Practical Photography magazine closing - final issue in July

Had my final issue in the post 2 days ago , All very sad after 60+ years
 
Have they not found a buyer for it?
Sea Angler has been bought and the staff are staying as they are. That is one saved from la guillotine. I would think Practical Photgraphy, with its standing in the marketplace would be another title to find a buyer.

The main problem with the Bauer titles is that the overheads are so huge. The title on its own is profitable, but they are paying enormous overheads.
 
Brian G said:
I agree.
It's very easy for anyone to set themselves up as an "expert" and start posting "tutorials" on YouTube, and there is some shocking stuff on there.
On the other hand, there is also some really good stuff there too, and I think, recently, I've learned far more from YouTube and manufacturer videos, than I've ever learned from a magazine.
Most mags in recent years seemed to come with their own video cover disk anyway.

How can you tell if a mag, or the person writing for it, is "decent" and trustworthy?
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Because the publisher continues to pay them for their content. The editor continues to commission them and their content is vetted proor to publication by the publishing system.

Let's turn the question around: How can you tell if a 'free information service' (blogger, you toober, whatever source) is 'decent and trustworthy'? Who is vetting their output?
 
Lensflare said:
Because the publisher continues to pay them for their content. The editor continues to commission them and their content is vetted proor to publication by the publishing system.

Let's turn the question around: How can you tell if a 'free information service' (blogger, you toober, whatever source) is 'decent and trustworthy'? Who is vetting their output?
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Exactly.
Hence my post about "It's very easy for anyone to set themselves up as an "expert" and start posting "tutorials" on YouTube" - who verifies the posts for truth and accuracy?
I recall having an exchange with one self-appointed YouTube "expert" who was adamant that perspective changed as a result of lens focal length, rather than a change of viewpoint.
I would regard anything a person like that posted to be suspect, but a less experienced person may not recognise the error.
 
Absoletly.

There is no vetting of any information put out by blogs and vlogs. Some are published by established industry figures with years of experience, yet others are by people with no training, experience or qualifications on the subject, but thanks to genetic fortune are blessed with good looks and a nice voice are able to produce a professional looking resource that is all style and no substance - but it then gets picked up as the truth as coming from a blog with a modicum of respect.

I see it in the motor industry. Re-reading articles from the older days - up to the 1990s, the journalists were a lot more informed and would discuss technical features in some depth. Manufactuers would divulge some features in the press packs. Now the manufactuers are much more secretive about things, and the new batch of journalists are less well informed anyway, that the resulting articles is mostly padding, or bits of press release reproduced verbatim.
 
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andrewc said:
I see it in the motor industry. Re-reading articles from the older days - up to the 1990s, the journalists were a lot more informed and would discuss technical features in some depth.
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Then the Clarkson Top Gear era started...
 
Nod said:
Then the Clarkson Top Gear era started...
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Ironically Clarkson is actually a pretty good motoring journalist - when he puts his mind to it - and not dependent on pleasing car companies to get access to cars. He and May can distill down a review to a few words without feeling the need to puff it all up.

Motoring magazines shifted in the 90s to becoming more in bed with the manufacturers. The likes of BMW do not tend to get called out on aspects of their cars which are maybe not as good as the reputation. The likes of Porsche put out new model variations in the knowledge tha the motoring press will lap up the new model just to get the cover headline and column inches. Technical nuances tend to be misunderstood and prejudices parotted. (Bit like the internet!)
 
andrewc said:
A successful magazine has a portfolio of writers, ranging from the stuffy technical types, to the more entertaining fluffy types.
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I enjoyed reading Kevin MacDonnell's articles in "Photography". He was able to move smoothly from outrageous anecdotes to quite serious discussions on technical subjects. I don't recall any other writer on photography who had such a breadth of experience nor such a pleasant writing style that communicated his enthusiasm so well.
 
andrewc said:
Re-reading articles from the older days - up to the 1990s, the journalists were a lot more informed and would discuss technical features in some depth.
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Yep, exactly why I loved CCC back then :)

GC
 
Pity that PP has bitten the dust and the pile of crap that is Amateur Photography survives
 
The only Photographic mag I bought every time it came out was one called PIC. People In Camera. It was only ever about technique, mainly people obviously and flash. I don't recall it ever having camera reviews. I think it only lasted a couple of years before folding.

I don't think the magazine format has much, if any, life left in it now.
 
Gear-based rags have largely had their day, but I think there's still life in magazines that concentrate on showcasing the work of interesting photographers with high quality reproductions (e.g. BJP or Aperture).
 
welshwizard645 said:
That was a great magazine, founded by Keith Wilson. He left, and as I recall, it didn't last too long after that. Outdoor Photographer, thankfully, lasted a lot longer but has been disappearing down the path of repetition for a while - ie running out of new locations/viewpoints.
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Outdoor Phtographer probably didn’t help themselves with the fact that their locations were almost invariably the Highlands of Scotland, Lake District or Wales or articles about a pro’s six months in the Kalahari. There were no locations within in Cambridgeshire in any copy I ever looked at, with the best will in the world if you can’t find locations that are viable to visit what’s the point of buying it?
 
GordonM said:
Outdoor Phtographer probably didn’t help themselves with the fact that their locations were almost invariably the Highlands of Scotland, Lake District or Wales or articles about a pro’s six months in the Kalahari. There were no locations within in Cambridgeshire in any copy I ever looked at, with the best will in the world if you can’t find locations that are viable to visit what’s the point of buying it?
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Actually Cornwall and Devon, as well as the Scottish Highlands dominate the viewpoints and locations. Wales fares poorly as does Northern Ireland in comparison. You are right in saying that a few areas get little mention and some counties are very poorly represented while some locations have appeared 4 or 5 times (I keep a log - how sad!). Back to Wales, I think my patch, the Vale of Clwyd has only featured once or twice; and I thought I would check if there were suitable locations in southern Snowdonia, again there wasn't an awful lot, I was in Betws-y-Coed last week and wanted inspiration (had to go to the fotovue book instead)...

Back to PP, the last copy was on our coffee table as I wanted to call a few insurance companies to bash Glover and Howe down in price. I thought I would flick through it in the 15 minutes I had after lunch before going back to my desk. I might get through a few articles and pick it up again later.

No - managed cover to cover in 15 mins so the decision was made to recycle.
 
There were no locations within in Cambridgeshire in any copy I ever looked at, with the best will in the world if you can’t find locations that are viable to visit what’s the point of buying it?

Just a little perspective - I live in the UK and visit Cambs reasonably frequently. It's actually quite an awkward part of the country to reach and it usually takes me 23 hours or so to get there if I take my car. To be fair, I 'm not usually going there to take photos!
 
TonyHall said:
Magazine publisher Bauer, is closing a number of its titles, among them is Practical Photography.

The magazine, established in 1959, will publish its final issue in July.

If you have an annual subscription it might be worth doing a bit of research wrt a partial refund.

Personally I haven't read a photography magazine for 40 years (altho' I did very infrequently flip through a copy of BJP at college in the mid 80s); however it was Victor Blackman's column in Amateur Photographer during the late 1970s that inspired my pursuit of a career in press photography.
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I used to read it back in the 1980s, but stopped by around later 1990s and don't read it anymore. Although I no longer read it, I just want to say that it is sad to hear it had stopped.

Although I can't remember clearly, I could be confusing it with another magazine, but I remember when reading Practical Photography, I used to like a couple of things about it. The articles on what's in a photographer's bag. Sometimes I would get some ideas from looking at other photographer's gear, specially how other photographers carried more rolls of film.

And the other reason, is because of one of the magazine staff called Sally. Short black hair, female photographer, who writes articles for the magazine. I kind of liked the look of her. :)
 
GordonM said:
Outdoor Phtographer probably didn’t help themselves with the fact that their locations were almost invariably the Highlands of Scotland, Lake District or Wales or articles about a pro’s six months in the Kalahari. There were no locations within in Cambridgeshire in any copy I ever looked at, with the best will in the world if you can’t find locations that are viable to visit what’s the point of buying it?
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The locations are sent in by readers, this is your chance to put Cambridgeshire on the map!
 
justinminns said:
The locations are sent in by readers, this is your chance to put Cambridgeshire on the map!
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I was aware the main location was a readers i didn’t realise the extras were. I did once email Outdoor Photography and didn’t get a reply, even one to suggest sending a location in!
 
GordonM said:
I was aware the main location was a readers i didn’t realise the extras were. I did once email Outdoor Photography and didn’t get a reply, even one to suggest sending a location in!
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I believe there is a double page spread in the magazine each month with all the details for submitting content.
 
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