|
Rambling With Resnick
It Pays to be Popular
We interrupt our regular programming...
"Life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans"--John Lennon
Dear Black & White Worlders,
On June 10, 1989, I lost my dream job when Modern Photography's assets were purchased by the parent company of Popular Photography, and Modern ceased publication. On November 5, 2000, I sort of got it back.
I have been offered the opportunity to join the staff of Popular Photography, the largest circulation photo magazine in the world. I have accepted. I start working there on November 20. I will be the managing editor--a pivital position in the organization of any publication and the number two editorial position on Pop's masthead. It's very exciting, and a bit scary. A lot of responsibility comes with the job, but there's also the opportunity to have influence on the magazine's content and direction (perhaps I will be able to persuade the powers that be to do more articles about B&W!) Because it is a commuting job and I've been working at home for nearly three years, it will also mean rearranging my life in many ways.
Now the bad news.
Black and White World has been my labor of love for five years. In fact, this month's column was to be a celebration of the site's fifth anniversary--it first appeared on November 1, 1995. I was going to write about its growth as one of the primary sources of information for black and white photography on the web. In fact, there is much to celebrate. From a site with one page and a few hundred hits in its first month, Black and White World has grown to be hundreds of pages that are seen by over 30,000 visitors each month. Our forums, top ten list and features are highly respected and are often written about in compendiums of photography on the web. Search for Black & White Photography on Yahoo or Google, and Black and White World shows up first. Go ahead--try it!
But it's all been a one-person, voluntary effort, and it has been time consuming. With my new job at Popular Photography, I do not feel I will be able to give Black and White World the attention it deserves. Therefore, I am regretfully putting Black and White World on indefinite hiatus.
This does not mean the site is closing down! It simply means that I will not be updating the content with any regularity until I can either find volunteers to take on some of the responsibilities or until I feel I can handle running the site along with my workload at Popular Photography. I have begun the process of looking for volunteers. (NOTE: this is not an invitation to offer your services--I already have a list of people who I feel would be appropriate choices and am in the process of talking to them. If I need offers of help I will post a note in the Creativity, Etc. forum.) I already have handed over the reins to the three most active forums--Film & Processing, Printing & Finishing, and Alternate Process--to Ed Buffaloe, who has been an active contributor whose judgement I trust, and who offers lots of good advice on his site, www.unblinkingeye.com.
I want to thank everyone for visiting Black and White World through the years, and I encourage you to continue visiting and participating in the forums, which will become the one part of the site that will be in constant change. I especially want to thank the individuals who have contributed articles on the nuts, bolts, theory and even controveries of B&W photography. And I want to send a message of thanks to the spirit of Peter Moore, who I worked with at Modern Photography; Peter and I were exploring the idea of starting up a magazine dedicated to black and white photography when Peter died unexpectedly, in 1993. When I started this site in November 1995 I dedicated B&W World to his memory.
So, if you want to see what I'm up to, check out Popular Photography on a newsstand near you if you are in the US. My name should start appearing in it in March, 2001.
Keep shooting!
~mason
About the author: Mason Resnick, the editor and publisher of Black & White World, is the managing editor of Popular Photography. You can reach him at bwworld@mindspring.com.