View Camera Magazine, Special Edition

[Jan Pedersen]

My mailman delivered a nice surprice today.
September/October issue of View Camera Magazine with 59 unpublished plates by Paul Caponigro.
Print quality is the best i have ever seen in a View Camera mag.
Worth bying for those who don't have a subscription.

[Jim Graves]

I haven't received mine yet ... but it is just crazy to me that this community doesn't support VC magazine better than it does. I understand that some have had personal issues that get in the way of subscribing ... but this is the only publication that supports LF ... and has for over 20 years. The recent quality has been excellent. Frank Petronio's recent article is a great example.

I am about to sell a few years of duplicates that I have acquired and I went through them to list what is included ... I was stunned by the number of photographers represented, the volume and variety of photos, and the weatlth of articles on equipment and different processes.

Buying a magazine off the rack doesn't really do a lot of good ... most of the money goes to the store and distributor ... if you really want to keep the magazine going you have to subscribe. And with the recent recession, advertising has dried up ... so subscriptions become critically important.

[Merg Ross]

I haven't received mine yet ... but it is just crazy to me that this community doesn't support VC magazine better than it does. I understand that some have had personal issues that get in the way of subscribing ... but this is the only publication that supports LF ... and has for over 20 years. The recent quality has been excellent. Frank Petronio's recent article is a great example.

I am about to sell a few years of duplicates that I have acquired and I went through them to list what is included ... I was stunned by the number of photographers represented, the volume and variety of photos, and the weatlth of articles on equipment and different processes.

Buying a magazine off the rack doesn't really do a lot of good ... most of the money goes to the store and distributor ... if you really want to keep the magazine going you have to subscribe. And with the recent recession, advertising has dried up ... so subscriptions become critically important.

Jim, I agree with your remarks, and was an early subscriber. The recent issues have been excellent. Congratulations to Steve Simmons for persevering in these difficult economic times, and for continuing to deliver such a fine product to the large format community.

I look forward to receiving the Caponigro issue, knowing that it was a long time in planning. A published portfolio of that size is very rare.

As to your final point, perhaps Steve should cease offering the newstand option, as Brooks Jensen did with Lenswork. View Camera is certainly worthy of a strong subscriber base.

[Vaughn]

Definitely worth supporting! Looking forward to my copy!

[Drew Bedo]

My copy came on Saturday. What an issue. Its a little like the old Lens Work but without all the editorial filler.

The aluminum foil images were intriguing,. The window image is my favorite. I feel that I have received what should be a limited edition photo-book, in my mail box for <<$10!

[Louie Powell]

I haven't received mine yet ... but it is just crazy to me that this community doesn't support VC magazine better than it does. I understand that some have had personal issues that get in the way of subscribing ... but this is the only publication that supports LF ... and has for over 20 years.

Some people just like to bitch about everything.

I agree with Jim - VC is the ONLY magazine that consistently supports large format photographers and needs our support. Yes, it's not perfect - but it arrives regularly.

[Eric Biggerstaff]

I can't wait to see it! Hopefully mine will arrive this week. I know this issue has been in the works for several months and it sounds like it will be a treat.

[Gudmundur Ingolfsson]

[QUOTE=.. but it is just crazy to me that this community doesn't support VC magazine better than it does. I understand that some have had personal issues that get in the way of subscribing ...

You might call it a personal issue, but I have another name for it when you are charged
$ 70 a year for a foreign subscribtion and only every other issue surfaces. I was a loyal subscriber for 18 years from the first issue.

[Bob Kerner]

As to your final point, perhaps Steve should cease offering the newstand option, as Brooks Jensen did with Lenswork. View Camera is certainly worthy of a strong subscriber base.

I think that would be a tragedy. I subscribed years ago but stopped. As I recall, I'd go a long time without seeing a delivery. But my memory might be faulty.

Recently I started looking for it at my local bookstores and was told they stopped carrying it due to low volume sales. I quick email and a member of Steve's staff sent me a free copy to review. I understand the importance of subscription support but there is also another reason why maintaining newstand/bookstore sales are important: a lot of people don't want every issue of every magazine. They want to go to the store, scan the table of contents and then decide whether to take it home. I only purchase what I know I'll read.

That said, I'll probably re-subscribe if for know other reason than the closest bookstore that still carries it is a 30 minute car ride away.

[lilmsmaggie]

That said, I'll probably re-subscribe if for know other reason than the closest bookstore that still carries it is a 30 minute car ride away.

And this is precisely why I became a new subscriber last week. Not only is the closest bookstore that carries VC magazine at least 45 minutes away but it is located in a very traffic congested area in a shopping mall! Gets a bit disappointing to drive all that way in traffic only to find that the latest issue hasn't arrived yet, even when the web site says it was shipped to stores in time to be on the stand when you arrived.

But its not the bookstores fault -- that distinction belongs to the distributor.
The publisher and the bookstores are at the mercy of the distribution chain and have very little control over delivery.

Ditto with mail systems. All mail systems and Post Offices are not created equal.
Some areas in the world have very good, dependable mail service and some go wanting. Mail delivery in some U.S. cities are the same way.

I would even venture to say that mail delivery may vary within the same zip code.