Irish Magazines and Photographers

stcstc

I use indesign all the time for corporate stuff I do

its designed for this kind of thing

I would be happy to do the collation of stuff, but would prefer there be 2 or 3 people involved in the production.

coolcon

Hi, I'm not a regular poster but i read the forums quite a bit and I think what you plan to do is interesting. I thought I'd give my thoughts (though I'd say I'm well under-qualified to talk about this compared with some of you). If you're doing it all on the cheap you could easily rustle up some nice designs on programmes like Inkscape and a handy one for layout is Scribus . That programme allows exporting in PDF. A good place for distributing the magazine online is Issuu, I'm not sure about costs involved there but they have a nice reader on the site. I don't think content for the magazine would be to hard to come by on a forum like this so all in all it shouldn't be too hard to string together an issue. Probably where you will have problems is repeating the trick and getting people to keep writing bits and supplying their precious photos but a good-looking and well-written first issue should motivate people to get involved. Though I'm not a forum regular (or even a great photographer) I'd love to help and I will certainly download a copy of the finished product.

Pen1987

Give me a shout if you want any articles written.

PCPhoto

The main thing here really has to be the content.Since the idea is to do this quarterly there should be plenty of time to get enough content ready.PCPhoto had a good list made up which we could probably add to

PCPhoto wrote:

gear reviews - start with basic nifty fifty's then wideangles, mid-range lenses, telephoto lenses...prime lenses.

upcoming gear- whispers on the grapevine

gig reviews, gig previews, - other event/sports reviews/previews

tips and tricks - both photo techniques and photoshop/lightroom etc

Readers letters - asking advice.

Digital v Film....medium format v SLR.

Competitions ..... winner gets pass to photo gig or sports event etc

Since we are going quarterly we could have an article on each season where several photographers give they're take on it.
E.g for the first issue it would be Spring,there would be several photos printed that represent it best,then another photographer could do a write up on what's the best way to capture Summer.And so on for the year.

Also in each issue one photographer can write an article on their area.The photographer could write about their favourite photographic spots in the locality with accompanying photos.In the first year we could probably go with areas in or around 4 of the big cities Dublin,Cork,Galway & Belfast.I'm not sure if these ideas will work practically though.

Another idea would be to have the winners of the boards awards categories to showcase their work.Maybe doing 2 an issue out of landscapes/portraits/street/macros/sport/gigs and finally photographer of the year.Doing an article on what drew them to that side of photography,how they take their shots etc.People have suggested keeping this separate from boards however so I'm not too sure about this idea either.

Maybe people can add and expand on PCPhoto's list,with the amount of knowledge on these boards this shouldn't be a problem.I think we should probably focus on content at the moment as the design/output isn't what'll make the magazine stand out in the end.

ThOnda

And sharing some knowledge from FAQ and regulary mentioned threads?
So many ideas, so little time...

kensutz

The problem with PCPhotos suggestion of a prize would suggest that we need to get the user an accreditation. It might be difficult for sporting events as you need the required passes obtained at the start of the season for most sports. Still we could work on something I suppose.

jaqian

challengemaster wrote: »

I'm sure ken could comment on canon gear or do reviews or something. He owns most of their stock anyway :pac:

Maybe not tie it with boards, but how about sort out some kind of advertising with DeV? Stick one or two boards.ie adverts into the mag and in return the mag gets an advert on boards? Just a thought that sprung to mind. May be stupid, idk.

Pix.ie might be good for some advertsing as well. Also would be interesting to read an interview on Marcus

Anouilh

kensutz wrote: »

The problem with PCPhotos suggestion of a prize would suggest that we need to get the user an accreditation. It might be difficult for sporting events as you need the required passes obtained at the start of the season for most sports. Still we could work on something I suppose.

Also, it's worth keeping in mind that many of us are amateurs and are not particularly competitive.

It may be offputting to find the Boards.ie "elitism", which I've seen mentioned from time to time, take over a new venture before it begins.

Another area would be to link to desktop publishing skills through articles that would be useful for bloggers.
I know this is available throughout the Internet, but quick lists of tips and top sites would save people time searching.

elven

This sounds interesting. I'd love to see more than just a collection of pictures - some articles:

Something along the lines of what Darren suggested with the stalking idea (;)) maybe documenting a shoot of some kind - photographing the photographer, 'a day in the life' or something.

People could also share their work in progress if they are currently working on a project or share completed projects.

Gear reviews can be found everywhere so i'm not sure it's worth going to the effort to include them. Instructions for home made lighting/studio setups or other lens/camera hacks would be interesting though.

People could write about their favourite places to visit and share images from there from different times of year, maybe. I know I've been to the bots enough to put something like that together!

One collaborative collection of images thing that would work is the thread with the 50mm shots. That's a nice way to pull a wide range of stuff together. Could even be split into particular lenses - the canon 1.8, the canon 1.4, the nikon one, and then the random antique ones that people have...

Just some ideas to add to the mix. I'd be up for helping out with submitting/editing or anything like that.

elven

please please please please no gear reviews. Please.

Covey

I'd be more for what Elven says above.

Maybe not try to emulate the Mags that exist out there, but push ourselves a bit.

I think we may well surprise ourselves if we imposed no catagories and just looked for submissions. I know for a fact a lot of the more interesting stuff being taken by many, rarely makes it on here.

Anouilh

Rather than witter on indefinitely, perhaps someone could tell me what I should do?

I'm happy to write a piece about taking macro shots of flowers with my Canon kit lens and Sigma dg apo macro, as this is what I know best.

A title could be:

"The Macro-Botanist".

Give the word, say how many words and how many photos and I'll start.

Also, format for presentation would be useful.
I use some basic rich text program on my Windows XP.
Don't have Microsoft Word on this computer but have access to one that does.

Anouilh

elven wrote: »

please please please please no gear reviews. Please.

I love gear reviews. They are the only way I can work out what to buy. Every shop I have gone into has salepersons who probably think I am both aphasic and slightly dim as a result of my inability to work out why I am buying the lens they are selling me. One man resorted to drawing diagrams to explain crop factor. It's easier to stay home and shop online.

elven

yes, but there are gear reviews EVERYWHERE ELSE. Why try to do something that is done so much better elsewhere? Just google it, tbh.

Anouilh

While that is true, I like the local advice I get from people who use equipement under the same conditions as I do.

There are tips for cameras that suit the persistent greyness of the Irish climate... or at least for accessories that help to improve one's shots.

I know that some posters here find there is too much emphasis on gear, to the neglect of philosophy and aesthetic analysis, but I think we are getting it right.

(Bring back Barthes, BTW.)

Borderfox

I would agree with Anouilh with regards to specific gear reviews to the Irish climate, never has so many wide apertures been needed by such a small cloud covered/grey island.

AnCatDubh

If still in ideas mode;

elven wrote: »

photographing the photographer, 'a day in the life' or something.

There was a guy here posted at one stage that had won the 'win a job' tv competition with i think it was the star and became a press photographer - can't remember who it was so apologies if you are reading, but he may be amenable to being stalked for a couple of assignments.

elven wrote: »

Gear reviews can be found everywhere so i'm not sure it's worth going to the effort to include them.

I agree and unless it were going to be scientific evaluations it wouldn't stand up. Most mags have available details of their test bench. Not saying that this couldn't be done but it just sounds a lot of effort for repetition of what will already be in the wild.

I do think that there may be an alternative approach available to this - that is for people where willing to give a personal story about an item of gear. Something along the lines of "Why I love my Sigma 10mm f2.8?" or "Why I drool over my Holga?" - this is more experiential than scientific and is simply saying that this is the personal experience I've had rather than this is the scientific data (which can be read anywhere online).

soccerc

AnCatDubh wrote: »

If still in ideas mode;



There was a guy here posted at one stage that had won the 'win a job' tv competition with i think it was the star and became a press photographer - can't remember who it was so apologies if you are reading, but he may be amenable to being stalked for a couple of assignments.

That would be James Crombie. James now works full time for Inpho sports photography agency and our paths meet every so often.

Not sure if his bosses would like him being stalked but he's very amenable and open. Next time I bump into him I'll ask if he'd be interested.

davenewt

Slow lunchtime, trapped indoors. Have just re-read this thread from the top. Allow me to spill out my thoughts through my keyboard, for what they're worth.

So...

A new online PDF photo mag is generally accepted as a nice idea.

It should contain a variety of new/different/not-available-elsewhere articles, i.e. no merit in straightforward gear reviews which are available everywhere else. Also no point in simple vanity publishing "my photo is in a free PDF mag" nonsense.

To my mind, an Irish/local focus with perhaps a tongue-in-cheek style and perhaps some more off-the-wall articles loosely connected with Ireland and photography (both, not either!) would work well, or at least it should be kept light and humorous rather than deep and serious.

A simple collection of people's photos will hold no interest for many, let's be honest. There must be good content in the form of engaging, well written, informative, thought-provoking articles. Maybe I'm out on a limb here?!

Therefore content has to come from people who know their stuff (experienced about what they write, or tell to a writer in the case of a day-in-the-life or what-I-think-about-lensbabies kind of way) and contributors must be able to write well enough (and within deadlines) for an Editor to form into engaging, informative articles without losing his/her hair.

I would question whether anyone (any professional/full time employee, perhaps I should say) would be willing to take editorial and design control of this if it is to be a wholly unpaid project. It will take up a lot of time if it is to be done properly.

The "cheap, fast, good - pick any two" project triangle is very relevant here - i.e.

1. if it has to be cheap and good it will take ages (you might get one or two issues out per year and then everyone will lose interest);
   
2. if it's cheap and done quickly (regular issues) it sure as hell won't be good (nobody will care to read it);
   
3. if it has to be good and out regularly (sustainable) - I think we all agree on this? - then it couldn't be cheap, or at least won't be free.
   

So, could it in any way generate a small income, at least to the extent that designer/editor/writers are paid *something* to produce it?

• Advertising - highly unlikely before you've built up a readership?
  
• Paid subscriptions, even if "only" €1 or 50c an issue, perhaps with a charitable focus ("50% of subscription charges donated to xxx...") - impractical for an electronic mag?

Before we get to article ideas, logistics need to be considered more carefully - i.e. who will run it, can a schedule be agreed and deadlines enforced (if people are expected to write/edit/design for free, no), are there enough contributors with required commitment (I expect you could find enough with time, again if doing it for free would be difficult to spend the time required), is cost/income an issue (from my own point of view, short term I could justify being involved for "free", longer term I would need "something" back from a project like this).

Sorry for the long post. Like I said, only spilling my thoughts as I'm trapped at my desk thanks to the weather.

D.

Covey

All of the above are valid points.. but are we not running before we can walk here.

I thought the object was a smallish online mag, mainly from the Boards Photography Forum, for free every couple of months.

What it may develop into or not is another story.

Have I picked this up wrong?

davenewt

Covey wrote: »

I thought the object was a smallish online mag, mainly from the Boards Photography Forum, for free every couple of months.

What it may develop into or not is another story.

Have I picked this up wrong?

Maybe not - perhaps I did. But even for a "smallish online mag every couple of months" it will take a not inconsiderable amount of time and effort to create something people will want to go (back) to.

In any case, who's going to run it and why (who for), are the first two questions that need a concrete answer, before anything can happen, and at the moment everyone's ice-skating merrily around that elephant in the room.

I need a coffee :rolleyes:

Personally, I wouldn't be interested in a casually compiled infrequent vanity publishing exercise for forum members or a select group of photography enthusiasts alone, but if the intention is to develop something more serious, I might be interested in spending some time helping to develop it.

's all I'm saying!

elven

Yep. We need an editor, or a selection of possible editors before we even know if it can be pulled off...

stcstc

dave i have to agree with you

when i suggested the idea, what i had in mind was something that could be developed over the long term, not just odd published versions of boards posts etc

My other idea was some more based on the art side of photography, as there are sooooo many news and review type publications

not suggesting no reviews etc but a larger bias to art and style

I am deff interested in getting involved, but i dont think i am editor material

Fajitas!

I'll give a +1 to what stcstc and Davenewt posted there.

Paulw

I have to say that this whole thing is very interesting. There is so much scope though, with the variety of skill,talent,experience on boards.

Gear reviews can be good. Just look at the number of threads asking about this/that lens/body, etc. But, it should be limited.

Comments on style, technique, etc might be more broader and useful to more people.

Just my view.

bullpost

Because there is no popular Irish Photography magazines there is a gap there to be exploited in terms of content and features.
I think it would be key to engage with a readership as quickly as possible.
So regular features on Irish Camera clubs, Competitions, "Me and my Camera" type features , magazine organised outings , readers questions etc. should all help to develop a readership and spread the word.

Covey

bullpost wrote: »

Because there is no popular Irish Photography magazines there is a gap there to be exploited in terms of content and features.

TBH, I doubt there's a gap for an Irish Photo Magazine, as in a printed on the shelf mag. Can't see that myself.

I think a PDF Mag has good prospects of building up a sound readership, but I can't see anyone making money out of it, not even pin money. More a "put on your CV" type of thing.

T.

bullpost

Covey wrote: »

TBH, I doubt there's a gap for an Irish Photo Magazine, as in a printed on the shelf mag. Can't see that myself.

I think a PDF Mag has good prospects of building up a sound readership, but I can't see anyone making money out of it, not even pin money. More a "put on your CV" type of thing.

T.

Agree. I didn't mean a print version more that the type of features that such magazines produce are up for grabs in Ireland.

Anouilh

bullpost wrote: »

Agree. I didn't mean a print version more that the type of features that such magazines produce are up for grabs in Ireland.

Print is where overheads really start to soar.

I've just been sent a link to the
latest (online) edition of the music magazine
"State".

http://www.state.ie/blog/state-issue-10-an-announcement/

It is explained why there will be no print edition this time.

There are some exceptionally good photos, notably portraits, the layout is sharp and the copy crisp.

A possible source of prototypes?

Also, for true enthusiasts, they have a Facebook group:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=14607237082

ThOnda

I would prefere more photography, about photography and about people, than hardware.

And also if somebody wanted to create a copy translated to Gaelic... :pac:

AnCatDubh

Anouilh wrote: »

Print is where overheads really start to soar.

I've just been sent a link to the
latest (online) edition of the music magazine
"State".

http://www.state.ie/blog/state-issue-10-an-announcement/

It is explained why there will be no print edition this time.

There are some exceptionally good photos, notably portraits, the layout is sharp and the copy crisp.

A possible source of prototypes?

Also, for true enthusiasts, they have a Facebook group:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=14607237082

That is really cool - thanks for sharing.

So, a good idea to concentrate on online version particularly to contain costs - maybe though keeping an eye to print on demand options. Generally you are talking about supplying a PDF format for the POD company to print from which you will have in any event.

I like the idea of some charge however nominal - perhaps after it finds its feet and builds up a following. I don't think anyone would expect to be paid for their work (i might be wrong) but we could use it as a charitable act.

The one really nice thing about the boards book which is a payment in kind I guess was the warm fuzzy feeling you had from knowing someone somewhere had benefited in some way from the sale of something that you were involved in. I presume everyone like me was watching the reports on the thread of 90, 95, 98, and then breaking the 100 mark - yeah it was absolutely worth it.

I'm kinda thinking if a charge however small were to be implemented at some point with the publication then it would be as well to have it out in the open from the initial issue. Even €1 per download if interest built up could make someone in poorer circumstances than most/all of us here very happy. How would you collect a euro per download? Just a thought.

Fajitas!

Anouilh wrote: »

There are some exceptionally good photos, notably portraits, the layout is sharp and the copy crisp.

Exceptionally good photos are no surprise, considering DotOrg shoots a lot for'em!

The last edition of Display we ran through was 700ish for 200 copies. It's gone to 1100ish for the next run I think, which isn't great considering it's sold for about €2, going for the typical starving student market. It was moreso a portfolio piece for all involved.

jaqian

bullpost wrote: »

features on Irish Camera clubs,

Actually they could be a good source of information, news, compettions and readership.

Don't print make a PDF download. With at least 70 camera clubs in the Republic and however many in N.I. along with all the photos forums etc you should get a good distribution.

Sell some ads, which can ne used to pay for hosting etc.

jaqian

ThOnda wrote: »

I would prefere more photography, about photography and about people, than hardware.

And also if somebody wanted to create a copy translated to Gaelic... :pac:

It would be interesting if you did a feature on some historical figures in Photography as well as seeing interviews with modern ones (Martin Parr, worth a shot and is on Flickr so accessable enough). Also what about interviewing people behind stock agencies like that headcase in England thats on TV. Probably tell us to f€ck off but nothing ventured nothing gained

davenewt

Some good content ideas, keep them coming.

I'd be all for a face-to-face meetup/discussion one evening with a few like-minded people who would like to get involved in a project like this to see if it has wings.

To be clear: I would like to see an independent, perhaps infrequent to begin with, but certainly an interesting photography mag with unique content. Notwithstanding the amount of ideas that have come from this thread, I don't believe it should be directly linked to any one forum or organization. Nor should it be controlled by some vast committee. It would need to operate as an independent magazine with a proper structure behind it.

That said...

How about anyone who would like to get involved in the PRODUCTION of this send me a PM with their contact details and outline how they would like to help?

Not saying I will be running this whole project or even that it will be going ahead, but I'm happy to arrange and be involved in a realtime discussion. I can pass on all details if another co-ordinator emerges from the fog in due course... and I won't use anyone's info for marketing of third party products or services...

Perhaps at this stage, to keep it simple:

• anyone willing to provide content or suggesting ideas for content please keep posting to the thread
• only those interested in taking the content and editing, designing, producing and distributing (whether online or in print) such a publication please PM me your details and availability to meet either one evening or weekend for a couple of hours over the next few weeks.

Hope this is cool with everyone. Any other suggestions as to how best to proceed gladly welcomed, please also PM me if you wish.

David.

AnCatDubh

Another idea for content is a "now" and "then" feature. People like Andy McEnroy who posts here from time to time has already done some of this with his sea scapes, caves, and rugged countryside. And a regular 'open challenge' could be for people to take a well known scene and to return to it today and shoot it. There was an old set over on a dublin forum in the last few days and I'm thinking that it would be interesting to see a "now" and "then" side by side. I was amazed at the "then" set from the Dublin forum as the streets were actually spotlessly clean and there were lots of bikes around - it would have a certain interest value to showing the same scene from 10, 20, 30 years ago with a today ( "now" ) equivalent. May be difficulty in gaining older pictures i would think but users themselves may have older prints that could be used.

Anouilh

This is the sort of review I like to read:

http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/eosfaq/manual_focus_EOS.html

Writing such a detailed article would be another matter...

minikin

http://www.purpose.fr/index.html

Anouilh

That's a good site. Thanks for sharing.

I have a lot of posts on

http://moderntwist2.blogspot.com/2007_09_30_archive.html

That could be presented in a format that is less blogger's
ticker-tape. Many of the posts have links in the Title Bars.

The cow photo in this series of links is mine:

http://www.facebook.com/photo_search.php?oid=4431656145&view=all