Photobooks, zines, reviewed, etc...

Every issue of Foam Magazine further cements the feeling I have that this is the best photography magazine currently being published.

The theme for this issue - Traces - offers a nod to the transient nature of life being captured through the permanence of photography. But how permanent is a medium in which millions upload their digital images to sites such as Facebook, only for those images to be lost forever when the site finally collapses. Couldn’t happen? Look at Geocities and the frantic scramble to salvage content before the titanic network of sites finally sank.

This time, my favourite portfolio comes from Anni Leppälä, in whose images all trace of identity has been removed, obscured, or simply scrubbed away. Another welcome edition this issue is a separate mini-magazine exploring the future of photography with a wonderful mini-essay by my favourite, Alec Soth. 

And finally, of particular significance to this site is the collection of book reviews, which I shall now sit down to savour thoroughly.

A note of apology to Foam Magazine - my copy only arrived this week, otherwise I would have been able to write about the issue much earlier. This was probably due to the Christmas post in the UK.

125 Magazine - The Art Issue

When I was writing my post for the last issue I was sure another magazine had arrived, but I couldn’t think what it was. Then I sat at my desk in my office at home and sat in front of me was the new 125 magazine. 

It’s a good one! 

From the website:

Issue number 16 of our acclaimed and highly sought after magazine takes it theme from the art world and is a bumper issue which includes a massively increased word count with a host of new interviews, articles and special features with the likes of Jenny Saville, Jean-Paul Goude, Warren Du Preez & Nick Thornton Jones, Hussein Chalayan, Moritz Waldermeyer, Alexandre De Betak, Dian Hansen, Modern Toss and other plus a special collaboration with Beth Ditto of The Gossip as Leigh Bowery.

We also have the usual 20 cutting-edge photo stories with a number of names you will know and a number that you wont have heard of before, as a teaser we’d like to mention Simon Emmett’s high-art pornstar crossover; an aliens search for art in a weird world, by Aorta; and Ben Morris’ interpretation of Henry Moore as a fashion icon.

If you’re in the UK remember that WH Smith stocks this now so you can pick it up in nearly every town. Seriously, this is a great issue. I particularly liked the interview giving an insight into the Taschen editorial and publishing process.

And as usual, the photography was - on the whole - excellent. Not everything was to my taste, but with so many diverse portfolios/stories to look through this isn’t surprising. 

You can usually browse the whole issue online but that feature seems to be broken at the moment, so just pop out and pick up a copy instead.

Talent - Foam Magazine #24

In amongst the fun of my laptop dying, a stack of magazines arrived towards the end of last week. Top of the pile was the latest Foam Magazine - my favourite photography magazine, and frustratingly hard to find in the UK.

The talent issue is always one to look forward to. This issue features a great selection of artists. The mixed papers used throughout the issue allows the work to be presented in the optimal way for each portfolio and serves as a visual - and tactile - cue as you move from one portfolio to the next.

The team at Foam have done a great job - again.

Other magazines that arrived at the same time:

- The latest British Journal of Photography

- The latest Hotshoe - which appears to be in a much bigger format than usual

I haven’t had time to look through these two yet (I reached straight for Foam and haven’t put it down yet) but I’m looking forward to a quiet opportunity to do so.

Field trip Magazine #1 - Summer 2010

I got back from holiday to find a pile of post waiting for me - books, magazines and other bits and pieces people had sent.

One which I was eagerly awaiting was Field Trip Magazine #1 - the inaugural issue of a brand new publication from Café Royal Books.

Craig Atkinson, Editor in Chief writes:

Field Trip Magazine is a celebration of analogue photography. Issue one is a limited run of 1000 copies, the first 250 of which are hand numbered.

I say that this magazine is packed - literally, absolutely packed - with great examples of analogue photography. And it’s not all “point and hope” + “it’s blurry so it must be art” either. There are some genuinely lovely images in here.

Having followed the progress of this magazine from conception, via Craig’s twitter feed and blog, it’s encouraging to see someone actually complete a project. Especially when the final result is as good as this.

The print quality is superb, and the paper choice is excellent. It feels like a cross between a magazine and a soft back book when you hold it. Very sturdy, but big like a magazine.

I plan to keep this around my desk to flick through whenever I think that it might just be easier, this once, to take a digital camera instead of film. It’s a reminder of the wonderful work which can be created with equipment that many people have assumed no longer has a role to play in today’s world.

Looking forward to the next issue.

Apologies to Craig for taking the above image from his site. I’m between iPhones and currently have no way of taking quick snapshots until the new one starts working.

The latest issue of Aperture arrived yesterday and it’s a good one.

Sometimes with Aperture the photographers they include aren’t quite to my taste, but this month there are several large articles I’m looking forward to getting stuck into.

The latest issue arrived last week. They had a nice little article on the iPad (and its relevance to photography) which was great timing as my iPad also arrived last week (they were released in the UK on Friday - or Thursday if you were lucky like me).

If you have an iPad I recommend the Guardian’s “Eyewitness” app (link). Although the “pro tips” are a bit cheesy and quite basic (if you’re a photographer) the images themselves are really interesting and high quality.

Another magazine … I buy too many of these.

Nice surprise when the new 8 magazine was delivered on Saturday. This is a fantastic UK publication. It is associated with the excellent HOST Gallery which is always worth a visit, even though it’s miles away from anything else in London.

As usual, full of good contemporary photography, articles, book reviews and other bits and pieces. It’s not distributed as widely as it should be - highly recommended if you can find it.

blown issue #1

I picked this up in Cardiff the other day. It’s the first issue of a new magazine which “offers a passionate and personal take on Fashion, Music, Contemporary Photography, Performance Art and Literature”.

It’s not my favourite magazine, but it has a good photography section including some new work by Clare Richardson of whom I am a big fan and my copy also came with a free Donald Christie print - cheers!

The latest British Journal of Photography arrived yesterday, courtesy of my subscription.

I love the redesign and if the move from weekly to monthly publication gives scope for more in depth articles then I support the decision. They seem to have found room for some book reviews too.

I was never a huge fan of the old format anyway. Too many poorly written reviews of equipment which had already been discussed at length online. It always felt a bit … amateur.

But this new format is a huge improvement and the wide distribution means that our news-stands will have something to offer instead of the plethora of “DSLR User” style magazines that currently swamp the market. (Nothing against them, and they have their target audience, but it’s not me and it’s getting harder to track down decent magazines now that Borders has gone).

Another quick update today - the latest issue of Hotshoe was delivered yesterday.

If you’re based in the UK then it is highly recommended that you buy this regularly, as it lists all the photography exhibitions and events around the UK. Knowing how hard it is to find about anything happening outside London, I find this invaluable.

They also review some interesting books this month - including a few on my to-buy list - and a great Todd Hido article.