Here at Santa Monica College we all look forward to each and every issue. It always has the best of just about all things photo, and I share it with everyone with pride and confidence in its being a quality product with lots to offer. The insides and outsides of the photo industry are always of interest to all 900 students, and your magazine is better than good in bringing that right to the doorstep. Please continue your hard work, and thank you times 900.

Paul Harris
Santa Monica College
Santa Monica, Calif.

Just received mailing of PhotoMedia magazine. Many thanks for the beautifully printed and organized presentation of my work [“A Specific Palette” Spring 2010]. You are the first to reach the water mark promised.

Melvin Sokolsky, Los Angeles

I have just read a recent issue of your magazine, and found it quite inspiring. As many photographers are these days, I have been struggling to make money with my camera, and your article on how photojournalism is changing has given me some new ideas to pursue [“From the Ashes: The Rise of a New Photojournalism,” Fall 2009].

I may not be the best photographer in the world, but I bet I’m one of the most persistent. Thank you very much.

Jason Savage,
Portland, Ore.

I commend you on PhotoMedia magazine, which I discovered yesterday at Keeble & Shuchat in Palo Alto [Calif.]. Unlike thinly veiled advertising burritos that are like newspaper inserts in the Sunday paper, your quality magazine is head and shoulders above the rest. Your quality writing and distinctive printing are great. Because this was a free magazine, I immediately looked for the catch but found none: It is a winner.

I’ve taken photographs for 50 years and have seen photography publications ranging from the banal to the esoteric. But this particular magazine seems to speak to me, because it is neither a blunt advertising vehicle, nor an abstract art rag pandering to those on the fringe of photography.

Congratulations and I’m glad that I found you guys. I’m sending in my subscription!

Jeremy S. Lezin,
Soquel, Calif.

One thing that did not please me were Peter Kaplan's images of the nudes perched in dangerous places ["Top of the World," page 30].It is all right for Mr. Kaplan to risk his life, but placing models in danger for the whim these photos express is just depressingly irresponsible.

Maybe he could dangle from the Eiffel Tower or the Space Needle. ... At least he would get a kudo or two for comic relief.

— Royal Mason, via e-mail

The editor responds:The models who posed for Kaplan's nude images were there on a completely voluntary basis. At no time were the models put "in danger." Kaplan and his assistants are experienced climbers who practice the same rigorous safety procedures as ironworkers...

While in Santa Fe, N.M., this past week, I managed to pick up a copy of PhotoMedia. What a great publication, and I seriously regret it is not available [for] free on the East Coast. After reading the story written by Ted Fry about Louis Psihoyos (Spring 2006, page 14), it struck me that very few photo periodicals take the time and space to print in-depth, well written material. I especially liked that more than one or two of Louie’s great photos were printed. The article, photos and editing demonstrated a commitment to very classy photographic journalism.

Steve Lingeman
Hartsdale, N.Y.

After reading Roddy Scheer’s article on “Microsoft’s Rich Media Group” (Spring 2006), I’m wondering how much MS funds your publication. There’s a lot of “Vista will have” while Vista doesn’t even exist at this time, and maybe not until 2007 or later, if at all. And to state that PCs are cheaper to buy and maintain is a joke. Comparable PCs are more expensive to purchase than Macs, and the cheapo PCs are not adequate for image processing...

I want to congratulate you on publishing a photography magazine with quality articles and excellent photo reproduction. I first came across your Summer 2005 issue while visiting Reed Photo-Imaging in Denver. This was my first exposure to your excellent publication. I brought a copy home with me and passed it around to several of my colleagues in Pagosa Springs and Durango, Colo. Their reaction echoed mine that the content of this free issue far surpassed that of the other magazines to which we subscribe. The articles on David Muench, Rich Clarkson, Michael Kenna and Mike Dickson are exemplary and stimulating. Articles such as these are an inspiration to all serious photographers...

A couple of weeks ago, I stopped by Samy’s Camera in Santa Barbara [Calif.] to check out their new location. After examining a new camera bag, I went over to pick up some product literature when the Spring [2005] edition of PhotoMedia caught my eye. I don’t know if it was the large format of the magazine or the eye-catching cover photo, but I pulled one off the rack for a look-see. I had never seen a copy of PhotoMedia before, but this one was going home with me, that was for sure.

I headed over to the checkout counter to pay for it, but pulled up short when I noticed it was free. I went out to my car — my wife was patiently waiting for me — and began to look over the photos of the tsunami disaster. We paged through the magazine together, and each page brought another great story or picture.

I’ve never been moved to write to a photo magazine, but I wanted to let you know I think you’re doing a heck of a good job with this publication. I subscribe to Digital Photo Pro and Popular Photography, and I receive complimentary copies of Rangefinder, Electronic Imaging (until they went under), Government AV Video and few others. From a pure content point of view, PhotoMedia is right up there with the best of them. There is more meat in this Spring issue than in most magazines four times its size. I also liked the idea of actually being able to see the cover photo without most of it being obscured by type and advertising. The photo reproduction is excellent. I don’t know all the technology behind that, but the tonal range and fine detail are evident on every page. I’m no expert on laying out a magazine, but I know a good one when I see it. Thanks for a great publication, and keep up the good work.

Dennis Fisher
Optical Systems Manager
Western Test Range
Vandenburg Air Force Base, Calif.

First, I would like you to know how much I enjoyed the landscape issue [Summer 2005]. Something intrigues me, though. I have David Muench’s book “Portrait of Utah,” published, I believe, in 1989. On page 7 of the book, there is an image of White Canyon taken at the same time as the image running on PhotoMedia’s cover. The color and contrast of the two images is remarkably different. PhotoMedia’s cover definitely has more punch and the color is flaming when compared to the book’s rendition of the nearly same image. I have been to White Canyon and know that the canyon walls do not look like the cover’s image. I am not being critical of the magazine but would love to know who boosted the color and contrast of the cover’s image; David or Marc Muench or the magazine’s editors?

I recall that a few years ago PhotoMedia ran Jack Dykinga’s photo of Coyote Canyon [Spring/Summer 2001] on the cover and the color of that image didn’t match his well-known published images of the same shot. I think both covers looked great, especially if you weren’t familiar with the places in question, but, if the magazine’s editors chose to alter the color of the images so radically, shouldn’t the viewer be told and it would interest me what the photographers had to say about the alteration.

Claire Curran
Santa Ana, Calif.

The publisher responds:

Good question! We do our best to be as true to the photographer’s intended color as possible when we reproduce their photos in PhotoMedia. There are, however, variables that influence our ultimate rendition of that color. Your comments assume there is one definitive print and/or exposure of the photo, which may not be the case. Additionally, when original (digitally scanned) RGB files are converted to CMYK for printing, there is almost always a color shift, which must be corrected. Also, in CMYK, there are various colors that are virtually unprintable and must be adjusted to approximate what the photographer had in mind. Finally, color can further alter on press, when the ink is hitting the page. This entire process of color reproduction, while extremely careful, is totally subjective — that is, no two people see color the same. You might say that all photos in PhotoMedia have been altered to some degree. In the case of David Muench’s cover photo, he actually requested that we add contrast and saturation to the color, which we did, and is what you noticed.