wrote:
Actually looking at all of this I’m so glad I grew up in this era.
I as well. Learned Darkroom Black & White in Jr High and kept going from there.
Glad I got to see the digital age begin and transition into the mainstream.
It was a great time to be in photography.
