given up magazines, learned so much more!

Simon photo

Simon photo

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So, mainly because of the ridiculous amount of money spent and the fact that, if you actually look back through a years subscription you see so much recurrence and repetition it just gets boring. I've been reading the usual suspects for the last three years now but for the last six months i kicked the habit and you know what? I wish i did it earlier. I have found myself shooting more of what i want. Im not hooked up on settings, gear or fads. Im more relaxed about shooting and its really shown. I don't find myself editing nearly as much as i used to as i now only have my own ideals to live up to rather than some over cooked post production technique.
Im also shooting nearly 90% film now and lust after trying new films and aspire to buy a large format camera instead of top flight digital, the effect of reducing the exposure to advertising perhaps?
I have a confession to make however, i do still buy the British journal of photography now and then as i find it to be a stimulating read on a subject i love, it never repeats itself and allows a glimpse into the world of some extremely talented practitioners working today.
Im not twisting the knife in the back of the glossy mags full of adverts but i would say that anything more than a years subscription is a waste of time, they hamper creativity and cost too much to for what is essentially a pamphlet. Try separating out the actual articles from adverts, you'll have a shock at the limited content.
 
Hahahaha sooo true to be honest I love to read magazines on public transport etc but photography wise I will only buy photo professional and the british journal of photography these days, the quality of some australian and uk for that matter, publications is truly shocking!!!
 
I gave up reading photography magazines donkey's years ago because the South African prices were absurd. I did glance through them occasionally in bookshops, but they're repetitive and there was never much to interest me anyway. Tend to rely on the internet and forums now.
 
Being relatively new on the scene I still find them usefull. Yes the price is a killer but buying the occasional copy when it has a subject of interest on the front cover I have found can be of use. e.g I like macro and landscape work so I have a tendency to pick up copies of digital photo that have main articles on this. Some of the lab tests on different bits of kit are quite handy also, providing you don't get overcome by any bias that may appear in the reports
 
I gave magazines up for a while but now read Advanced Photographer and Photo Professional, although this British Journal sounds good i may have to give that a go.

Mainly i enjoy articles about the professionals and what they get upto on jobs etc.
 
Yeah, maybe i missed the part about regular features that i used to enjoy, only one i can think of though lol was the dench diary by Peter dench. Was an amusing, insightful and honest look into his world. Apart from that can't even say i enjoyed the kit reviews, how many 100% crop comparisons can one man really stomach!
 
My fondest memories of reading photography magazines were in the public library when I was a teenager. This was in the late 60s and Victor Blackman used to write a column in AP. I remember him discussing the Nikon F and the Photomic head, and I think this was when I first knew I had to have one! Took me about 10 years though, and I eventually got an F2.
 
My brother reads those things religiously and its really annoying for 1 reason...

He will bring up something he has read in a magazine, I'll give him the info he's looking for and then he disputes it heavily under the quote "the magazine said..."
 
there is nothing wrong with the glossys and when your starting out they can be a mine of information but to follow the tutorials to the T and step by step can lead you down some monotonous alleys. i used to cringe at the readers sending in their work for the "it worked for me" sections where they went out of their way to fully emulate a tutorial from a previous issue.....thats not what its all about, it should be about freedom and developing your own ways, style and technique. but....they sell enough copies, and there are enough publications so there must be plenty of people with stacks of them piling up in their studies im just glad their not in mine any more :lol:
 
I read them :eek: well one to be precise, ( Digital SLR Photography) and have learned a lot about CS5, quick tips and cheats, I think for a newbie they can be useful when trying to understand terms etc etc

Just my 10p's worth

Les :D
 
If you can work Google they're pointless. There isn't room for all of them any more but the people who make/publish them are trying to squeeze every last penny out of them with repeated content that wasn't great the first time around rather than investing in making a quality magazine that will be worth buying.
Newspapers are going the same way.
 
DazJW said:
If you can work Google they're pointless. There isn't room for all of them any more but the people who make/publish them are trying to squeeze every last penny out of them with repeated content that wasn't great the first time around rather than investing in making a quality magazine that will be worth buying.
Newspapers are going the same way.
Click to expand...

+1 to that
 
I used to me subscribed to one, but cancelled it. Same old stuff month after month, too many adverts and not enough good content. I know how too shoot in RAW, I dont need to be told every month.

Saying that, my wife bought me a sub to a Landrover mag for xmas and thats the same.

The they bring out the yearly "special edition" which is just a compliation of all the stuff that was in the last 12 mags word for word.

Places like this are much better, the challenges and the learning experience.
 
Afraid i'm just a sucker for a nice glossy magazine, cancelled loads of subscriptions over the years, but always end up getting more.

Travelling by public transport to and from work can get a bit boring so like something to read
 
DazJW said:
If you can work Google they're pointless. There isn't room for all of them any more but the people who make/publish them are trying to squeeze every last penny out of them with repeated content that wasn't great the first time around rather than investing in making a quality magazine that will be worth buying.
Newspapers are going the same way.
Click to expand...

Spot on, I think the light bulb comes on for all of us at some point that they are just regurgitating the same old fodder and it's time to stop buying them. The advert to content ratio is unbelievable in some of them

But you are right, that there is definitely a market for one of them to actually do some work and research and pull together something that's new and interesting every month.
 
I too like having a glossy magazine to read but have also given up buying them. I do have a subscription to Digital Photo (free black rapid anyone) which, for me, is the next step. I only buy a magazine now if it specifically discusses something I was looking for
 
I have had mags in the past, but as said, over a 12 month period, you can get repeats...

I've taken the 5 issues for £5 from Digital SLR once every blue moon.

Amatuer Photography is good, but gets very costly if read regularly,
 
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