All in the mix
Iexpressed my appreciation for the new magazine format previously and continue to enjoy the improvements a great deal. I just had to write in response to a request in a recent reader’s letter (‘A question of focus’, Nigel Green, N-photo 105) for fewer photographs from competitions such as Landscape Photographer of the Year.
No, no, no! Photographs are what it’s all about and need to be featured in a photo magazine. Your balance of features on such images, as well as articles focusing on the work of masters in the various fields of photography, is just right.
We often learn more from the work of such masters and enjoy and benefit from their work. My personal feelings differ from Nigel’s by quite a bit. I enjoy having some articles with lots of photos to analyse much more than too many ‘how to’ articles, some of which really don’t interest me as much. For example, the Apprentice series is always of great interest, even those in fields of photography we may never practise.
I loved the mix of articles in N-photo 105: ‘An eye for the birds’, ‘Expect the unexpected’, ‘Savanna sitters’, ‘Natural wonders’, ‘A roaring success’, the N-photo Photographer of the Year on food photography, and the Marilyn Stafford interview made the December issue one of my favourites. There were plenty of Nikon Skills articles for those who want them. I could say the same about the November issue and list all the articles I devoured.
Personally, I don’t want to see more ‘how to’ articles
– I come up with enough projects of my own to keep me busy! But I can never get enough of the work from other photographers featured in N-photo. I learn more from studying their work and reading their thoughts and suggestions than from the how to articles, some of which simply do not interest me. This was an issue I had with the magazine before the change in format. Many of the lead articles were ‘how to’ in nature. I am glad those are gone.
I appreciate that the interest of your many readers varies a great deal and it can be difficult to serve the interests of everyone. I feel that you do a fine job of that with your present format, giving us something for everyone. I hope that many others feel the same as I do about the kind of articles I mentioned, and which I anxiously look forward to each issue.
Your magazine has a nice balance to satisfy most of us who love our Nikons. It just shows that photography devotees have varied and valid interests and that your
format is filling the needs and interests of all.
I look forward to every issue of N-photo, and often read it too quickly – then I have to wait so long for the next issue to come. I used to subscribe to several photo magazines here in the US, but cancelled all of them.
Thanks for allowing me to express my personal feelings! Vern Rogers