Why I’m Starting a Photography Magazine
I only recently got into photography about a year and a half ago when I watched “In No Great Hurry” — a documentary about the late, great Saul Leiter. I remember watching it and as some of his photographs appeared on the screen, I couldn’t peel my eyes away. His photographs were some of the best I’d ever seen and didn’t think photography could be so damn beautiful while being so abstract and leaving so much unsaid. That was my first encounter with street photography and when I first realized there is much more to a photograph, than it just being a photograph.
When I read more and dove a bit deeper in the subject, I found I loved it. Everything about it. I eventually bought myself a decent camera, taught myself how to use it, watched countless YouTube videos, read numerous blogs and books, and discovered a plethora of incredible photographers both old and new, just as brilliant as Leiter, all doing incredible things with a camera. I was, and still am, hooked and wanted to know even more.
As most photographers in the digital age, I turned to Instagram for my quick-fix visual cravings and a chance to share some of my own photographs with the world — not many saw them at first and not many still see them (although it has increased since I started). I discovered a whole world of photographers — of every kind. Overtime though, I found myself just scrolling through the feed, not even properly looking at the photographs — even from those Instagrammers whose photos I actually enjoyed. There was a disconnect between the ease of viewing and uploading these photos with consuming and enjoying them. Several months later and I’m starting a street photography magazine, called Street Scenes Magazine.
Why the hell would you start a photography magazine in 2015 you ask? Great question. Couple reasons.
1. There has never been a better time to publish an independent magazine
While technology and the digital and mobile experience has enhanced and facilitated our lives to a great extent, I think the craving to hold a physical product, like a magazine, and experience and consume it, is still very much real. Every photographer can attest to the fact that photographs were simply meant to be printed and experienced. There’s still a reason professional photography books exist and are still published by huge publishing houses like Steidl and Phaidon — it brings justice to the incredible photographs in them and to the photographers who create these beautiful images. I don’t have anything against Instagram and other photo sharing applications rather, I believe they’re some of the most incredible tools of our age, I would just rather view good photography in print form — the way it should be. Additionally, these digitals tools have also allowed numerous people to create and build their own publications — an unthinkable feat not so long ago.
2. Professionally published photography books are expensive
As I got more into the subject, I discovered incredible amounts of professionally published books by the greats — Saul Leiter’s “Early Color”, Vivian Maier’s “Street Photographer”, Robert Frank’s “The Americans”, to name a few. Most of them run around $35 and above. The really good ones can cost up to $100 like Cartier-Bresson’s “The Decisive Moment” (if you want a brand new one direct from Steidl). Don’t get me wrong, I love these books, but for today’s photography enthusiasts, they’re too expensive and published too infrequently. I think to be a great photographer, you have to look at an incredible amount of photographs (in print, obviously) by many different people. We hope to print 4 times a year, 50–70 thoughtfully curated images from 5–7 international photographers, and compensate them for their work — more on that in the next section.
3. There is a ridiculous amount of really good street photographers in the world unknown to most
Today, everyone is a photographer. A lot of them, are really, really good; I’m not talking about those who slap some filters on an image and digitally enhance it to make it look good — I’m talking about the ones who roam slow and are careful with composing their frames and leave out digital enhancement, for the most part. A majority of them are completely unknown — some are hobbyists, some would like to pursue a career in photography and that’s where Street Scenes Magazine comes in. I want to build this as a platform to help both hobbyists and those career invested in photography share their work with a broad (working on it) and possibly different audience, and compensate them for being featured in the magazine. That way — more people interested in photography can view more photos, in print, by other people who are also interested in photography. (We’re open for submissions!)
4. Competition in professional photography is intense
The opportunity to be compensated for work as an upcoming photographer today is increasingly difficult. Most photographers spend hundreds, if not, thousands on marketing material to send to large magazine editors and most, never hear back. Having a platform that is open to featuring and compensating upcoming photographers and hobbyists alike can provide a stepping stone in the path to larger, more fruitful opportunities.
If you’re a street photographer, enthusiast, hobbyist, or pursuing a career in photography, please get in touch, we’d love to hear from you and hopefully have the chance to feature your photos in our first issue(s). You can always reach us at info@streetscenesmag.com
As for now, follow us on Instagram and Twitter and be sure to sign up on our website to receive some great street photography to your inbox on December 1st and get a glimpse into what the magazine will look like!
Feel free to reach out with any questions or comments!
Street Scenes Mag
Originally published at www.streetscenesmag.com on October 28, 2015.
