In my opinion, “Réponses Photo” is one of the most consistently good general interest photographic magazines on the market. While it covers gear and technique - how could it not, and remain in business - the core material is really dedicated to photography and photographers. But every 12 months, it bows to market pressures and publishes its annual “Spécial Matériel”, a comprehensive buyers guide to what is now the digital camera market only.  I guess they might follow up with a short film / analogue section in next month’s issue.

I have to confess, in years past I was probably as guilty of fantasising over the hundred or so pages of technological temptation as anyone else other male photographer with a pulse. But nowadays I’m left pretty much cold by it all. What does get my pulse racing in this issue is the article by Sylvie Hughes about the Aeolian Islands volcanos. This is one of my favourite locations, and while I’m not exactly daydreaming about the latest insignificant iteration of Canikon’s DXYZ1234-X-PRO-Turbo, I am constantly thinking about places I want to visit and revisit, discover and get to know, and maybe even photograph.  Spend all the working week chained to a desk, and most of the weekend recovering from it, I don’t even find time to visit the fantastic locations I have close by, except for a snatched couple of hours every month or so.

I guess for some Gear Acquisition Syndrome is partly a mechanism to dull the frustration of not being able to get out there and photograph. But it doesn’t work for me anymore.  There are some cameras I still kind of fantasise about, but they’re either out of reach, like the Linhof 612 (and also more or less out of time, in that case), _way_ out of reach, like the Pentax 645D, or they don’t exist (a rugged DSLR with swivel scree that takes Tilt/Shift lenses - which, anyway, would be out of reach!).

But frankly I’d swap all of that for an extra 4, or even 2 weeks of vacation every year, so that I can use and enjoy the ridiculous amount of stuff I’ve already got. And for that matter, enjoy the world.

Well, once again I’m feeling a touch guilty about a rant posted here. This time it’s my broadside against Photographer’s i which is the culprit. Today I received a remarkably polite and graceful email from the unfortunate target of my ire, Adam Juniper explaining what has been going on on their side.

I understand, really, I do. It require a serious suspension of belief to think that such an ambitious undertaking as Photographer’s i could survive for long, especially with the punishing schedule they set for themselves. I know all too well about funding falling short of ambition and business plans which maybe with hindsight were not such a good idea. But the collapse was dramatic, and in my opinion it could have been handled far, far better.

In this day and age there is far more mileage to be made by being open and forthcoming about business problems than trying to plaster over the cracks. It seems abundantly clear to me, at least, that Issue 4 is principally a disaster recovery exercise. Let’s hope it is a stopgap which provides a path to a sustainable future. But if, for example, there were some clear statements on what is going on on the Photographer’s i website, and on their Facebook page, it would make the whole thing easier to accept. If, as Adam told me, it was always the intention for Michael Freeman to step away, then perhaps Freeman might have at least written a “hand over” editorial. The perception still remains a little different.

I couldn’t really decide what to do about my previous post. I guess I went in a little a lot too heavy, especially with the “fraudulent” stuff, and the ad hominen attacks - although hopefully regular readers, if I have any, will realise that a lot of this stuff is down to my strange concept of humour. Eventually I decided not to rewrite history, but instead to add this half-baked semi-retraction to make me feel better, along with a few addenda.

The crux of the matter remains the conclusion to my initial review. Can I actually recommend Photographer’s i in its new incarnation ? Honestly, well, right now, I can’t. Leaving aside my disappointment, the fact is that personally I’m no longer interested in the vast majority of “how to” articles, even well-written ones, which these certainly are. Instinct has always prevailed over analysis for me, which contributed to my downfall as a scientist. But what may be boring to me might well be just what somebody else was looking for. So my recommendation - one way or the other - is totally subjective.

I’m interested in photography as an art form, in what drives photographers, what impels and compels them, and how they see the world. There’s a lot of that in the first three issues of Photographer’s i, but sadly it seems that few people are willing to pay even a tiny amount of money for this - while paying insane sums for this week’s new Canikon. For the sake of the people who’s livelihoods depend on it, I hope that the reincarnation of Photographer’s i can engage with more of this mainstream audience.

UPDATE: I went a bit overboard with this post, and I’m sorry as I sort of said here. However, once something’s bolted on the internet there’s little point in closing the gate, so I’ll leave this here. However, I have cut a few bits which went too far. Please note - nobody asked me to do this.

A couple of days ago I posted a review of the e-magazines “Photographer’s i” and “Photograph”. I now regret this - or rather, I regret that I implied that “Photograph” was in the same space as “Photographer’s i”. It isn’t. David duChemin, and his publishing company, Craft & Vision, have an unblemished reputation for integrity and quality. Ilex Press Ltd, the outfit behind “Photographer’s i”, have dropped the ball here though.

Let me explain:

Up until Issue 3, Photographer’s i (bit of a stupid name, by the way), was doing great. It featured high quality content, a range of interesting and sometimes renowned contributors, and great photography. Then Issue 4 went missing in action. The release schedule was supposed to be bi-monthly - which seemed very ambitious, but nobody forced it on them. Now Issue 4 has turned up. Let’s see what it’s got:

• An editorial by Adam Juniper. Who the hell is he ?
• 14 sections on various aspects of technique, blatantly recycled from Michael Freeman’s vast back catalogue
• A single totally out of context page of “Pring’s Photographer’s Miscellany”, which almost looks like part of an article which got included by mistake. This is the only “contributing author” section - 1 page of utterly tedious trivia

What’s gone:

• Editor Michael Freeman, apparently
• Executive Editor Marti Saltzman
• Editing, basically
• Nothing, zilch, nada about photographers, portfolios etc
• Zero meaningful contributors

The is a weak excuse that this is actually A TOTALLY DIFFERENT PUBLICATION, called, wait for it, “Photographer’s i Plus”, although this is not mentioned on their website, or in the App Store, or indeed anywhere in the Issue except the introduction by Who-The-Hell-Is Adam Juniper.

Clearly, “Photographer’s i” got tangled up in it’s own ambition, and/or Michael Freeman got bored / fell out with the publisher, or whatever, but basically imploded. And what we’re seeing now is a “contractual obligation album” to try to placate irate subscribers.

WARNING: since I wrote this post, Photographer’s i Issue 4 has been published, and it is quite different Issue 1 to 3. My conclusions on this publication here do not apply any more. See my (updated) rant on the matter for further details.

I’m an avid reader of photography magazines. These days I’ve got over the repetitive, shallow print titles that seem to be little more than dressed up advertising wrapped in either ghastly overblown epic landscapes or the perennial soft porn. I’m also increasingly getting bored with gear, and more and more realising how meaningless in real terms the vast majority of gear review sites are. But what I do still enjoy is reading about photography and photographers.

The publishing world has been turned on its head first by the internet, and then by the iPad and its copycats. A direct-to-consumer business model has emerged which allows viable publications to be run free, or almost free, of advertising or the more insidious product placement. Two particularly nice examples of this are “Photographer’s i”, edited by Michael Freeman, and “Photograph”, edited by David duChemin. I’ve subscribed to both.

Photographer’s i, which has reached Issue 3, is perhaps the most ambitious. Edited by the renowned author-photographer Michael Freeman, it uses a fully interactive format and is distributed as an iPad Bookshelf app through Apple’s App Store. The format allows for embedded video, for interactive tutorials, and for variable formatting. It is quite similar in approach to National Geographic’s electronic edition. It features an eclectic and impressive range of contributors, and each issue is pretty weighty. Production standards are immaculate. It does cover some technical topics, but completely avoids gear reviews. But mostly it’s about photography, in all shapes and sizes. It’s available by subscription, at £2.99 for 2 months, or by issue at £3.99. There are also free samplers. Issue 4, however, seems to be rather overdue, and I’m pretty sure my subscription auto-renewed already. There are several complaints about this on the App Store. I suspect it is due at least in part to Apple’s restrictive pricing models. Another downside, for some, is that so far it’s iPad only. But if you’ve got an iPad, and you’re into intelligent writing on photography, then it’s a no-brainer.

Photograph is brand new, with Issue 1 just out. Published through Canadian world & humanitarin photographer David duChemin’s Craft & Vision, this is a straightforward PDF title, so it’s more universally accessible. Going by Issue 1, and by the general quality of Craft & Vision titles, Photograph has little to envy Photographer’s i for. The list of authors is equally impressive - Photographer’s i may have Steve McCurry, but Photograph has Art Wolfe. Photograph also gives more space to, well, photographs, with generous portfolios from a series of photographers, ending with an interview. A classic, but effective, format. And although they’re at different points in their careers, duChemin is just as eloquent and readable as Freeman. Photograph also covers a wide range of styles and downplays gear - although, again, there is some technical content. Based on Issue 1, the balance is fine. Photograph Issue 1 costs $8. A subscription to 4 issues will cost $24 - and you can try Issue 1, then pay an extra $16 to subscribe if you like it. A pretty fair deal.

Both titles are well worth your money and your time. Of course, if you haven’t got an iPad, then Photographers i is out of bounds, which is a shame. Hopefully they will find a way to reach a broader market (although I’m sure the iPad market alone is perfectly viable). Long term, I do wonder if the less overhead-intensive production approach of Photograph might give it more staying power. I’m afraid that Photographer’s i may have bitten off more than it can chew. But the key, in both cases, will be maintaining the quality of content, and avoid repetitiveness. Time will tell, but so far they’re both doing a great job.

The online magazine Great British Landscapes was launched late last year, and has now reached issue 8. The brainchild of Tim Parkin and Joe Cornish, it is a very interesting hybrid between a traditional photography periodical (albeit at the higher brow end) and a blog. It is interesting that is was launched more or less at the same time as Advanced Photographer, both apparently in reaction to the somewhat mindless level of standard magazine fare - at least in the UK market.

Great British Landscapes, Issue 8

The content is part free, part subscription, with several subscription models including an issue by issue one, which is a good way to test the waters (I’d upgrade to an annual subscription if only I could find out how to do it!).

The subject matter is essentially, and obviously, British landscape photography, an area of which both the founders are strong exponents. This style was recently lambasted by some commentators to Mike Johnston’s The Online Photographer, in response to a review of a David Noton book, as (for example) “the padding of a thousand amateur photography magazines” - and worse. Now that’s not very polite, and one could argue that they just don’t get it, or flame back with choice comments about eyeball-searingly dull and witless “art” photography ... but there is a kernel of justification in that viewpoint. So there’s a trap there which needs to be avoided.

I don’t consider myself a landscape photographer - although I’ve got all Joe Cornish’s books, and one of David Noton’s, not to mention Charlie Ward and the rest of the usual suspects - so I’m not unappreciative of it. I also don’t really consider myself British, although nominally I am. And as for “Great”, well…  So I’m not really in the sweet spot of the target audience. But I subscribed anyway, partly out of support for a valiant effort.

Initially it did seem to be playing a bit safe, and there seemed to be a few teething production problems.  Design-wise, however, it was a hit straight out of the box.  The site is very attractively produced and laid out, and highly readable. Extremely impressive work.  The initial subject matter was fairly predictable (you can see all Issue 1 for free), Scotland, Landscape Photographer of the Year, etc, and generally - and understandably - took a somewhat more conservative line than Tim Parkin’s blog.

One thing that in my opinion didn’t work, and still doesn’t, are the videos. Generally following a “masterclass” sort of format, I’m afraid to be blunt they’re pretty tedious. Way too long, and nothing that actually justifies the use of video. But to be fair video - essentially TV production - is a pretty hard nut to crack. I’d recommend they work with a videographer. Or maybe I need to acquire a better attention span.

As the issues started piling up, the content started to really take off, and with the last few issues it has pushed well past the boundaries of “a thousand amateur photography magazines” into something approach Ag territory, in quality terms.  Issue 6 laid into camera clubs with Tim Parkin’s entertaining rant on The Sacred Rule Of Thirds, Issue 7 has a in-depth and excellent article about Fay Godwin, and Issue 8 has a lengthy interview with Chris Tancock, a photographer who is actually well over on the “art” side of the field, and is himself not that enamored with the “Great British Landscape” school.

If anything the title could start to become a limiting factor in the site’s success. I would not want it to abandon its roots, but the editorial team has already clearly demonstrated that it has the intelligence and photographic education to step outside of the genre and examine it through other eyes.

I think I’ve gone on enough about this. If you haven’t already done so, you really should click here and make your mind up. For my part I strongly recommend Great British Landscapes. Well… maybe except the videos 😊