New B&W Magazine

[vickersdc]

To go along with the new website, there's a new email address (which is active now) if you would like to contact this project. The email address info@creativeimagemaker.co.uk can be used to submit comments, ideas, thoughts, articles and images.

Speaking of images, the first Feature Image has been selected for the website and there's a photo gallery that will need some more images in it too. I'll be looking through the Flickr 'Creative Image Maker' group at http://www.flickr.com/groups/555449@N25/ to select some for the website. Take a look at the group pool of photos if you get a chance - there's some great images.

The first article has also been chosen, but I'm not giving away any more as there needs to be something of a surprise for when it all goes live on the 13th Jan.

Thanks,
David.

[Witold Grabiec]

have been sitting on this for a while, but this is a New Year for all of us and it's important to start "fresh" so to speak.

While I have no doubt some members have misread (or read incompletely) my earlier comments, I can see how the core of my couple of posts have overshadowed the rest that was said there. At any rate, I want to reinstate one fact and that is: I have never criticized View Camera for lack of content or great contribution of Steve Simmons to the LF community.

On another and a more positive note, I am happy that David has acquired a domain and working hard at releasing his website to the community. Time will tell, but I sure hope this is going to be a long standing and successful project.

From my own experiences with web, I know well enough how not easy it is to combine content and a clean site design. However, I don't subscribe to the notion that ..."If you don't drive a Volvo, you can't criticize it"...

For those who wished they could have a chance to criticize what I do, here is some of it:

wjgrabiec.com

[vickersdc]

Hi Witold,

Thanks for the comment - I hope that this project turns in to a long-running and successful project; and by successful I'm not talking about financial! I hope that the community joins in, whether it's submitting images or articles, or just stopping by the website for 10 minutes once a week. To me, it's a success if that happens.

And I've got to add that without constructive criticism, little would change. There's a lot that can be learnt from such criticism. Let's be honest here, I love receiving mails saying that this is an exciting project (and it is) and that people are getting involved, but constructive criticism is so important in forming ideas and moving forward.

Anyway, we go online at http://www.creativeimagemaker.co.uk on 13th January (UK) so I hope you'll pop by and leave some feedback.

Cheers,
David.

[David Spivak-Focus Magazine]

@FocusMag: thank you for your truthful insight - your experience counts as you are actually doing this right now.

I had to smile when you mentioned about personally wealthy! I've only got a website for the e-zine as a kind person gave me a donation to go and do it! I have enthusiasm and a passion to get this project done, but not money :-(

When we've spoken via PM in the past you mentioned about advertising and that's something I'm still thinking about - or rather I'm still thinking about how I'm going to make contact and get this sort of deal (asking for advertising revenue is not something I've done before, so I want to tackle right rather than go off 'half-cocked' as it were).

First of all, you'll be using lulu.com. Their quality is terrible from what I understand. Second, you'll be supporting slave labor. Lulu's books are printed in China. How much do you really think those people are making there?

Second of all, my suggestion about waiting until the holidays this year to release your first issue. Slow down -- take your time with this. Do it right. I am positive that there are some printers in either the UK or the US who will do a short run of 500 copies for you. Create a dummy for the magazine...make it small like 32 pages -- all black and white. Shouldn't cost you, really more than $5000. There are a number of shows, photography related in the US and the UK where you can distribute 100 or so copies to garner interest. Publish a couple of articles, a couple of portfolios, a letter from the publisher and you're good to go. Accept subscriptions on your website for the coming issue. PayPal is easy to use and FREE. Then, find out what it costs to print 1000 copies of your first issue with 64 pages + cover. Get it perfect bound. Buy your paper and binding seperately. I can help you with paper, but I can't help you with binding. Printers markup the paper and binding. Shouldn't be more than $7,500. Re-publish those portfolios and articles with more portfolios and articles. Hopefully you have 25 pages left. Sell each page, again all black and white, for $500 each. Sell your covers for $1000 each. Consider me your first advertiser -- I'll buy your outside back cover. You'll make double the money it costs to print your magazine -- use some of that money to pay your writers. When you have your first issue, send it to me and I'll make some phone calls to my circulation company and try to help you secure some bookstores in the US. Then, as soon as your first issue is launched, which is the most difficult, tell EVERYONE -- EVERYWHERE about it. Then, start working on your second issue. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. You have to understand that you will be responsible for doing all of the sales. You will be responsible for doing the layout and design. But if you rely on 99% of the people in the photography community to support you, you will see what an amazing group of individuals read these forums and how they'll shell out their hard earned money to help support you.

[vickersdc]

@FocusMag:

Thank you! I'm going to take a day or so just to take in what you've said there and get back to you. I've read it, but I want to sit down with it and mull it over. I like what you say, it makes perfect sense - but I'd also like a couple of hours to take it in!

I will be back in touch, and again, thank you for your support.

DV.

[vickersdc]

It's just a couple of days until we go live and I can't wait! There's been a couple of set-backs, but we'll deal with those in a moment.

The site is just about ready - a couple of finishing touches which I'll do Sunday morning, before publishing the site. I'm looking forward to getting it live, as I'd like to spend some time with my wife and daughter!

Now, about those setbacks. One contributor, John Cowie, was going to write an article but is due in hospital thanks to a bad leg. I'm sure you'll wish John a speedy recovery - then he can use that rest and recuperation time to write that article ;-)

The article that I was hoping to lead with has had to be put back one week to give out writer a chance to complete it! I can't wait for this one, and he was always up against it to produce the article against a pretty tight deadline. Not too worry, as it just so happens that I've a couple of spare articles knocking around that have been sent in!

I'd just like to say a huge "Thank You!" to those who have sent in their writings and images, as well as to those who have pledged articles.

Now for the one big setback...

Despite that fact that we haven't actually gone live yet, I'm busy writing a new website. It turns out that the web hosting package that I purchased (that clearly advertised an 'unlimited' number of pages) only had a very limited number of pages - 66 maximum. Whilst that might sound like a lot - it was arranged as 6 top level pages, each with 10 sub-level pages. That's it - no sub-sub-level pages, and no more than 10 pages per top level page.

Considering the number of articles that I'm hoping we can produce throughout the year, we're not going to get too far with that restriction.

So, I've had to start back from scratch, loading up an web-server and Perl language scripts on my laptop. I've had to dust off a few brain-cells from my days as a Systems Administrator working on UNIX systems to create the new site!

So, don't get too comfy with the version 1.0 of the Creative Image Maker site! I reckon we'll be renting that space for about a month whilst I write version 2.0, then we'll switch over.

Anyway, until then, enjoy http://www.creativeimagemaker.co.uk when it goes live on the 13th January (when we'll also launch the competition). The first article will be on the 15th.

Thanks to all those who have helped with advice, work, comments, pictures and to all those who have joined the Creative Image Maker group on Flickr ( http://www.flickr.com/groups/555449@N25/ ).

David Vickers.

[vickersdc]

I've just pressed the 'Publish Site' button, so I guess that means we're now live at http://www.creativeimagemaker.co.uk.

You might find that there's a slight delay before you actually see the site - don't worry; because of the way the internet works, the changes need to be propagated throughout the web (for those in the know, the Domain Name Servers need to be updated and could take up to 24 hours).

Cheers,
David.

[vickersdc]

I'm so dumb sometimes - can I just let you know that the site is up and running at http://creativeimagemaker.co.uk - note you do not need the 'www' bit!

Apologies.
David.

[D. Bryant]

I'm so dumb sometimes - can I just let you know that the site is up and running at http://creativeimagemaker.co.uk - note you do not need the 'www' bit!

Apologies.
David.

I'm confused after visiting the new site, I thought this site was supposed to be about B&W photography, yet there is a color image of the opening page.

Don Bryant

[vickersdc]

Hi Don,

Whilst the magazine will be predominantly B&W, I feel that there's enough space and time to have some colour stuff in there too.

As far as the opening image goes - I didn't have much choice to be honest - it's part of a pre-defined template and there was no option for a B&W image. Fear not, if you've read the news (or looked at the blog site at http://creativeimagemaker.blogspot.com) then you'll know that the site is already being completely re-written, from scratch, due to a 'misleading advert' by the web hosting company. Version 2 will be along in about a months time and will have a slightly different look.

In fact, on this point, if readers send me feedback on the current site then it's a great opportunity to make some changes as I'll have total freedom now that I'm starting from "square 1".

Thanks for your comments Don.
David Vickers.