Britt Photo Rags

Have you ever noticed the number of photographic magazines on the rack at your local Barnes & Noble bookstore?  Then how many of them are actually printed in the United Kingdom. Finally how many of them are in plastic wrap? Three questions with three different explanations.

First I applaud Barnes & Nobel for stocking the number of photo magazines they do even though I have notices it varies with the geographic location around the country. As personal photography continues to grow in the United States this rend will no doubt continue.

Second, the mags printed in the U.K. are of a much higher quality of print. They are also at a greater price point. Generally $9.95 to $14.95 U.S. They are generally more content driven than news. The articles are photo specific and in some cases the entire magazine is directed towards on manufacturer. Sure we have Shutterbug and PC Photo which are excellent magazines, but the print quality just doesn't hold a dime compared to the U.K. produced products. Additionally the U.K. mags generally are accompanied with a CD for instruction or digital starting files. (Not to the U.K. put the files on a website so they can be downloaded ore streamed and you can save the cost of the CD/DVD.

Finally and as an extension of the second point, The plastic wrap drives me nuts. When I buy clothing I generally try it on before I buy it. If I buy a car I test drive it before I go into debt. When I am going to buy a magazine, I WILL get to browse its content before I drop 10-15 bucks for it. I you find a plastic wrapped magazine at a bookstore that has been opened, I may have been there.

WHAT!!! Did I just here you say "I do that too."

Thank you for your honesty, I guess I am off the hook then.

Take care all and oh by the way... Don't just take the CD from the magazine. That is called steeling.

Cya... Doug