best photography magazines
December 22, 2017 7:12 PM   Subscribe

What is the best photography magazine now?

Looking to get a subscription as a gift for a serious hobby photographer. He likes structural scenes of nature, cities and skies more than portraits. I'd ideally like a magazine that is more filled with actual photographs than technical talk about cameras etc. I'd like to avoid anything *too* amateurish, but doesn't need to address the professional market for photography.
posted by velveeta underground to Media & Arts (3 answers total) 7 users marked this as a favorite
 
I personally like Lenswork and Black+White Photography. Superb photography. Mainly b/w though, which might not be what is desired. Aperture magazine is undeniably important, but is more political and the photography sometimes leaves me a bit cold.
posted by DarkForest at 8:30 PM on December 22, 2017


DarkForest is on the money for magazines, but I might consider buying them a book or two. I've never gotten all that much out of photo magazines...

You might look at Examples: The Making of 40 Photographs.
posted by gregr at 8:42 PM on December 22, 2017


I think he'd be into Lenswork, which I believe is bimonthly. Sort of like a series of mini portfolios with articles about the process. The work is good, it's definitely edited with the serious hobbyist taste in mind (rather than pro or fine art), but they don't talk about gear.

I think Aperture is worth subscribing to even though it's kind of expensive (~$100/yr and it's quarterly). It's very good, very fine art oriented, very nicely printed. The Foundation is one of the main publishers of contemporary photography and they are historically important (founded by Ansel & Dorothea Lange & Minor White).

A lot of the generalist pop photo mags have gone out of business, because hey, we can all talk cameras all day on the internet now.

Another book suggestion, I like Looking at Photographs by John Szarkowski, who was the first photo curator for the MOMA.
posted by bradbane at 8:52 PM on December 22, 2017


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