Topic: Colour in B & W Magazine.

[vicky slater]

This month they have a colour spread in the magazine, a good one too, I was really pleased to see it

What do you think of them introducing colour?

[This-is-damion]

Im good with it,  I love B&W (the medium)  but im no purist.

I always thin of B&W (the magazine) as a UKphotogrpahy magazine that goes way beyond what everyone else offers.   I have zero interest in endless adverts and tech reviews on the latest P&S digital.  I also appreciate readers galleries and "creative" photography.  Susuans articles are always a winner.   I used to read AP,  this was more to do with an hours commute each day on the train, but I soon burnt out on endless mindless snaps of statues that were only commented on as they were pin sharp and true to life colours. 

What Im trying to say (albeit badly) is that I like the magazine for looking into the art of photography rather than the mainstream digi P&S brigade.

[vicky slater]

yes, agreed on the general uk photography thing, i actually would like if they didn't distinguish between colour and b/w but considered anything that they thought was well done.
i don't even mind the digi p&s reviews, i'll read it all, if only to feel glad that i'm happy with what I have

[gothamtomato]

Back when they announced the reader challenge about hand colored photography, (that they ended up using my pictures for), they had said it was everyone's only chance to get their color work in the magazine. And then they did have a feature about hand coloring in the January issue (though I was disappointed by the kind of hand coloring it was). Maybe they got a positive response to color and so decided to keep featuring it.

I haven't seen this month's issue. We're a month behind here in the US. But B&W is one of my favorite magazines. We don't have anything of its quality over here.

I think that with the state of magazine publishing, in general, all magazines have to expand to a degree, to try to grab more eyeballs (and advertisers) just to stay afloat right now. And a magazine like B&W, which doesn't have any non-endemic advertising might need to expand it's editorial parameters to get the advertising it needs - just to survive.

[vicky slater]

gothamtomato, i imagined you had numerous photog. magazines over there though maybe it's like here.
in my local newsagents, whsmiths, we have b&w mag and the bjp and the rest are all commercial/photoshop/digital, they're not all bad but not what i'd want to buy regularly.

borders, about 20 miles away, stocked a really big selection that i would spend hours poring over, but unfortunately the shop closed down, it was really sad.

is there a list of magazines on filmwasters at all?

[Francois]

I don't think there is... if there is one, it's probably very old anyways. So many publications have begun to disappear recently (publishing is a tough business)...

[salvo]

gothamtomato, i imagined you had numerous photog. magazines over there though maybe it's like here.
in my local newsagents, whsmiths, we have b&w mag and the bjp and the rest are all commercial/photoshop/digital, they're not all bad but not what i'd want to buy regularly.

borders, about 20 miles away, stocked a really big selection that i would spend hours poring over, but unfortunately the shop closed down, it was really sad.

is there a list of magazines on filmwasters at all?

Hi Vicky, if you don't mind looking at foreign press, there're a couple of French magazines I always try and get whenever visiting the in-law in France. They are photography magazines and as any other they have the articles and adverts on digital etc. but overall I think they show nice and interesting photography and informative about events (albeit mainly on the continent) and other people work.

Polka Magazine, dedicated to photojournalism http://www.polkamagazine.com/sommaire.php?mag=polka8

Reporter sans Frontiere. they publish special issues dedicated to the work of photograpers http://www.rsf.org/Albums,33282.html

Images Magazine http://www.imagesmagazine.fr

Connaissance des arts photo - http://www.connaissancedesarts.com/photo/#0

Azart photographie -  http://www.azartphoto.com/

Reponses Photo, it is more commercial and consumer focused than the others and some numbers can be pretty "bad" compared to others. Of course digital is the main medium and lot of gear talking and testing here but they have often some film/analogue based article, in the last issue i bought they also wrote about lith printing (albeit pretty small article), i only buy it occasionally after a browse "a la WHS". What I normally like are their special issues during the year called "Hors Serie" usually dedicated to more specific themes/topics. Unfortunately they don't have a website.

[mikeg]

Hi Vicky,

I'm sure if you do a search here or over on apug you'll find loads of info on magazines.

The magazines I get are:

Ag and Shots, both of which I really like.

Also, Silvershotz which I have a love/hate relationship with. Some issues are great, others leave me cold. At the moment more issues than not are disappointing so I'll probably stop subscribing when this volume finishes.

Ag and Silvershotz were in Borders so I expect that you've seen those.

I'd love to subscribe to Lenswork but the postage and the exchange rate are holding me back.

I stopped subscribing to B&W Photography last year but still out of habit buy it. I just don't like the more general reviews along with features such as the recent HDR one. It just seems dumbed down now and aimed at a more general audience. I haven't seen the colour article yet, but I'm off to Focus on Imaging on Sunday where they usually have B&W cheaper than the news-stand price so I'll check it out then.

Cheers

Mike

[euge...]

Ive just flicked through the new look BJP ,monthly and 6.99 gbp ,which looks well worth delving into.

[gothamtomato]

gothamtomato, i imagined you had numerous photog. magazines over there though maybe it's like here.
in my local newsagents, whsmiths, we have b&w mag and the bjp and the rest are all commercial/photoshop/digital, they're not all bad but not what i'd want to buy regularly.

borders, about 20 miles away, stocked a really big selection that i would spend hours poring over, but unfortunately the shop closed down, it was really sad.

is there a list of magazines on filmwasters at all?

We have a bunch of photography magazines, I just don't think they're very good. Most are just about selling equipment. Some magazines that were good years ago, long ago slid into mediocrity (especially - sadly- Photo District News & American Photo). Both of those started out great, 30 years ago, but drove into a ditch when they were sold away from the originators.

I do think Lenswork is wonderful & find it sad  that it's no  longer on news stands. I have always liked View Camera as well, but there is so little to read in it anymore (I'm guessing that's because they don't have the advertising to support it).

I find the start up of COLOR magazine encouraging though. Great to see someone going against the tide of all the naysayers who claim that magazines are dead.

[vicky slater]

thanks everyone, there's lots to be going on with there!
i guess i like b&w mag because it is so varied and it feels quite unpretentious, there is something for everyone, so if they add more colour i'd be very happy.

oh and i just took a look at the color mag page and they have a competition that closes at the end of the month if anyone's interested.

[choppert]

I preferred it when Ailsa used to edit the mag (don't say I said so) and stopped buying it after issue 100.

The Lee Frost end-piece used to really annoy me ("look where I live and what I do") and it wasn't the same when Mike Johnston was dropped - though it's certainly still better than the rest of them in WH Smith.

Whenever I passed the Leicester Borders I used to drop in  - they did have much better mags (if that doesn't sound overly seedy).  RIP Borders

[edthened]

Och tae tell ye re trooth, a miss Borders tae         

[Windy]

It's a far better magazine than the dozen other mags available at our local newsagent. All the others seem to be full of how to do photoshop and HDR.

I think occasional colour articles add to the quality of the mag, especially when (as this one) it is advertising an exhibition.

[Karl]

I like it. I even emailed Liz Roberts to tell her. The effect is quite shocking in a sea of monochrome, but I think black and white and colour all have an equal place in terms of creative choices.

[vicky slater]

karl, good idea, i should do that too.

[christopher walrath]

Why do they continue to call it B&W?  I personally prefer black and white photography to color.  Not to the point of exclusion, but the titles imply a focus of direction for subject matter that inclusion of color photography kinda defats the purpose IMHO.

[Francois]

Why do they continue to call it B&W?

It saves on the ink

[christopher walrath]

It saves on the ink

Good one.  ;p