Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-10-18)

8 12 October 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113

NigelAthertonis EditorofAmateur Photographer.

THE

VEWS

EXPRESSED

NTH

SCOLUMN

ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER MAGA ZINE OR TI MEDIA LIMITED

W

henJ HarrisStone

launchedthefirst

issueofAmateur

Photographerin 1884,

hecouldnothavedaredto imaginethat

hislittlejournal,whichdidn’tevencarry

anypictures,wouldgoonto becomethe

pillarof theBritishphotographymedia

throughoutthe20thcentury,andthat

135 yearslaterit wouldstillaccount

fornearlyhalfof allphotomagazines

soldin newsagentsandsupermarkets

acrosstheUK.Despitetheenormous

changesthathaveoccurredin camera

technologyandphotographyculture

duringthistime,APhasmanagedto

stayat theforefrontastheworld’sonly

survivingweeklyphotographymagazine.

There’sa populargamewhereyou

caninviteanyfivepeople,aliveordead,

toa dinnerparty.I stillhaven’tfinalised

myfive,butif I couldbringbackJ Harris

StoneI’msurehewouldbefascinated

tolearnhowAPhasachievedthis

aswellashowphotographyitselfhas

evolved.Hewouldprobablydieallover

again,fromshock,if I gavehimthe

latestiPhoneandshowedhimwhathe

coulddowithit. So,justin case,I’dsave

thatbittillthedessertcourse,and

would fi rst tell him about how AP has

alwaysmanagedtoreflectthezeitgeist.

We’vewelcomed(butwitha criticaleye)

eachnewtechnologicaldevelopment

withoutshuttingthedooronprevious

ones:theswitchfromplatestorollfilm,

andthento35mm,fromblack& white

tocolour,filmtodigital.Eventoday

we’realmostalonein acknowledging

thecontinuingexistenceof fi lm.

Ahappymarriage

APrecognisesthatphotographyis

a uniquemarriageof art,scienceand

technologythatwelcomesnewcomers

throughmanyentrypoints.Somelove

thetechnicaldiscipline,beit chemical,

opticalorelectronic.Therearethose

whosepassionis forthecameras,while

othersareinterestedonlyin theart.It

canbea meansforrecordingreality

• thebeautyorthehorror– orbringing
  theimaginationtolife.Formanythe
  creativeprocessis anactof therapy
  andhealing,forothersit’sa political
  tool,orsimplya meanstomakea living.
  Photographymeansdifferentthingsto
  differentpeopleandAPhasembraced
  it all,courting,nurturingandshowcasing
  theverybestphotographersand
  commentatorsin everygeneration.
  Today,photographyremainsone
  of theworld’smostpopularpassions.
  Morepicturesarebeingtakennowthan
  at anytimein history,thoughmostare
  takenonphones.ButI seethesenotas
  a threatbuta gatewaydrug,gettingthe
  nextgenerationhookedonthehobby
  andhopefullyinspiringthemtobuy
  propercameras.Whatevertheirtools,
  peoplewillcontinuetorecordand
  interprettheworldaroundthem,and
  APwillcontinuetoworktirelesslyto
  inform,entertainandinspire.
  Wewanttomoveyou,amaze
  you,makeyoulaugh,andperhaps
  sometimesmakeyoucry.Afterall,we
  havea responsibilitytoensurethatAP
  maintainsits135-year-oldreputation
  astheworld’sbestphotography
  magazine. Probably.

Doyouhavesomethingyou’dliketogetoffyourchest?Sendusyourthoughtsinaround

500 wordstotheaddressonpage 25 andwina year’sdigitalsubscriptiontoAP,worth£79.

TheveryfirstcoverofAmateur

Photographer: Friday, 10 October 1884

Reflectionson 135 yearsofAP themagazine’s

continualendeavourtoembracetechnological

developments and showcase great photography

View point

Nigel Atherton

© CLAUDIA POPESCU

100 yearsofOlympus

Wetakea lookbackatthefirm’s

best-lovedcameras,reminisceonits

classicadverts,andhearfromprosand

readersaboutwhytheylovethebrand

FleetStreet’sfinest

PeterDenchmeetsJohnDowningMBE:

one of theUK’sbestpressphotographers

Picturepower

The winners of EISA Maestro 2019

Funnyandpainfulphoto

disastersthatcanhelpyou

to always be prepared

My photo

disaster

In next week’s issue

On sale Tuesday 15 October