I'm addicted to photography magazines!

[paulhillion]

I've been on holiday here in the USA along with a short break in Australia since April. I've just collected up the magazines I've bought since then, I really wasn't aware at just how many I've purchased in a little over 3 months :shock:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v116/hillion/Temp/IMG_5158.jpg

Unfortunately mags aren't the lightest of things & so I don't think they're all gonna make it back home with me (plus I'm here for another 3 months yet!!), I'll just have to go through each one & keep the interesting bits.

I read each one cover to cover & as I really don't read books as such I find they're a great way of learning & inspiration. I don't buy what I'd call the beginner type mags. I'll list some of the mags pictured here in my holiday collection, maybe some of you could recommend a magazine that I've missed!

Picture (US)
Digital Photo Pro (US)
Outdoor Photographer (US)
Photographic (US)
Photo District News (US)
Shutterbug (US)
Popular Photographer & Imaging (US)
Photolife (Canada)
Outdoor Photography (UK)
Professional Photographer (UK)
Amateur Photographer (UK)
Digital Photographer (UK)
Practical Photography (UK)
Photography Monthly (UK)
Better Photography (Aus)
Capture (Aus)
Pro Photo (Aus)
Australian Photography (Aus)

Some of these mags are from Australia, I was surprised on how many excellent photo shops there were in Sydney & Brisbane, unlike many US cities that I've visited! I was trying to buy a Hoya multi-coated filter here in San Francisco today :x , in the end I had to order it from B&H!

Paul.

[mttmrphy]

I'm looking to subscribe to a couple more.. right now I just have Digital Phot Pro


If you could only pick 2 more what would they be?

[paulhillion]

I'm looking to subscribe to a couple more.. right now I just have Digital Phot Pro


If you could only pick 2 more what would they be?

In the US I'd choose 'Outdoor Photographer' & 'PDN' a.k.a. Photo District News. If you can subscribe from the UK then 'Amateur Photographer' (weekly), Practical Photography & Photography Monthly are great informative reads.

Regards.

[WestFalcon]

One magazine I like is the Rangefinder.....aimed towards studio photographers but has nice equipment reviews.

[abel]

i love DIGITAL PHOTO from the UK. that is by far my favorite. their other mag is nice too. PRACTICAL PHOTOGRAPHY.

im not too crazy about US mags... none have had me wanting to come back for more so to speak..

[Jon]

There's also PC Photo from the same company that publishes Outdoor Photographer and Digital Photo Pro.

[Ikinaa]

I've subscribed 3 magazines in 3 different languages :
Practical Photography (english)
Chasseurs d'Images (french)
DigitalCameraMagazin (german)

The first 2 are excellent, the german one is rather new and not so good. I guess I'll stop that next time the resubscription letter comes...

Sometimes I buy other mags when I'm in the magazine store, but everything becomes redundant.

[jonnyhorizon]

good lists
i still like to sit in my lazy boy chair and read but
many of them have web equiv that i got to when i see an article i want to save i can save and index the web version much easier than keeping track of paper
when i tire of all the techie stuff i like to pick up a mag that has good photos in it like natl geo or Alaska
...

[sGu]

Practical Photography is by far the best photography magazine i've read, and as its sister magazine, "Digital Photo" is pretty good, too, also Digital Photograher, but a bit pricy

[Ballen Photo]

Practical Photography is by far the best photography magazine i've read, and as its sister magazine, "Digital Photo" is pretty good, too, also Digital Photograher, but a bit pricy

Practical Photography is one of my "Faves" too, but since I live in the US and Practical Photography is printed in the UK, I usually have to get it from Barnes & Noble, or Borders.
I've subscribed to various other photo rags over the years like Shutterbug, Photographic, and Popular Photography.
I guess I'm kind of addicted also. :shock:
-Bruce

[danphoto1]

I agree I am addicted as well photographic magizine and Outdoor photographer are my two favorites

Dan

[velvetjones]

PhotoGraphic essentially sucks, but it is only $10 for 12 issues. I guess it is worth getting then......kind of.

[KennyG]

I bought a copy of Popular Photography and Imaging to read on the way home to the UK yesterday and I think it is pretty awful. The 'reviews' are just opinions rather than objective tests, take no more than one page and the rest of it is nothing but adverts. I'd rate it as a $4.50 catalog.

Even the UK magazines are running out of ideas to keep the readers interested and themes like B&W photography are repeated with regular monotony.

[danphoto1]

You are entitled to your opinion . I like photographic because theydo a lot with digital and even though they are not always right on the money they made a very smooth transition. Magazines are a business and if they don't get the advertizing revenue they go out of business. I am sure that if a certian company pays big bucks to advertized that they will get a somwhat slanted review in their favor. I always learn somethig of value to me personally in my quest to become a better photographer. If nothing else ther are a least a few real good images in each isssue and an article thet either teaches me something new or that I had forgotten. If everything sucked so would all photography. In that case everything and all images would be mediocre and bland. Sometimes event the worst picture or image can be helpful in the learning process. As I see the learning cuve in photograhy is to infinity 8) :wink: :?:

[velvetjones]

You are entitled to your opinion . I like photographic because theydo a lot with digital and even though they are not always right on the money they made a very smooth transition. Magazines are a business and if they don't get the advertizing revenue they go out of business. I am sure that if a certian company pays big bucks to advertized that they will get a somwhat slanted review in their favor. I always learn somethig of value to me personally in my quest to become a better photographer. If nothing else ther are a least a few real good images in each isssue and an article thet either teaches me something new or that I had forgotten. If everything sucked so would all photography. In that case everything and all images would be mediocre and bland. Sometimes event the worst picture or image can be helpful in the learning process. As I see the learning cuve in photograhy is to infinity

Fair enough, maybe 'sucks' is a little too harsh for Photographic...after all I am renewing my subscription (at less than a dollar and issue...it IS worth it). That said, it tends to be watered down and redundant from issue to issue. The testing they do is objective, but they will never really come out and say whether a product has any short comings. Everything always gets a positive review. That doesn't serve any purpose, except to create an obvious plug for the product manufacturer. I know there are only certain things they can do to please everyone....anyways Outdoor Photographer is a better mag, for a few bucks more.

[Andrea_T]

I bought Digital Photo Pro when on holiday in the USA in June and thought it was a good read.

In the UK I like Practical Photography and Photography Monthly - the latter has improved quite dramatically with the last few issues although, as Kenny says above, features like B&W do seem to come around quite often in most of the UK mags.

[robertwgross]

Before I subscribe to many photography magazines, I always have to stop and think about their business plan. Basically, they make their money by:
(1) selling subscriptions for a price
(2) selling camera store advertising space for a price

The more subscriptions they sell, the more they can charge for their space. So, those two work together for the publisher.

What are their costs?
(1) They have to pay the print costs for paper and ink.
(2) They have to pay the post office for distribution.
(3) They have to pay the columnists and writers and photo editors.

The more subscriptions they sell, the more printing costs and distribution costs.

I would rather be on the other side of the coin. George Lepp writes a good column (OP). The late Galen Rowell used to write a good one (OP).

---Bob Gross---

[Sam North]

Sometimes photo mags can be inspirational, which is one reason why I ended up buying just one: Outdoor Photographer (not to be confused with its poorer UK cousin Outdoor Photography). But now, of course, they don’t stock it here.

Generally though, photo mags go around and around the same old block, and then go around it yet again. That’s ok if you’re still learning the ropes or thinking about new gear.

If I pulled several UK mags off the shelf today I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see yet another pic of a puffin, or butterflies mating, or lavender fields, or waterfall long exposures, or the inevitable clichéd nipple or two in Practical Photographer.

But seriously, when the repetitiveness got to me, I wised-up and bought myself half a dozen great books about exposure specifics and general SLR technique. (Look out for stuff by Jim Zuckerman and Brian Bower.) I’ve added a digital book to that collection: Digital Photographers Handbook by Tom Ang. I also invested in the impressive interactive e-book The 123 of Digital Imaging by Vincent Bockaert, which covers just about everything.

I still refer to all my books from time to time, but very rarely buy photo magazines because I know what I’ll get, which is what I already got! Digital technology is evolving fast, so there may be a case for occasionally buying the better digital photo mags. Generally though, it could be that the longer you're into photography the less you need them!

Sam

[ron chappel]

Paul i was going to suggest 'australian photography' to cure you of all magazine addiction

....but as you have allready scraped that far down into the barrel (and survived! :shock: ) then there is no hope for you :lol: