Saying farewell to yet another old reliable

About a year and a half ago, I dedicated a post to toast Popular Photography, a monthly magazine I had subscribed to for more than a decade during a period when I revived my interest in photography and sought to learn whatever I could and to have a resource to find gear and reviews. 

Popular Photography had published its last edition a couple months prior to my post, leaving Shutterbug the only monthly print publication I could turn to for those needs I described. 

But even more sadly, I recently learned that Shutterbug also has ceased printing a monthly magazine, though it will maintain an online presence. Like its counterpart, Shutterbug cited the costs of producing a monthly print product. It published its last print edition in May of this year. I was still an active subscriber, but in the past year, I had not been diligently looking at my magazines when they arrived, so I didn't even notice when they stopped coming ... until just the other day. 

That's when I received my second copy of Outdoor Photographer, a magazine I hadn't subscribed to. I thought the delivery of the first copy (a month or so previous) was a fluke ... or perhaps a pitch to get me to subscribe, but I had ignored it and hadn't gotten around to opening it. 

When the second Outdoor Photographer arrived the other day, the wheels upstairs started to turn, and I recalled how I started receiving Popular Science magazine in the mail immediately after Popular Photography stopped publication. The PP publishers did that to fulfill the remainder of my PP subscription. And then it occurred to me that I hadn't seen any new Shutterbugs for a while.

So I went online to hunt around, and sure enough ... I learned that the print Shutterbug magazine had gone the way of Popular Photography, and that it's final print edition (see lead-off photo) was published in May of this year. The online story announcing the shutdown emphasized that shutterbug.com will remain a viable entity; after Popular Photography ceased publishing, its owners said it would maintain an online archive of its editions, but frankly, I don't even know if that still exists. 

I don't recall receiving a courtesy notice about Shutterbug ceasing publication like I did for PP, and I don't know if I'll warm to Outdoor Photographer like I did to PP and Shutterbug ... or even if it's what I want in a photography magazine. I'll give it a look-see, though. 

But I admit that it concerns me: If two of my photo magazine faves faded away, does that bode ill for Outdoor Photographer?

Saying farewell to an old reliable

In a pile next to my bed today, there was a stack of magazines waiting to be read. There were at least two dozen of them, many of which at one point I'd started going through, but then paused in mid-read, leaving them open to the last page I was on. Doing that allowed me to know where I could pick up (I've never been much of a dog-ear person).

At the very bottom of that pile was the March/April edition of Popular Photography (right), which had been opened to a page near the front of the publication.

Shortly before going through the pile somewhat frantically this morning, I had learned in what struck me as a backward kind of way that the March/April edition would be PP's last. The current owners, Bonnier Corp., apparently made the decision to halt publication in March because of declining ad revenue, and it notified staff at the time. I found out about it Monday, two months after the decision was made, when I went to grab my mail this morning and found a copy of Popular Science magazine, which I knew I hadn't ordered.

Inside the clear plastic covering of Popular Science, there was a note of explanation, saying PP had shuttered and that to fill out the remainder of my paid subscription to PP, I was being offered Popular Science. I was told that if I didn't want Popular Science, I could instead receive one of a handful of other magazines (Flying, Field and Stream, Boating, Scuba Diving, Motorcyclists, Sailing World and Saveur).

I have no interest in any of those other publications, so it looks like I'll be getting Popular Science at least until my PP subscription officially expires.

At one time, PP had been the largest circulated image-related magazine, and according to the blurb about PP at Wikipedia, it had double the editorial staff of any other similar publication. I wouldn't declare that the magazine was the industry Bible, but from all indications, it certainly was revered and appreciated by pros and amateurs/enthusiasts alike.

There are online remnants of the publication still accessible, but I'm a print-first, hands-on guy when it comes to reading material. And PP was one publication in which I actually spent time browsing the ads as much as the editorial content, and I have to believe other photography enthusiasts did the same. From my experience, photographers are quite particular about their gear. They're always on the lookout for deals when they need something or are itching to make a change. So in that respect, I'm a bit perplexed why advertisers abandoned it.

I had subscribed to PP for at least 10 years, and for a couple of those years, I'd even purchased subscriptions for a son and niece who had expressed interest in photography. Both appreciated my gesture. Every time I got a new edition of PP in the mail, I would turn first to the gear and equipment test section. I did the same with Shutterbug (a similar magazine to which I also subscribe and which also has a new gear and equipment test section). PP and Shutterbug, I'm sure, furnished me valuable information on most of the cameras and lenses I would buy over the past decade or so.

I will miss Popular Photography. I can't help but worry that bodes poorly for Shutterbug, but I hope not. I hope Shutterbug has the financial legs that PP did not have.

I need to have a good photography publication in that pile that stays at arm's length near my bed.