We thought JPG Mag was going to be out at first, but it looks like they rounded first after an error (thanks to the sloppy throw by the pitcher) and are safe at second. Welcome back JPG!
(Note: I'm not really a baseball fan, despite the obvious reference to baseball)
Our friends at Photojojo have put together a guide about the pending demise of JPG Magazine. Included are links to JPG's top content, a ZIP file containing all the issues, and other fun things. Thanks to Kelly from Photojojo for suggesting the guide!
Save JPG is a site that was started by 15x100, 15 Photographs by 100 Photographers, to try and save JPG in one form or another. (As a side note, 15x100 is a pretty interesting project)
In other positive news, JPG Magazine apparently has had some interest in acquisition. The interest in the site means that it'll survive at least another week, with hopes of much longer.
There's also been some interesting ideas in the comments on the Save JPG site. Comments suggesting that JPG should charge money to post to the site, but remain open to view. Something like this I feel might work, but I'm unsure what you'd actually be buying. Flickr, for instance, is a photo backup solution in some regards with a Pro account. The unlimited storage, unlimited uploads is key there.
But, what else could JPG do to survive? Could JPG turn into a generic photo sharing site, or what about the possibility of taking the community magazine to the next level and let individuals of the community create their own issues? I don't know, but the question of JPG's survival, and the form it survives in, is something I look forward to getting an answer to.
It's no secret that I've been a fan of JPG Mag. I've submitted images on numerous occasions, have subscribed, took part in voting for nearly every theme since issue 7, and have been an RSS subscriber to their blog for some time now. So, it was extremely sad news for me to receive in my inbox this morning an email saying goodbye from the Editor in Chief, Laura Brunow Miner.
JPG had an interesting idea, and unfortunately it couldn't sustain itself. I know I'll miss the community of amazing photographers, and taking part in the JPG experiment. Thank JPG Mag for all your hard work!
You can read the sad post at the JPG blog.
This month's PhotographyBB (a free online photography magazine who's quality seems to get better every month) is jam packed full of goodness! It starts off with an article about developing film, talks about black and white, takes you to Australia and then hits the digital darkroom when it turns to an article about Adobe's Lightroom. I think this is probably the best issue yet, and I really haven't started reading.
Issue 4 of the online photgraphy magazine PhotographyBB is out and I've promised them I'd read it all this time. The articles in the past issues that I have read have been of great quality and on interesting topics, so when I see stuff like:
Regarding this recent release, Dave Seeram - Editor and Publisher says, “Issue 4 is here and fully stocked on our digital shelves! Although we had to delay this month’s issue by one week, this month’s issue is by far our best issue to date! This month we’re taking it to the next level by including photographic shooting techniques, a trip to Vancouver, and even more tutorials than last month, including Photoshop, Elements, and even a Dreamweaver (for the photographer) tutorial!”
in the press release for issue 4, I know for sure that there is good stuff contained within the digital pages.
Now, if only I had a super fast color printer and ink was dirt cheap, I could start reading it on the bus this morning...
EDIT: Incomprehensible dribble fixed.
FILE Magazine is something I've mentioned before, but it's also something I have to say I've forgotten about. They've got an RSS feed, so there's really no reason for me to forget them. Anyway, my recent trip to the site led to finding some pretty interesting projects:
An anonymous tipster writes in to tell me that the latest issue of PhotographyBB is now available. Here's a snippet of the "press release":
PhotographyBB announced today, the release of the second edition of the PhotographyBB Online Magazine. By way of download in either PDF or ZIP formats, PhotographyBB is setting the stage for the future of magazine distribution. In a completely ad-free format, each issue contains informative and educational tutorials for amateur photographers.
I haven't had a chance to read it (there's also a February 2008) issue, but when I get home, I'll be sure to take a closer look. It looks (at a quick glance) very promising, however, and I definitely expect it to be. I just hope they can keep up the ad-free format.
ePHOTOzine, apparently the UK's largest and friendliest on-line photography magazine, looks like a hit. There are tons of articles, tips, reviews and techniques. Check it out, even if you live in France—they won't mind.
With issue 11 on newstands and issue 12 set to drop soon, JPG Mag keeps going at full throttle. Two new themes are up for issue 13 submissions: Passport (travel photography off the beaten path) and Gravity Powered (capturing the action of extreme sports). Both themes should provide amazing submissions because they are both things that lots of people photograph. I can't wait to get some time to look through them, and of course to see issue 13's actual selections when it comes in the mail.
Not only do they seem to constantly be working on gathering new content and slicing and dicing it up to lay it out in a magazine, they've also been busy making changes to the website. It wouldn't be a community site if you couldn't add comments to other people's images, but now you can track your activity as well. From a post entitled See Who Said What Where:
"Last night we launched some new features to help keep track of your contacts and activity on your photos. On the front page, you can now see the latest photos and stories from your contacts. This replaces the strip of your photos that have recently been made favorites, but don't fret. The new Activity page shows you not only that, but people who have recently made you a contact, and comments you've recently received on your photos and made on the photos of others."
It makes me wonder if JPG Mag is trying to become the next Flickr. I don't see how this could happen with the one photo per theme, but if you think of themes as moderated groups on Flickr... Anyway, I'm glad to see that JPG Mag keeps growing, and I can't wait to see what more the future brings.
