Creative Image Maker

End Of This Blogger Page

noreply@blogger.com (David Vickers) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 18:07:00 +0000

Well, this site has charted the ups and downs of Creative Image Maker since before it actually became available - and now the decision has been taken not to update it anymore.

The site will remain here, but the main website at http://creativeimagemaker.co.uk now has the ability to send out newsfeeds that you can subscribe to. Further news will only be sent out from the main site, so if you want to keep in touch, head over there and subscribe.
It's quite interesting reading back through the blogs that have been put here since Dec 2007, but the time has come to move on and focus on the main site and magazine.
So CiM goes from strength to strength, join us over at http://creativeimagemaker.co.uk

April Edition Out Now...

noreply@blogger.com (David Vickers) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 18:06:00 +0000

Just to let you all know that the April edition of the CiM magazine is available for free download.

Chris has put together a fabulous issue that is largely dedicated to pinhole photography (images, articles and even DIY!). We'd both like to thank all the contributors that made this issue possible.

The website also has articles on shooting fireworks, a reprint of an article by Peter Rowlands (editor of Underwater Photography magazine) about the Nikonos V camera and I continue my sagas with starting out in large format photography with a 100+ year old camera.

Glass Plate Photography: Special Edition Out Now!

noreply@blogger.com (David Vickers) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 10:15:00 +0000

It's available NOW! This special edition Glass Plate Photography book, created to raise money for charity. It is available from our storefront over at Lulu; it has 42 pages of articles, images, inspiration and information from some of the most well-known individuals in this area of photography - Denise Ross and Quinn Jacobson have both kindly written extensive articles about glass plate photography (and supplied images too), along with additional work by Bernt Løve Nielsen, Michael Waite, Jay Truman, Bruce Schultz and also from the National Museum Wales and Penobscot Marine Museum. It's also printed in colour.

The chosen charity, Woodlarks, helps disabled children and adults to try out new adventures, whether it's singing around a camp fire or water-skiing! They are currently trying to raise £1.5m to upgrade the very old buildings to accommodate new facilities.

This book is available for free PDF download (130MB) as I recognise that not everyone will want to purchase it, or indeed may not be able to purchase it - but I really hope that you will support both the charity and Creative Image Maker and raise some cash. Whether you choose to download, or purchase, I do hope that you enjoy reading the book.

Thank you,

David Vickers.

March Edition: Out Now

noreply@blogger.com (David Vickers) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 07:59:00 +0000

Just a quick post to let you know that the March edition of the CiM magazine is out now, and new articles posted on the website.

In the March edition, available for free download from the Creative Image Maker Storefront you'll find articles and portfolios from Diane Kaye and Roberto Carbajo, solarisation and lots more.

On the website at Creative Image Maker you'll find more information about what's happening at CiM, a featured image from David Lingham, and you can find out how I got on with fixing the pneumatic shutter on my Pony Premo #4. Plus more...

- David -

International Edition?

noreply@blogger.com (David Vickers) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:22:00 +0000

I'm currently working on the layout for the March special (charity) edition on Glass Plate Photography which is really exciting as it will be available for free download (PDF) or printed on real paper by Lulu - for a fee though! Although everything left after Lulu take their bit will be going to charity.

But, I'm also after doing some articles in people's native tongue (which of course means that I'm going to have to trust you to write nicely!).

If you are interested in writing something in Dutch / German / Spanish / Greek (could prove interesting with the character set) or some other language, send it in to info@creativeimagemaker.co.uk - along with a brief summary of what it is about! I'd love to be able to produce a truly 'International' edition some time in the future, so if you could help, get in touch.

Many thanks,

David.

Charity Special

noreply@blogger.com (David Vickers) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:24:00 +0000

The magazine special that we have planned for March is all about glass plate photography, and there will be a number of articles from specialists active in this area of photography. There are also a couple of articles from museums, about their collections. But what really sets this issue apart is that it is being produced to raise funds for charity.

I hope to bring you a magazine special (in addition to the one that Chris puts together) once a quarter, and on each occasion it will be to raise money for various charities - indeed Chris already has his first two charities in mind!

Well, after speaking to my chosen charity and getting their support, I'm happy to reveal that my first chosen charity will be "Woodlarks". Here's what Woodlarks say about what they do...

"Situated in twelve acres of beautiful Surrey countryside, Woodlarks Camp Site enables children and adults with disabilities to enjoy a host of activities they may never have thought possible. Woodlarks camps can be as tranquil or as adventurous as you want them to be; whatever kind of experience you are looking for, Woodlarks can make it happen.

Woodlarks is a charity dedicated to providing a permanent camp site for people with disabilities of all ages. Seven week-long camps are open to all comers according to age etc. Most other weeks are booked by special needs schools and groups.

People from all backgrounds come together to enjoy outdoor living, a wide variety of activities, each other’s company, and to have a complete break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life."

I will be making the PDF version of this magazine special available as a free download as I don't want people missing out if they can't afford the proper paper copy; but I really hope that you will purchase the paper version to support a worthy cause. I should reiterate that neither Chris or I will take any money out of the proceeds from the sale of this magazine, obviously Lulu will take their printing charges out, but the remainder will go direct to Woodlarks.

The special should be out at the start of March.

noreply@blogger.com (David Vickers) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 21:16:00 +0000

So, the big question - did we make ten thousand page views in January for the Creative Image Maker website?

I have been tracking the number of page views on the main site throughout January, especially as it was relaunched after Chris and I got back in touch with each other just before Xmas. On, or around, the 21st January we hit the 5,000 mark (starting on the 1st Jan.) If you've been keeping track of what's been going on, that meant that we had achieved three times as many page views in 21 days, than we had in the previous 61 days!

I pondered on what we would get by the end of January, and I was hoping for about 7,500 in all (but with a hankering after 10,000). Did we make it...

You want the long answer, or the quick answer? Righto, I'll keep it short then... NO.

But we missed it by a couple of hundred! In the end, across the whole of January we served 9,799 pages; thereby completely smashing my original estimate!!

So, I'd like to thank you all once again for taking part, looking at the site and sending in emails, articles and images.

David V.

Great News!!

noreply@blogger.com (David Vickers) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 14:33:00 +0000

When I first came up with the idea of CiM in December 2007, it was because of several threads on the forums that showed that photographers were lamenting the demise of traditional photography in the magazines; even the few remaining magazines catering for film had begun to introduce digital articles. And so, Creative Image Maker was born in January 2008, dedicated solely to non-digital photographic processes and it will remain that way.

Since we relaunched at the start of 2009, I've been bowled over by the support you have shown towards Creative Image Maker as a whole; that support is in the form of just reading the articles in the PDF magazine that Chris puts together, sending us ideas or comments, or submitting articles and images. You may have seen on the Flickr group discussion that in all of November and December last year there were 1,600 page views on the CiM website; from January 1st to the 21st there were 5,000. That's three times as many pages served in just one third of the time! To me, something has happened, last year there was lots on interest in CiM but it was too big for me to handle, taking up too much of my time at the expense of my family.

This year it's different; between Chris and me we can work together (despite being several thousand miles apart) to bring you articles, images and inspiration for your own photography. There's a lot of interest from the readership and we thank you. But, it doesn't stop there - both myself and Chris are committed to building the magazine, and so here's the absolute latest news for you...

I'd like to welcome Rob Valine on to the team; you may know Rob from Flickr and he'll be writing a monthly article on 'something to do with photography' (that was the extent of the brief I gave him!).

The big news, the really big news though is all about March. Chris and I have both been working feverishly away, drinking cups of strong black coffee in a bid to work tirelessly to bring you... the option of a paper magazine. There I said it. In fact, not just one, but TWO!! Both magazines will be available from the Lulu storefront: http://stores.lulu.com/creativeimagemaker and you're probably asking why two?

Chris is going to put out, each quarter, a roundup of the magazines, as it happens this first one will be a bumper edition containing December through to March. Naturally this will be a paid for edition, so for all you people who requested a paper copy... it's coming!

The second magazine is a CiM Special. Put together by yours truly, it takes one element of photography and does it to death I jest of course, but it enables us to focus on one thing within the huge sphere of traditional photography, and this first issue is: Glass Plate Photography; featuring articles and images from museums, Denise Ross, Quinn Jacobsen, Michael Waite and a host of others. This will be available as a free download PDF, but also as a paper copy. I wanted to make this a 'special' for more than one reason though, and it crossed my mind that we could do goodly works with these specials when they come out, and so all proceeds from the sale of the Glass Plate Photography Special (well, the bit that Lulu doesn't take for printing) will go to charity.

At the time of writing I haven't decided on a charity, but it's very likely to be a charity local to me that provide disabled children a chance to get out, play and try out new experiences. Keep an eye on the website for up-to-date information. Chris has already selected his next two charities!

I hope that you are able to support CiM, provide cash to help disadvantaged kids and get a paper copy of the magazine special yourself. Everybody wins.

Finally, as if that wasn't enough, I'm also planning to start converting the articles on the website in to PDF files. The originals will remain there, but it struck me that as we run different articles in the PDF and the website, that you could actually create your own magazine! So, I plan to create a CiM front cover for you to download, then you can download the articles that interest you from the website; et voila! your very own tailored CiM magazine - now how's that for service with a smile!

It's fair to say that these are exciting times for both Chris and I, and we hope for your continued support - help us by letting your photographic friends know about Creative Image Maker and spread the word that there is an alternative to magazines filled with digital articles.

Thank you.
David

We're Off To A Flying (Re-)Start...

noreply@blogger.com (David Vickers) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:28:00 +0000

Wow! Since we relaunched the magazine at the start of January, you've been busy providing Chris and I the drive to continue to build Creative Image Maker - just by turning up on the website and having a quick look around helps us gauge the interest in the community for such a magazine... and it's looking good!

How well have you all done? Well, if you take the page views for the entire months of November and December, there were a little over 1,600 - not entirely surprising as I'd had to bow out of producing anything new for the site over that period and Chris was working hard behind the scenes to produce the PDF magazine.

Since the 1st of January, until the 21st January, so not even a whole month, there have been (literally) a couple of page views short of 5,000. In 21 days, there have been THREE TIMES the amount of page views than in the 61 days of Nov/Dec last year! That's quite an achievement and I must thank you all for your support.

And you should see what we have planned for you lot over the next few months!

-David-

I'm Really Excited..!

noreply@blogger.com (David Vickers) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:37:00 +0000

Well the title says it all really! It's great to get back in to the magazine again and after having to leave it to it's own devices around Sept '08, I started thinking about it again at the start of Dec '08.

Then Chris emailed me with the questions & answers and that just served to crystallise my thoughts further...

And so it was that I looked at building up a forum-style magazine - even went to the trouble of building it, got Chris involved and between we started to put articles in there and generally started to get the place tidy.

Then a few people were asked to comment on it - and the feedback was... "It's just another forum and we don't want that". The idea was to have articles put on that you could then comment on and pass information on to each other.

Chris & I decided to ditch the forum and I started to dust off the cobwebs from the http://creativeimagemaker.co.uk website. The Lulu storefront went up next and that gave us a great platform to distribute the PDF magazines that Chris is putting together (and they're really neat!). In fact, Chris has got some great things coming up in the magazine, so do keep an eye out for that.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to put together a 'special' - more details later, we're thinking about future competitions and I think that we might just have another member of the team to help out too.

I wish I'd done this last year (got a team together; although to be fair I did ask for help, but I guess the magazine just wasn't mature enough, or people were too tied up with other business) - anyway, a HUGE "THANK YOU" to Chris Walrath who stepped in last year and produced the first PDF magazine. Going forward, Chris and I are dedicated to keeping this all going and whilst I'm sure it's not going to be all plain sailing, we're looking forward to the challenge.

As for the other member of the team? Well, I've asked Rob Valine to produce a series of monthly articles for the mag.

All in all, I'm excited about the future of Creative Image Maker, and I hope you are too.

David.

Healthier Than Ever...

noreply@blogger.com (David Vickers) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 08:34:00 +0000

Well, Creative Image Maker is one year old on the 13th January and we're still going, although even I have to admit that it's been a close run thing at times!

As it happens, we're not just still here, but we're now new and improved! Following several weeks of technical issues surrounding domain name servers and registration problems, the Creative Image Maker website is back on air and has been tweaked to hopefully provide a nicer experience.

But, that's not all - Christopher Walrath has been working extremely hard on the production of a magazine in PDF format for you to download. The first magazine became available in December, and January's issue is also available for free download from the Creative Image Maker storefront.

There's also a new photography challenge that we'd invite you to submit your images to; entitled "Rebirth", you can find out more here.

There's a proper gallery function added on to the site, and we'll be using this to display some of the best images that are sent to us - want to see your work highlighted in the magazine? Send it in! There are also several future exciting articles in the pipeline, and as usual, we'd ask you to submit your ideas / articles as well.

So, despite the somewhat turbulent year, the magazine is here and still growing - and with your help and support it will continue to do so. You can contact me at d.vickers@creativeimagemaker.co.uk or email Chris for items to be included in the PDF magazine at c.walrath@creativeimagemaker.co.uk. Of course, you can still submit images, comments and articles to the original info@creativeimagemaker.co.uk email address.

Thank you for your support, we look forward to hearing from you! All the best for 2009.

David Vickers.

Happy New Year... 1 Year On...

noreply@blogger.com (David Vickers) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 16:51:00 +0000

I can't believe it's been months since I last posted here! Well, what a lot has happened! It's a year on since we first started properly and the magazine is still going (although it was close several times!).

Due to various projects and general stuff happening, I had to make the surprisingly hard decision to pull back from the magazine, which sort of left it dangling in nowhere for a month or two. Then Chris Walrath stepped in and continued to produce the magazine as a PDF file for free download. The first magazine went out in December and the January one has just been produced (and is available for download).

Chris and I are also working on something else at the moment, so I don't want to say too much about that just yet, but hopefully it'll pull all the various elements of the magazine together.

In the meantime, a Lulu storefront has been setup so that you can download the PDF magazine for free. You can find that at here. Please feel free and get up-to-date with the magazine.

Finally, over the last month I've been having several issues with the creativeimagemaker.co.uk domain, which is not working as it should. Despite several attempts to correct and contacting various support techies at the ISP, we're still no further forward (although work continues). I'll be glad to get the main site back online after all this.

Anyway, it's the first day of 2009, so that just leaves it for me to wish you all and Happy New Year.

David.

New, Improved Navigation

noreply@blogger.com (David Vickers) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 09:03:00 +0000

There have been a couple of comments about the navigation around the Creative Image Maker website not being quite as easy as it could be, especially as the website is centred around weekly issues (much like a proper magazine) as opposed to topic areas. But now I've [hopefully] improved...

As with most solutions to a problem, the answer was 'bleeding obvious' - it was a bit of a "Eureka!" moment when I realised what I had to do, and then I felt dumb for not doing it earlier!
So, you can now access the current weeks article from the home page, rather than having to go in to the weekly overview and selecting the current week. That's now just one-click to the latest articles instead of three!
I've also taken the opportunity to make the front page less wordy, and started to use graphics to link to the articles.
I hope you like the changes - if the navigation put you off before, try it again and see how you get on!
Thanks,
David.
PS: the magazine is at http://creativeimagemaker.co.uk

COMPETITION ENTRIES

noreply@blogger.com (David Vickers) — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 08:33:00 +0000

ust a quick reminder that the 'Image Within An Image" competition closes on Monday night (31st March)!

Submit your entries this weekend to have a chance at winning the prize kindly donated by Fotohuis RoVo.

For more information, look at the Creative Image Maker website: Competition Information.

Thanks, and good luck!
David Vickers.

Picture Gallery

noreply@blogger.com (David Vickers) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 20:09:00 +0000

I've been puzzling for a while over whether or not to have a gallery on the Creative Image Maker website. So, I've decided to try one out...

The gallery is made up from the images that are on the Creative Image Maker Flickr group - this has the advantage that all the images are hosted on Flickr and the gallery will be updated automatically as more images are added to the pool.

I'm not sure how this will work out - I've tried a few other Flickr viewers and some just did not work, while others did... but not in a useful way to us (i.e. being only able to see our group and not a particular user, or specific tag).

Anyway, it's experimental, so let's see what your feedback is on it. You can find the gallery at Creative Image Maker Gallery.

C.I.M. Bookshops

noreply@blogger.com (David Vickers) — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 14:13:00 +0000

Now that I'm beginning to get on top of the new site (although there are a couple of niggles to sort out), I've a few ideas on how to make the site [hopefully] better for you readers.

Firstly, if you visit the site you'll now find a couple of bookshops (a UK version and a US version) relating to photography. These should be all film related, although some of the 'coffee table' books may use digital imagery.

There's currently sections for creative photography which contains alternative techniques, 'coffee-table' books that would be good to flick through whilst you sit down with your cup of tea (UK) or cappuchino (US)! There's also sections on Leica equipment and more.

Now, obviously I don't stock these items so the store has been built via Amazon associates, which means that if you purchase a book via the Creative Image Maker bookshop then you'll be supporting the running of the site to the tune of 4% of the book price.

Now, because I am UK based and there is a US store, I will be receiving Amazon gift vouchers - so it is my intention that if and when there are enough vouchers, they would be used to purchase a book which could then be a prize in a future competition. That way everyone benefits :-)

So, next time you on the site, take a look at the bookshop. You can find them at the Creative Image Maker magazine.

Cheers,
David Vickers.

New Provider, New Site, New Functionality - Excellent Service!

noreply@blogger.com (David Vickers) — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 19:31:00 +0000

The new web hosting package has been purchased and I'm now working on setting it all up - and I'm pleased to report that the new provider has excellent support.

I had rewritten the site in readiness for uploading it all, and then I sat down and thought about this whole project - taking a long term view.

It soon became apparent that trying to look after what will become a huge repository of information was going to overwhelm my coding skills and time. Whilst it's 'easy' to look after now, I can see that in a year or two's time, that won't be the case.

So, I started looking for a content management system, on to which I can bolt an image gallery, forums, news pages and so on. And I found it :-)

Now, I've to build it - so whilst the site is now up, it'll be a few more days at least before I can get back to what we had; but it's a system that we really can build on for the future. So, despite the inconvenience now, in the long run it's for the best.

Thanks for bearing with me - normal service will resume as soon as possible!

David.

Starting Again From Scratch

noreply@blogger.com (David Vickers) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 12:53:00 +0000

Right! We are back to square one - I've now been given a full refund and I can now start to look around for another web hosting provider.

With the original site having been taken down last Thusday, by this lunchtime (Monday) I still did not have any information allowing me to setup the new site. I decided that as there had been no site for around 4 days, and no sign of actually making any progress, that it would be better to get the money back and go looking elsewhere.

So, I've got a couple of providers that I'm looking to use and will attempt to get everything sorted by the end of this week (Friday 29th).

Wish me luck...

David.

Still Waiting...

noreply@blogger.com (David Vickers) — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 08:34:00 +0000

As reported on Thursday, the old site has been taken down to make way for the new site. We had to take the old site down first as the service provider could not run two separate hosting services at the same time - as we cannot point the creativeimagemaker.co.uk domain name at two places at once.

As I'm sure you are aware, I've been very unhappy with this hosting provider and when they finally took down the site (four days late), I purchased a hosting plan with their sister company. With the monies out of the account, I got a response from the site that I would be sent information allowing me to start the process of uploading the new site.

By the end of Friday I still had nothing. I sent in a support call and I'm still waiting for a response.

So, as I write this, we have no site up and running, I can't upload the new site as I don't have the server information I need and I'm guessing that I won't get a response until Monday.

I've also asked for a refund as their customer support service is just appalling. I'll try and find a company that actually responds to their customers!

I'm hugely frustrated and disappointed by this setback - but rest assured that the project is still alive and well, and I'll get the magazine back online as soon as possible.

Thanks for your patience,
David Vickers.

The Site Is Down (On Purpose!)

noreply@blogger.com (David Vickers) — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 17:42:00 +0000

Finally the site is going through the update process, having been taken down by the service provider.

This was the first step in the process - the original site had to be removed to allow me to get a better web hosting agreement. The new site can then be uploaded and the domain pointed at the new server.

I'm currently waiting for some information about the new server before I can upload the version 2 site. It's slow going this update, but at least we have made some progress!

I'll keep you posted.

David.

Version 2.0...

noreply@blogger.com (David Vickers) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 10:54:00 +0000

Well, as you may have guessed, the proposed update has not yet happened thanks to the incompetence of the hosting provider.

I've had such unhappy dealings with my service provider that I'm seriously considering changing to a completely different provider, even if it means losing the money I paid to get the 'service' to start with.

I will be lodging a formal complaint against my provider, especially as I'm now 2 days behind schedule (although at least the site is still up!).

I still want to update this week if at all possible - I'll keep you posted.

David.
A very, very unhappy 123-reg customer.

Our first month...

noreply@blogger.com (David Vickers) — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 08:42:00 +0000

Just a quick one today... the magazine has been online now for one month and we've had 2,600 visits and well over 12,100 page views.

That's absolutely brilliant, and is well beyond my expectations! I am very grateful for your support and I hope that you continue to enjoy reading the magazine.

DV.

Version 2 To Go Live.

noreply@blogger.com (David Vickers) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 18:16:00 +0000

The current Creative Image Maker website will be updated early next week (week commencing 18th Feb) and this will mean a loss of service for a few days.

The current site does not allow us enough room for expansion as there is a limit on the number of pages allowed and it also has a fixed hierarchy of those pages. We are already near the limits on the articles section and so this update is needed. The new site provides us with much more freedom and I'm looking forward to getting it uploaded.

The new site has a familiar feel to it, although there are some minor differences - particularly in the way that articles will be displayed; with the new site, articles will appear in a new window. Navigation remains broadly similar as do the section titles.

The current site will have to be pulled first, before the new site can be uploaded; following that the domain name servers (that allow your computer to go to the site) will need to be updated and that can take 24-48 hours. I'm looking to start this on Monday, with a view to normal service resuming on Wednesday.

As an additional thing, I'm wondering whether it's worth re-instating the Gallery? I definitely want to keep the Feature Images as that seems to be a real hit, but I'm not so sure about the Gallery - especially when there's Flickr, APUG, et al. What do you think?

Also, I haven't been pushing the events / exhibitions / camera club sections as I've been concentrating on getting articles and images - do you feel that this section is worth building up (I'm happy to do it, if you think it's worth it)?

That's all. Remember that it is a magazine for you and I do value your input, we wouldn't be here without after all!

Cheers,
David.

Latest Magazine News...

noreply@blogger.com (David Vickers) — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 06:49:00 +0000

There are quite a few things to update you all on...

1. The switch to version 2.0 of the website.
2. Paper-based magazine.
3. Up-coming feature images and articles.
4. Other news.

Version 2.0

The bulk of the new website is ready, but it's always a bit of a catch-up as each week passes by as I have to upload new items to the current site and then convert them for the version 2.0 site. The quicker we can get the switchover done, the better!

The change to the new site will mean that it will be unavailable for 24-48 hours whilst the changes percolate through the internet. That switchover may well be happening this week once I'm happy that it is sorted with the hosting provider (there are currently 'issues' around finances for this - i.e. I want a refund!).

The Paper Magazine

It would appear that the idea for a print-on-demand magazine will not be happening. I received the samples from Lightning Source (whom, I must add, were extremely helpful), but the quality of image reproduction just wasn't what I had hoped for.

This is a bit of a blow in the whole plan, but undeterred I have found a good ol' traditional printer who could well save the day! It's likely that there will not be a magazine in April as I had originally hoped, but with luck June may be more realistic - and here is where you can help me... I will need to have a rough idea of how many people are interested in a proper, quality magazine so that I can obtain pricing. You can email me at info@creativeimagemaker.co.uk (subject line "Paper mag") and let me know. It'll give me an idea of whether I'm looking at printing 500 copies, or 5.

Future Features

There are so many articles in the pipeline that I want to put them all up on the site now! It's becoming hard to choose what should go up and when! This is fabulous and I'd like to thank those that have already been published and all those waiting in the wings for their work to be published. Over the next couple of months we've got...

- An article by Dorothy Kloss about building a darkroom;
- Several article by Christopher Walrath covering a range of subjects (Chris was one of the first people to contribute and he's still waiting to see his work in the magazine - sorry Chris, it's coming, honest!);
- Stan L-B writes about why light matters;
- Jason Brunner, whom some of you may recognise from the APUG forum, has written a piece about the Fotoman 6x17 camera;
- Jim Read tells us about creating cyanotypes;
- Tom Overton provides follow-on information about the use of coffee as a developer;
- Do you buy equipment from eBay? I know I do, and John Sawula has written an article about it;
- Even I am getting in on the act! I've written articles on the Nikon EM camera (a much under-rated camera), and I'll be kicking off the beginners series with a look at the equipment one needs to create your own images...
- ...and I've also got a Polaroid special planned as well (in spite of recent announcements about Polaroid!).

Feature images are going from strength to strength as well - today (10th Feb) will see not one, but two feature images! Thanks to Dennis Cordell and Alan Huntley for their kind permission to use their photographs.

Other News

As I'm sure you are all aware by now it's been an interesting time in the world of photography. Fuji unveiled their prototype medium format rangefinder - a 6x7 folding camera and we await to see if it actually makes it in to production in the future. Polaroid, on the other hand, have announced the closure of two factories with the loss of several jobs. This is a great shame to those of us who use Polaroid films - especially for image transfers and emulsion lifts as the Fuji film just doesn't work the same way. It's interesting to note that Polaroid is ready to licence the technology and I wonder who will take over the production of Polaroid films - let's hope someone does!

With that, I'll end there. Please stop by the magazine site over the week to see all the new features. It's at...

Creative Image Maker.

Thanks,
David.

New Fuji Camera?

noreply@blogger.com (David Vickers) — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 09:15:00 +0000

Looking around in various forums there is much talk of a possible new Fuji medium format camera.

The camera is currently just a prototype, but what little information I can glean and a few pictures of it, you'll find on the Creative Image Maker website - go take a look!