Racked, Vol. 1

My trip to the bookstore earlier this week started with a specific purpose (pick up a new clip) but soon transformed into a (now) rare occasion. Armed with a large cup of Italian roast I made a little fort and emptied the shelves of my local Borders to take a long look through a few dozen major titles to see what is out there, and perhaps even uncover a bit of inspiration. Following is the first such volume of what may (again) become an regular shuffle through the news rack.

July/August magazines can be a weird lot, since many of them are aimed towards vacationers (last minute stashing of the newly arrived Vanity Fair into a carry-on just before leaving for the airport). We all hope to tune out in the summer and the magazines reflect that dream with a big helping of escapism, similar to the Independence Day blockbuster. I can picture creative directors still wearing their sweaters on the 45th or 61st story of a Midtown skyscraper on the edge of spring, plotting out how to please summer beach goers (hoping also to eventually be among the throng).

First couple of magazine (sports-related) were true to form. Nothing really going on, with the slowest part of the year in the sporting calendar (baseball all-star game, pre-football, Armstrong-less Tour). ESPN's cover was basically an ad for their own award show, but I enjoyed the funny juxtaposition of co-hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Lebron James yucking it up (I could have done without the two more repeated giant pics from the same set-up inside).

Music mags are in full-swing during the summer because of the tour-ganzas going on everywhere, but I was more focused on the special edition, 40th anniversary Rolling Stone issue celebrating the 1967 "Summer of Love." What was more interesting is that RS kicked off an interesting trend from my rummaging that archive photography (used well) was far away the most interesting pieces in several different August titles. Grainy, big, mostly b/w pictures from another era drew me in and washed over me, telling me stories and giving me a glimpse into unguarded moments. There were portraits of famous bands all over the place, just being themselves, laughing or self-conscious; photography doing its job so well.

But then the reality of today's magazine portraiture was back with me multiple covers featuring a populist, charismatic presidential candidate from North Carolina looking none of those things. In the great John Edwards war, a heavyweight contest, Annie L. for Men's Vogue in one corner and Platon for Esquire manning the other (I wonder which one is wearing the blue trunks?)... the decision goes to, well, doesn't matter. OK, fine, Platon takes it because of the inside spreads, but both covers are lame. Actually, the real winner is The New York Times Sunday Magazine and the tag-team of Robert Maxwell and (friend) Ben Lowy, who did a much better job two months ago. (One wonders whether or not Men's Vogue will continue to tap Annie L., the Queen's bee, for every cover, or if they'll find that comfortable place of VF where Leibovitz simply shoots every other cover).

Snarky-ness aside, I moved on to New York Magazine and was immediately greeted with a cool surprise in an unusual place: the advertisements. As blogged in State of the Art earlier this week, Fage yogurt has been teaming up with a few high-end jewelry companies for a series of ads that are simple and very cool, showcasing its exceptionally thick new line. NY Mag. was notable itself, as always of late, for just being so well-designed and great to flip through. Like the New Yorker, there are parts of the magazine that I am completely disinterested in (because I don't live there, still), but the designers continue to pull it off in style.

Another trend (new and old?) that I saw a ton of this month was collages. In a spread on 50 Cent in XXL, a collage was used to really nice effect, and I was charmed just by the craftiness feeling, like the magazine felt more homemade and substantial, and less-pulp and fleeting. Yet another trend, seen in the above mentioned Annie meets John Edwards cover feature, was carefully produced blur in portraits. I'm not sure you could really say blur is a trend, but I saw it in several high end portrait productions, and though the effect didn't work for me, I saw the potential of creating the same sort of humanism as the collage.

Moving on I tackled a stack of business magazines, trying to flip as quickly as possible to limit the potential retinal scarring that can occur from repeated exposure to the insano-lit executive portrait. But wait... Business Week, Fortune, wut?? Where are the suits?! Did they stop asking for the same exact portrait?! Are we moving on?! It's probably too early to call this one, but big group hug anyway!! Lets have it! Instead I found interesting reports shot on location around the world, and a good deal of documentary photography (the highlight, of sorts, being Pellegrin's essay on Bill Gate's field trip to China). All in all, a big surprise in business.

And as luck would have it, my last stand out in this month's rack was Popular Mechanics itself (the reason for my trip), and their continued good design and use of interesting photography. Congrats Allyson!

And that is that. A whole bunch of magazines later and I am still in one piece and feeling pretty decent about the state of affairs in editorial photography. Though, having the time to look through so many titles does make me pause to wonder about the state of affairs at JLPFL.

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