THE 39 STEPS
This issue marks 39 years since my byline first appeared in this magazine. I started working for the founding publisher in March 1982, but such were the lengthy production cycles back then (everything was done manually), it wasn’t until the
May issue that I made my debut with a trio of test reports. These were very much of the day – a 35mm slide projector, a colour darkroom kit (“just add water and electricity” I wrote) and a Super 8 movie camera. At that time the magazine was called Australian Camera Craft and I was listed in the masthead as Editorial Assistant, usually a grand title for dogsbody, but I was very fortunate to encounter an editor willing to mentor a fledgling journalist. John Back also believed in a holistic photographic knowledge that encompassed all elements of the practice – the products, processes and pictures obviously, but also the great photographers and their famous images, exhibitions, books, other magazines (especially seminal titles such as American Photographer in its heyday), style and design, the history (including classic cameras and the technological milestones), the philosophies, the aesthetics and the science. It was, as they say, a well-rounded education that John believed would lead to a well-rounded magazine editor.
I wasn’t there yet, of course, but I did step up to the role of Technical Editor under the editorship of Peter Eastway, now well known for his educational abilities both online and in person. Peter was a stickler for detail and could spot a typo at a hundred paces, and he was an enthusiastic embracer of new technologies, taking the magazine’s production from cut-and-paste (the original sort with glue and scissors) to computers and desktop publishing, certainly well before any other small publishing company in Australia.
I eventually made it to Camera’s big chair with the June 1998 issue, taking over from another great mentor, Brian Woodward, with whom I shared the same passion for classic cameras and classic cars. Woodie’s quietly imparted wisdoms have guided me ever since, although the man himself was gone – all too soon and way too young – just six months later.
By the end of the 20th century it was pretty clear the world of photography was about to undergo cataclysmic changes, although I doubt anybody had any real idea about how far-reaching the impact of the transition from film to digital would be. Bear in mind that film still had plenty of development potential left – and being a mature technology, was also generating nice profits for everybody – but digital imaging was bringing in a whole lot of new players from the consumer electronics industry and nobody wanted to be left behind. Given where Sony is now in interchangeable lens cameras, the photo industry was probably right to hit the panic button, but casualties resulted including, ultimately, the big film brands of Kodak, Agfa and Polaroid (the last brand since revived one way or another). We faced new competitors too, as a rash of new titles arrived in the photography section of the newsstand, eager to cash in on an emerging technology and what was perceived as the ‘traditional’ photo mags being slow to react. This is because, at this stage, the way ahead was far from clear and, for a while there, we actually had two magazines – one for film photography and the other for digital – hedging our bets for a couple of years. And then along came a new challenge as the internet began to change the way people accessed information, bringing with it dire predictions about the future of print media. These have indeed come true in a couple of sectors, but special interest or hobbyist magazines have largely survived as they’re still a very effective vehicle for the delivery of specifically targeted content in an accessible and appealing way. Under the heading of, ‘well, he would say that, wouldn’t he?’ I really don’t find it easy to read, for example, a detailed test report online given the way they need to be presented and all the other distractions that pop up (literally) along the way. And the good “old-fashioned print mag” – as I recently saw it described in another old-fashioned print mag – is still easily a superior way of presenting good photography.
My time with the editorial training wheels on taught me some very valuable things about creating content that people will make an effort to buy and read. One – make it informative, but entertaining and, perhaps most importantly, personable. Two – never, ever compromise editorial independence. Three – if you’re having fun, your readers will be too. Four – never think that you can stop learning (which is even more the case today). And five – a cliché, but undoubtedly true – you’re only as good as your last issue. 39 years on, I’m still a passionate believer in magazines – I certainly buy plenty of them every month – and the fact that plenty of you regularly buy and enjoy Australian Camera is not only humbling and rewarding, but provides the real impetus to do it all over again for the next issue. Thank you to one and all.