New PhotographyBB Issue (Issue 4)

Issue 4 of the online photgraphy magazine PhotographyBB is out and I've promised them I'd read it all this time. The articles in the past issues that I have read have been of great quality and on interesting topics, so when I see stuff like:

Regarding this recent release, Dave Seeram - Editor and Publisher says, “Issue 4 is here and fully stocked on our digital shelves! Although we had to delay this month’s issue by one week, this month’s issue is by far our best issue to date! This month we’re taking it to the next level by including photographic shooting techniques, a trip to Vancouver, and even more tutorials than last month, including Photoshop, Elements, and even a Dreamweaver (for the photographer) tutorial!”

in the press release for issue 4, I know for sure that there is good stuff contained within the digital pages.

Now, if only I had a super fast color printer and ink was dirt cheap, I could start reading it on the bus this morning...

EDIT: Incomprehensible dribble fixed.

FILE Magazine Rediscovered

FILE Magazine is something I've mentioned before, but it's also something I have to say I've forgotten about. They've got an RSS feed, so there's really no reason for me to forget them. Anyway, my recent trip to the site led to finding some pretty interesting projects:

1. The Illuminati Young people illuminated by electronics.
2. Night Aerial Photography
3. Workspace Photos of workspaces. You'd think the photos would have no focus, since workspaces can be quite messy, but these photos have great composition that wonderfully captures where you work.
4. On Coal and Appalachia

PhotographyBB Issue 2

An anonymous tipster writes in to tell me that the latest issue of PhotographyBB is now available. Here's a snippet of the "press release":

PhotographyBB announced today, the release of the second edition of the PhotographyBB Online Magazine. By way of download in either PDF or ZIP formats, PhotographyBB is setting the stage for the future of magazine distribution. In a completely ad-free format, each issue contains informative and educational tutorials for amateur photographers.

I haven't had a chance to read it (there's also a February 2008) issue, but when I get home, I'll be sure to take a closer look. It looks (at a quick glance) very promising, however, and I definitely expect it to be. I just hope they can keep up the ad-free format.

ePHOTOzine

ePHOTOzine, apparently the UK's largest and friendliest on-line photography magazine, looks like a hit. There are tons of articles, tips, reviews and techniques. Check it out, even if you live in France—they won't mind.

JPG Mag Happenings

With issue 11 on newstands and issue 12 set to drop soon, JPG Mag keeps going at full throttle. Two new themes are up for issue 13 submissions: Passport (travel photography off the beaten path) and Gravity Powered (capturing the action of extreme sports). Both themes should provide amazing submissions because they are both things that lots of people photograph. I can't wait to get some time to look through them, and of course to see issue 13's actual selections when it comes in the mail.

Not only do they seem to constantly be working on gathering new content and slicing and dicing it up to lay it out in a magazine, they've also been busy making changes to the website. It wouldn't be a community site if you couldn't add comments to other people's images, but now you can track your activity as well. From a post entitled See Who Said What Where:

"Last night we launched some new features to help keep track of your contacts and activity on your photos. On the front page, you can now see the latest photos and stories from your contacts. This replaces the strip of your photos that have recently been made favorites, but don't fret. The new Activity page shows you not only that, but people who have recently made you a contact, and comments you've recently received on your photos and made on the photos of others."

It makes me wonder if JPG Mag is trying to become the next Flickr. I don't see how this could happen with the one photo per theme, but if you think of themes as moderated groups on Flickr... Anyway, I'm glad to see that JPG Mag keeps growing, and I can't wait to see what more the future brings.

Original Founders Leave JPG Magazine

Being a watcher of JPG Magazine's community, (and recently a contributor) it was interesting to learn that the company who runs it, 8020, has lost the 2 founders Heather Champ and Derek Powazek. This seems to be due to differences in the back story of the magazine, though it seems as though the JPG's about page has very briefly summarized Derek and Heather's involvement in the beginning of the magazine. I think it's important to read the real story and understand where the magazine really came from, but not let the situation destroy the magazine. Let's just hope that 8020 doesn't further ruin a great thing.

It wouldn't be fair to not mention 8020's response to the whole thing.

Update: JPGMag's Unofficial group on Flickr, has some interesting comments. Most notably the number of "I'm cancelling my account." Obviously, they don't realize that Derek still owns a portion of JPG and won't benefit from this at all...

Also, The Wayback Machine has the old About page.

Top Photography Blogs

If you're just learning about digital photography (or film) in your spare time, as I am, or are a full time studio shooter, traveler, or other paid camera-slinger you undoubtably subscribe to some photography magazines. I for one keep getting Outdoor Photographer even though my subscription ran out; thanks! I also subscribe to ShutterBug. I find that ShutterBug is insightful for thinking about new techniques and equipment to buy, whilst Outdoor Photographer is mostly just inspiring with some sprinkles of technique. Both magazines, I think are geared more towards learning than say, American Photo or any of those artsy or journalism ones. (Note: I love "artsy" photography, I just don't subscribe.)

However, the purpose of this blog isn't necessarily to point out good magazines that you can get in print, although I guess that might not be a bad idea for a future article about off-screen learning, but in fact it is about the numerous resources of the World Wide Web. There are many great blogs out there that update their content much more regularly than I, and in fact with much more insightful and useful tips and articles. That isn't to say that you should stop reading Photub of course. If you've been a reader of Photub for any length of time, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

The blogs that I am listing in this post, are blogs that I consider great additions to your RSS subscriptions—those blogs that probably have enough new content for books or bi-monthly magazines in themselves:

In no particular order...

1. The Online Photographer: The Online Photographer packs a wallop of new commentary, reviews, techniques and personal adventures into a blog that is updated fairly frequently.
2. Photocritic: Perhaps one of my favorite blogs, is this one. The authors always have something interesting to share, and do a good job presenting it. The critiques that are occassionally done are quite helpful to new and upcoming photographers, and the DIY attitude helps create some really useful and fun tools. Of note is the DIY Pringles can macro lens, that I have been wanting to try out.
3. Strobist: Everything you'd ever want or need to know about effective flash photography is right here in this blog. Literally courses of information are contained on the pages of this blog. It's also not all about flash photography. Consider the recent series about Flickr and what it can do for your photography career. Insightful articles, interesting topics and amazing techniques make this truely one of the best photography blogs on the internet.
4. Photojojo: While not really a blog per se, Photojojo's unique style and unique media (email newsletter), make it in a class of it's own. I include it in this list because they do have an RSS feed, making it "blog like." I have just one complaint about Photojojo and that is that they often seem to post stuff late, after it's already been posted elsewhere. Nevertheless, Photojojo has knocked my socks off more than a few times with interesting ideas, it's creative writing style and overall growth.
5. Digital Photography School: Anyone looking for tips can always find something at DPS. Choose a "Random Tip" or read them all. It's easily becoming an encyclopedia of techniques, buying tips, etc. for the beginner, casual student and the advanced amateur.
6. Andy Frazer's Night Photography Blog: Taking pictures at night can yeild some extremely interesting results, but not many will give you insight on creating breathtaking images at night without the flash. Andy Frazer does. You'll see lots of examples of compelling night imagery, if nothing else.
7. After Capture: The only site listed here, that actually is a monthly publication, actually has a decent blog. The blog talks, interestingly enough, about post production of your images. Becomming a "post production prince" might not happen overnight, but it'll probably happen faster with the reading of some of the articles here.
8. DIYPhotography.net: Face it, photography equipment is expensive, and we see time and time again, that a cheap light tent provides excellent results. DIYPhotography.net is all about creating cheap equipment to aide in the creation of great photographs. It's a wonderful collection and continues to grow.

The web is full of great content, and with RSS being used by nearly everyone, there certainly isn't any reason (other than time) that you can't be informed of the latest photography happenings, techniques and ideas every 15 or 20 minutes. Surely there are other great blogs out there that I did not address, but these are the ones I read on a semi-daily basis. If you think your blog should be on this list, please submit it for review, and I'll take a look.

FILE Magazine

At FILE magazine, they publish images that treat subjects in unexpected ways. "Odd angles, unconventional observations" fill the galleries and I must say, some of it is awesome. Be sure to check out local Philadelphian Jason Santa Maria's "Cornell House" and Sixteen9 by Keith Kin Yan