Juan Buhler and John Sexton in B&WP

I just want to take a moment to recommend issue #68 of Black & White Photography magazine (January 2007). There's lots to recommend. It is, first of all, the first launch of a comprehensive redesign, which makes the magazine friendlier and less fussy. Regular readers of this blog know I'm a fan of Juan Buhler's Water Molotov, and in this issue I wrote an article about Juan's work. I must say that the elves did a fine job with the repro of Juan's portfolio; however often I've seen them on screen, it's really nice to see a few of them on paper. Juan's day job is in computer animation at Pixar; he's hard at work on Pixar's upcoming film. How he has the time and energy for such a stellar second career as a street photographer is beyond my humble ken.

My friend (and T.O.P. reader) John Sexton is represented in issue #68 with a nice portfolio and a solid article about his work and his new book, Recollections: Three Decades of Photographs. If you don't know John's books, a Sexton book is always a treat, as John's good taste and superlative craftsmanship extend to reproduction quality and all the other aspects of fine bookmaking (and of course his beautiful photographs are always enjoyable). But I digress. Back in issue #68, Frances Schultz reviews the Leica M8, and Lee Frost returns in this issue. My own favorite feature in the magazine is "The Printers Art," in which two photographers are given the same negative to interpret. Alistair Baird and Trevor Crone do the honors time.

Black & White Photography is readily available in the U.K. In the U.S., check Barnes & Noble, which usually carries it. Subscriptions on this side of the Atlantic (and presumably elsewhere in the world) are pretty "dear," as our cousins say, but worth it. It's a nice magazine.

Posted by: MIKE JOHNSTON

T.O.P. Reader News

Chris Norris, San Francisco Skyline, one of the prints he's offering for charititable contributions

Chilly Dip: Reader Chris Norris (handle: thechrisproject) admits to us, in a roudabout way, that he's insane—specifically, that he will be jumping, "polar-bear" style, into Lake Monona in Madison, Wisconsin on the 17th of February in a charity event to benefit the Special Olympics. For those of you who may not realize it, February in Madison, Wisconsin is cold. As in cold. In a nice twist he came up with himself, Chris is offering fine prints of some of his photographs to people who make donations to sponsor his "chilly dip." Go to his website to take a look at some of the pictures he's offering. We'll get a hammer and chisel ready to free him from the giant cartoon block of ice he'll be encased in subsequent to the 17th.


Fine Find: Reader dasmb found a copy of Found Magazine at a garage sale.


They Pledge No Allegiance: Reader Asher Kelman writes to invite you to visit Open Photography Forums (OPF), started as an initiative for open discussion by some people who unreasonably got booted out and banned from certain popular fora a while back. A number of the exiles got together and formed a loose Open Photography Forums Initiative, from which OPF was born on May 19th, 2006. The community has a special character and helps everyone from expert pro to early user work towards great images. Best part? "We have no allegiance to any cameras," Asher says. "Everyone is courteous and pretty non-delusional about our own importance and that of the stuff we own." Power to them, we say.


The Female Form: Reader Mark Ostrowski writes from Spain to tell us about his new book, Muse: Six Photographers Talk about their Life, Work and What Inspires Them, published by maculadeplata.com in both English and Spanish versions. "The female form has been the most widely photographed subject since the invention of the camera. Muse: Six Photographers Talk About Their Life, Work and What Inspires Them is an attempt to delve into this phenomenon and explore the photographer-model relationship through interviews with acclaimed practitioners of erotic and nude photography such as Luis Durante (Spain), Roy Stuart (France), Charlie Roff (England), Jock Sturges (United States), Vlastimil Kula (Czech Republic) and Tony Keeler (Spain). In dealing with this unique 'thing' that occurs between the photographer and the photographed, this book also provides us 'with valuable insight into other decidedly non-photographic areas of the human condition.' "


Posted by: MIKE JOHNSTON