Do you subscribe to any photography magazines?

[John_SD]

I do. I subscribe to Outdoor Photographer. I thoroughly enjoy it and have gotten some great tips and ideas from the articles.

For example, in the October issue, there is a general theme of how to best capture fall colors. In places such as Zion National Park (which I've been to numerous times,though mostly in the winter) and the Grand Tetons, which I've never been to. I always seem to take away something of value that may help me in my travels.

I also subscribe because magazines are becomming a thing of the past and i want to at least do my part to subscribe to a few that I enjoy. Though admitedly photo magazines are a dying breed. Popular Photography, as most of you know, folded not too long ago. 

Do you guys subscribe to any? 

[RobertTheFat]

I don't. My wife subscribed to Popular Photography for a couple of years., but we decided we weren't getting enough out of it. And I had formed the opinion that the pictures they ran were too over-Photoshopped for my taste.

Frankly, the reason that most photo magazines are folding is that you can find a lot of the same information online if you prowl around a bit.

I subscribed to PP when I was in high school and again when I was right out of college. But that was then, and this is now.

[John_SD]

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@RobertTheFat wrote:

I don't. My wife subscribed to Popular Photography for a couple of years., but we decided we weren't getting enough out of it. And I had formed the opinion that the pictures they ran were too over-Photoshopped for my taste.

Frankly, the reason that most photo magazines are folding is that you can find a lot of the same information online if you prowl around a bit.

I subscribed to PP when I was in high school and again when I was right out of college. But that was then, and this is now.

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I hear ya, Robert, and while I agree wholeheartedly that some images are Photoshopped to the point of cliche -- for example, streams and small waterfalls in which the water has been processed to look like cotton candy -- I myself enjoy Outdoor Photographer and invariably learn something from the articles. YMMV.  

[RobertTheFat]

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@John_SD wrote:

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@RobertTheFat wrote:

I don't. My wife subscribed to Popular Photography for a couple of years., but we decided we weren't getting enough out of it. And I had formed the opinion that the pictures they ran were too over-Photoshopped for my taste.

Frankly, the reason that most photo magazines are folding is that you can find a lot of the same information online if you prowl around a bit.

I subscribed to PP when I was in high school and again when I was right out of college. But that was then, and this is now.

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I hear ya, Robert, and while I agree wholeheartedly that some images are Photoshopped to the point of cliche -- for example, streams and small waterfalls in which the water has been processed to look like cotton candy -- I myself enjoy Outdoor Photographer and invariably learn something from the articles. YMMV.  

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That "cotton candy" effect comes not from Photoshop, but from the current fad of using a slow shutter speed to blur the water. I don't like it either. It may actually be more like what your eye sees, but it looks unnatural because it isn't like what your eye thinks it sees.

[ebiggs1]

No.

[Tronhard]

In Canada there is a free (and thus good value for money) magazine at www.photonews.ca.  Anyone can download the PDF version or read it on line, but if you want a free hardcopy you have to have a Canadian address.

I did a Google search for free photo magazines and was amazed by how much stuff there is out there.  And before I get beaten down by all the cynical veterans, for newcomers free magazines can be an enticing way to get some basics and maybe consider learning more - via clubs, courses etc.  But there is nothing like being inspired by the work of others.

[John_SD]

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@Tronhard wrote:

In Canada there is a free (and thus good value for money) magazine at www.photonews.ca.  Anyone can download the PDF version or read it on line, but if you want a free hardcopy you have to have a Canadian address.

I did a Google search for free photo magazines and was amazed by how much stuff there is out there.  And before I get beaten down by all the cynical veterans, for newcomers free magazines can be an enticing way to get some basics and maybe consider learning more - via clubs, courses etc.  But there is nothing like being inspired by the work of others.

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I agree wholeheartedly, Tron. I often have my nose in a photography book, magazine or website. While much of the literature is focused on the fundamamentals, there are many, many sources which go well beyond that. And then, of course, there are the workshops.

Reading and self-study, of course, should not be the be-all and end-all, which is why I try to take what I've read about or just observed, and try to put it into use in the field. There is simply no reason why anyone should stop learning. One of the things I really love about photography is that it is not only a technique-rich hobby, but there is a sunstantial art aspect to it as well, and it is this aspect of blending technique with art that I love.