Trying to contact View Camera Magazine re: unfulfilled subscription

[Gem Singer]

I agree with Brian.

There is no reason for Eddie's remarks here. They don't help the OP solve his problem.

If you don't like View Camera magazine, don't purchase it.

I keep the current issue in my bathroom library, right next to the throne. Makes the time go by faster.

I expect the Jan./Feb. '09 issue to arrive sometime in early Feb.

[Gem Singer]

That's what I was trying to say, buy the publications you like. There is no need to be critical the ones you don't like.

[Brandon Draper]

Don't worry. The Jan/Feb issue probably won't arrive until sometime in late February. It traditionally works that way.

If you are still worried, call them. I've always found Andrea and Steve to be quite responsive when spoken to in a calm, polite, and business-like manner. I'm more worried about these types of condemning threads - if it weren't for ViewCamera many of us wouldn't have much to read while sitting on the throne.

Thanks for the info. I look forward to getting my first issue.

[eddie]

thanks Van. very well said. i could not have said it better.

so.....What Van Said!

[Gem Singer]

Van Camper,

Of course that's my belief. Your remarks are your belief.

We are entitled to express our beliefs on this forum.

If we don't agree, at least it makes for an interesting discussion.

I happen to enjoy reading View Camera. I have been a subscriber for fifteen years. I don't expect every issue to be better than the last issue.

I repeat,if you don't like it, nobody is forcing you to read it.

[Robert Brummitt]

Stop it! Stop right now! What is all this bickering going to achieve?
The person who started this thread has the answer.
Call Steve or his associates and get your issues resolved. If they don't. Then call the Postal Service. That's what they are there. I did this for another magazine and once the Feds get into it, I got my subscription started plus back issues and the Editor added three future issues.
If you don't care for VC or any other photo magazine? Don't subscribe. If you are a causal reader then buy it at your local bookstore. It's that simple and best way for you to control your funds.
Sorry.

[BrianShaw]

x2

Wow... who died and left you in charge?

[stompyq]

I had the same issue as the op. Tried to contact VC numerous times and gave up in the end. I still enjoy the magazine but won't subscribe to it. Just don't want to waste another years worth of subscription money that just magically vanishes

[dwross]

A few years ago, I was at a New Year's Eve party in a small college town. One of the guests worked on campus in the mental health clinic. He was ripe with the cynicism of faux sophistication (and perhaps alcohol) and he was making fun of the school newspaper because they had just run an article on stress. "It seems like every four or five years they rediscover stress! You'd think they could drum up something new." It seemed to have slipped his mind that there was a new audience, in need of good advice on stress, every four or five years.

Those of us who've been going at photography for longer than we care to admit, sometimes forget the newcomers. They may not have seen 'the same stuff over and over'. They may not even be aware of a particular Google search keyword. The internet is of incomparable value, but it isn't a stand-alone medium. It is at its best as a partner to traditional publishing.

A magazine is a condensed collection of topics, meant to introduce and inspire. It is not a book or a workshop. If something you read in a magazine sparks your interest, you can find a book, a workshop, or an internet site devoted to one topic.

A magazine is actual. You can put it in your library and return to it year after year. Unless your house burns down, it will be there. I hope no one believes that's true for this forum or any other website. I didn't print out the last issue of Magnachrome I wanted to keep, and now it's gone - lost even to the wayback machine.

Eddie, it's hard to tell from your post what exactly you thought 'sucked' - Coffer's article, the dry plate article, the entire issue - ?. (Precise writing seems to be one of the internet's victims.) I doubt you have seen too many articles on dry plate photography. I was the author of that article. It was an attempt at 21st century journalism. I referenced my website, which is over a hundred 'pages' of content on silver gelatin emulsions - far more than could fit in one magazine article. The website and its content is free.

Here's what I know - fact, not opinion. I have received dozens of emails from people who were unaware that dry plate was being made and that you could learn how on The Light Farm. This despite being up and running for almost a year and my regular posts here and on APUG. I assume the same is true for every author in that LF issue. People still learn new 'stuff' from between paper pages. I love the internet. I couldn't do what I do without it, but it is only one avenue of information sharing. If we don't reach out every way possible, to people of every age and entry level, all that will be left of photography is the cell phone. The only good news if that happens is that you'll have your pick of cheap, used lenses.

Sincerely,
Denise Ross

[jeroldharter]

A few years ago, I was at a New Year's Eve party in a small college town. One of the guests worked on campus in the mental health clinic. He was ripe with the cynicism of faux sophistication (and perhaps alcohol) and he was making fun of the school newspaper because they had just run an article on stress. "It seems like every four or five years they rediscover stress! You'd think they could drum up something new." It seemed to have slipped his mind that there was a new audience, in need of good advice on stress, every four or five years.

...
Sincerely,
Denise Ross

Ditto. I agree with your post.

I see it both ways, too. I get fed up with magazines like PhotoTechniques which is now almost 100% digital but I still buy it because at lest I get to see some images and get a couple of film/darkroom articles every couple of months.

View Camera magazine might have faults but it is about the last man standing. I enjoy looking through my collection of the magazines every so often and review some things I had forgotten. Thanks you, Denise, for contributing.

People get up in arms about LensWork also but I think it is great. If better alternatives became available, I would check them out too but I don't see a lot of new developments lately.