Lenswork Magazine

[jonreid]

Does anyone subscribe, and if so what's your opinion? I'd be tempted to go for the disc version as I have limited bookshelf space, but must admit I tire from reading in front of the computer after a while.

I've been a twelve-year-long subscriber to Aperture, and briefly to Foto8.

Jon

[Greg Lockrey]

I enjoy Lenswork the most of all the publications I've subscribed to. The printing quality in the journal is superb. It's not filled up with adds and the interviews are insightful. Looks good on my bookcase.... ;) ;)

[msk2193]

I get the hardcopy edition and must agree with Greg above. The CD, however is wonderful to go from images to the artist's own website for additional browsing.

[memorris]

Ike sworn is my favorite magazine. The photography and articles are superb and keeps my attention. I am a long-time subscriber and never tire of the magazine.

[darr]

I have been a subscriber for 10+ years and have many years of printed back issues that are simply beautiful to look at (good articles as well). However, I started to subscribe to the disc version since #57 because of convenience. The print version is an absolute delight to the eyes, but I have adjusted to enjoying the disc version as much, especially since they started including a lot more images and extra portfolios in the disc version than in the printed version. I would subscribe in a heartbeat and I would select the disc version. Hope that helps! :)

Kind regards,
Darr

PS: Lenswork is the only photo publication that I will be renewing this year.

I have decided not to continue View Camera after 20 years and I find the most recent B&W + Color issue: COLOR SPECIAL ISSUE to be a gross representation of good photography. There are a few shots that are good, but overall I find a lot of their "portfolio picks" to be visual junk. :(

[Brian Ellis]

I've been a subscriber for many many years, at one time I had almost every issue going back to #1 but shelf space became a problem so I sold my collection a few years ago.

I still get the paper version because one of the pleasures of LensWork for me is the fine prints. But then I love b&w photography, to me there's nothing better than a fine b&w print made digitally and LensWork is about as good as it gets short of the original prints. However, I no longer save each issue, I accumulate about three or four and then give them away to other photographers who I think might be interested.

IMHO it's the best "serious" photography publication out there for a combination of excellent photography and interesting, worthwhile editorial content, far better for me than Aperture to which I also subscribed for many years. LensWork is now the only photography publication to which I subscribe, having just ended my subscription to Photo Techniques.

[Robert Brummitt]

I'm a fan of the magazine as well. But, I'm more selective so I do not subscribe. I also prefer the digital version because of space. I sold my collection for photo books and camera gear.
I also have taken to use my iPad for reading and viewing Lenswork. I bought two back issues,loaded into my tablet and read while traveling. It was easier for me this way.
I hope Brooks would put Bill Jay's work into tablet format. That would be cool!

[Lenny Eiger]

I don't subscribe anymore. I think we have a lot of good photographers around. He's published a number of them. I got annoyed that he said we should all sell our work for $20 and I didn't like his stance about inkjet work. (He can publish it in portfolios but not in the magazine? So its ok to sell but not worthy of his publication? Please...). More importantly, he prints very dark, apparently no matter what the person's aesthetic is. Its gloomy and I got tired of being all depressed when I finished looking at the magazine. So I cancelled....

Lenny

[tgtaylor]

I've been a subscriber for several years now and always look forward to receiving the latest edition.

Originally I subscribed to the print version and then added the extended version to my subscription. However I recently dropped the print version and continued with the extended version due to belt tightening in the current recession. If your budget only allows for one version, go with the extended as it contains many more images from the photographers profiled as well as recorded interviews with them and other pod casts.

Lenswork's customer service is excellent. I recently missed an issue - I believe the PO put it in the wrong PO Box and the lucky recipient kept it instead of putting it back for delivery. I sent Brooks an email and he responded promptly and a replacement was sent out. Coincidentally I also missed an issue of View Camera recently and sent them an email. They were slower to respond as my email was sent around 4 July when their website said that the office would be closed for a few days. They did respond when they returned asking if I had yet received the issue. I responded that as of that date i hadn't and a replacement issue was mailed first class.

Regardless of the version that you subscribe to I'm sure that you will find your purchase well spent.

Thomas

[Renato Tonelli]

I think it's worth subscribing to Lenswork.

I subscribe to only two magazines: Lenswork (print and CD) and View Camera magazine. (I just stopped subscribing to Photo Techniques - it got to the point where I was reading only Vetal's column). I have resolved to purchase only single issues of Aperture; there are some issues whose content I simply cannot digest - I chalk it up to personal bias.

There are issues of Lenswork that I absolutely cherish and then there is that occasional issue that gets a quick leaf-through and never looked at again. It seems to me (also) that the digital images are printed too dark. I appreciate the extras on the CD but I don't enjoy looking at images on the computer as much - it's a personal bias.
Their workshop CD's are also very informative and worthwhile.

[Kirk Gittings]

It seems to me (also) that the digital images are printed too dark.
I actually believe that he never learned to calibrate his monitors........

[Steve Gledhill]

For me it's the the best image magazine by far. I subscribed to the print version for some years then moved to the Extended CD/DVD version 35 issues ago. On a good monitor the Extended version is excellent - and you see many many more images. I also paid for all of the early versions when they became available in CD. So, I have the lot. I spend an occasional hour looking back through them and am heartened by the usually high quality of work selected. Whilst only a small portion of the presented material falls into my fields of interest, I find most have some elements which feed my imagination and are inspirational in some way. What a treat to have a magazine with no adverts. Worth every penny. Thanks to Mr Jensen.

I just wish they'd sort out a PayPal payment problem they have at present - I'm trying and failing to renew my overseas subscription. But, as other have said, they are unfailingly helpful in their customer service.

[D. Bryant]

So is anyone signed up for LensWork Online?

http://www.lensworkonline.com/

[h2oman]

I bought the big box of back issues (I think there were 23 of them), and those kept me entertained for a bit. I then took out a 2 year subscription that I am about halfway through.

First, concerning size: I have 28 print issues on my shelf, taking up just a little under 7" (horizontally). They're not that thick, and they are only about 8 1/2 inches high. I get the DVDs as well, so that adds a bit more storage space.

Otherwise, here are the pros and cons, for me.

Pros:

1. I like B&W photography.

2. The print quality is good. I agreed with the complaint about the prints being too dark and gloomy until I went back and looked more objectively. Now I don't agree with that in general. I can find a couple portfolios that are printed pretty dark, but for which that is appropriate for the subject matter, in my opinion. I did find one portfolio that I think was printed too darkly for the subject matter.

3. No advertisements.

4. Some of the audio interviews on the extended discs are good.

5. This reason is a bit thin, especially in these economic times, but I figure subscibing is supporting the art of B&W photography by supporting a forum for atists' work.

Cons:

1. The print sizes are a bit small in the magazine. I prefer to look at my book collection.

2. I'm not a great appreciator of all photographs and subject matters. In particular, I find myself not that interested in the cultural/people type things in Lenswork. I'm more drawn to architectural, landscape and abstract work, which might comprise only one of the four portfolios in each magazine.

3. Some of the audio interviews are long and unenlightening.

4. The writing is a bit one-dimensional, given that a very large part of it is by Brooks.

Neither a pro nor a con: Although the extended DVDs provide additional images, many of the photographers have web pages with all those images as well. In fact, I've found a very large number of web pages that I like to look at, with no help from lenswork at all.

Well, that's my 2 cents, worth exactly that!

[JeffKohn]

I didn't like his stance about inkjet work. (He can publish it in portfolios but not in the magazine? So its ok to sell but not worthy of his publication? Please...).
Why would it make sense to send an inkjet print that has to be scanned by Lenswork (with the inherent loss of quality that inevitably entails) when you can just send the digital image on disk? That policy doesn't seem at all unreasonable to me.

As to the original question I do subscribe and find the subscription to be worthwhile overall, although it seems that last year or so a fair amount of the work selected has been less to my liking than before (too much documentary/historical stuff, which I just can't get interested in). Hopefully that's a short-term trend though.

I also sometimes think the magazine would be better if the features were shorter. I know Brooks is a big fan of "project" work, but too many of the features seem to get repetitive due to having too many similar images. Cutting some of the features down by a couple images and using the extra pages to feature another photographer would be preferable to me.

[paulr]

Ok, a dissenting view. I got a free copy in the mail a couple of months ago, and I found the main essay to be terrifically simpleminded and indicative of the writer having slept through the last fifty years of art criticism. The photography was conservative and nap-inducing. I found a couple of images that had a bit of a pulse. Maybe. I feel guilty about recycling it because it's nicely produced, but doubt I'll ever pick it up again.

[jonreid]

I think I'll go with the CD version. Space is at a premium around here. Our favourable Aussie dollar makes it a little more worthwhile.
Thanks for your input everyone.
Renato, I agree that Aperture publishes some "out-there" stuff, but I try to read it to broaden my outlook.

Jon

[D. Bryant]

the features seem to get repetitive due to having too many similar images.

I frequently see this from other sources as well including galleries displaying portfolio work.

I agree with your comments about the past years issues being a bit boring.

[Brian Ellis]

Ok, a dissenting view. I got a free copy in the mail a couple of months ago, and I found the main essay to be terrifically simpleminded and indicative of the writer having slept through the last fifty years of art criticism. The photography was conservative and nap-inducing. I found a couple of images that had a bit of a pulse. Maybe. I feel guilty about recycling it because it's nicely produced, but doubt I'll ever pick it up again.

I don't think LensWork has ever pretended to be a cutting-edge fine art publication. It's always been geared towards traditional photography and does a good job in that niche. Faulting it for sleeping through the last 50 years of art criticism is about like faulting Aperture for not publishing more of Ansel Adams' work.

Obviously it's like any other publication, some like its content others don't. But
there's apparently plenty of room for the kind of photography it publishes as evidenced by the fact that it's survived and presumably prospered for something like 20 years, which is no mean achievement in an era when so many paper publications have disappeared.

[paulr]

I wouldn't expect it to be cutting edge, but I'd hope for something interesting within the type of work it chooses to show. Black and white, straight, formal-modernist and documentary work can be interesting. It's a challenge to work within those bounds that doesn't just remind you of everything else you've seen, but there are photographers who meet that challenge.

The essays I just find embarrassing.

[gevalia]

As I look at my bookshelf, I see 60+ lenswork copies. I subscribed for 1 year and then cancelled when I got in a rut and didn't want to view non landscape work (yeah, I know). When I got past that rut, I bought all the back copies I could. I still have not re-subscribed but watch for interesting issues and honestly just about buy each one. If I had to suvbscribe to 1 mag this would be it. I have got my hands on a DVD issue and while they have boatloads more info, I prefer viewing images in my hands the way they were printed. It's just a good mag.

[photobymike]

I like Lenswork... when i could go to my local bookstore and have a cup of coffee while i perused every page with wonder, and then i would purchase. Well they stopped sending to book stores. They claimed it was an effort to save paper and the trees.... well that was the day i stopped reading and giving them my hard earned money. Not that i hold it against them for wanting to save the forest and the world and all.... but i miss my evenings reading something of interest at my local BAM (books a million) and sipping on my decaf latte. Brook Jensen is an excellent writer, and i enjoyed his musing over the state of fine art photography great interest. I think i will get a subscription, have it delivered to my local BAM to pickup and once again sip on my favorite cup of joe. All the while pretending i am in another world, where i am the greatest photographer on the planet commanding great sums of money for my images. Wake up mike.. wake up.... yea i really wish they would publish and send to book stores again. i may break down and send them the my hard earned money and wait with anticipation every couple of months the delivery of the golden journal called Lenswork.

thanks michael

http://www.mikepic.com

[gevalia]

His podcasts are "interesting" as well. Their on my ITouch for long trips - like the one I'll be on in 2 weeks.

[PViapiano]

I've always loved the magazine and subscribed for years in both formats, print and extended. I LOVE the pdf collection of all the issues; one of my favorite things to peruse.

However, I started to tire of the editorials during the last year or two that were trying to make the case for digital printing vs the trad darkroom....very tired. I also felt the quality of the portfolios was getting a bit thin and too heavily weighted toward heavily manipulated digital images.

[Renato Tonelli]

I've always loved the magazine and subscribed for years in both formats, print and extended. I LOVE the pdf collection of all the issues; one of my favorite things to peruse.

However, I started to tire of the editorials during the last year or two that were trying to make the case for digital printing vs the trad darkroom....very tired. I also felt the quality of the portfolios was getting a bit thin and too heavily weighted toward heavily manipulated digital images.

Yep!

Yep!

[Eric Brody]

I've known Brooks since the early 80's when he lived in Portland and we belonged to a group that shared images. He's changed with the times, sometimes a good thing, but not always, and publishes an excellent, thoughtful magazine. I like the fact that he shows and discusses photography, not equipment. I certainly do not always agree with him, but he usually makes me think. His is a unique venture in the difficult world of fine art photography and I admire him for doing what he does. I've subscribed since the beginning.

[PViapiano]

I've known Brooks since the early 80's when he lived in Portland and we belonged to a group that shared images. He's changed with the times, sometimes a good thing, but not always, and publishes an excellent, thoughtful magazine. I like the fact that he shows and discusses photography, not equipment. I certainly do not always agree with him, but he usually makes me think. His is a unique venture in the difficult world of fine art photography and I admire him for doing what he does. I've subscribed since the beginning.

Very well put, Eric...

[Stephen Lumry]

I respect what he has done and where he is going, however, I agree with PViapiano that the images have gotten too manipulated and I no longer relate to them. These days one edition seems to look like the next. I get more from pursuing the image sharing section on this forum.

[Ed Kelsey]

Anyone tried the new LensWork online subscription?

[D. Bryant]

Anyone tried the new LensWork online subscription?

That was my question in post #13 in this thread. The concept intrigues me as I'm trending away from paper publications.

[Greg Miller]

Anyone tried the new LensWork online subscription?

I'm enjoying viewing on my tablet. On occasion I will see some banding on monochrome images, so it that bothers you, it might be good to wait until screen quality improves.

My biggest request for enjoyment would be to have the issued pushed to me rather than pulled. Providers like Zinio alert you when a new issue is available and make it easy to download. Unless I am missing something, I need to remember to go to LensWork's website to see if there is new content.

[Sean Galbraith]

Love the magazine.

HATE the website. 1998 called ... and it says that 1996-looking websites suck.