I received this email today from info@cameraarts.com:
Tim Anderson the owner and publisher of CameraArts filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy on May 16, 2008.
Be advised the current bankruptcy law may control any debt owed by Mr. Anderson.
If you would like to contact Mr. Anderson his phone number is 1-505-888-8937.
If you would like to contact his bankruptcy attorney please call Chris Pierce at 505-881-3191.
Apparently Mr. Anderson did not notify the CameraArts subscribers of this event. As the re-creator of CameraArts in 1998, I sold it to Anderson in December 2004. I apologize for this.
I am operating CameraArts as an online publication at www.cameraarts.com and will allow free access to the site and its contents through 2008 as a way to restore the good name of CameraArts.
Sincerely
Steve Simmons
I never really appreciated Camera Arts; I felt it was more graphic arts than "camera" arts; I thought this may be of interest to some of you. I do not know who Steve Simmons is and I have no connection with the magazine.
Kind regards,
Derek
No surprise to me. Back when Camera Arts was the sister publication to View Camera with the same format and editorial style I really liked it. Most issues had good articles on technique, and some of the photography showcased was really excellent. Reproduction quality was also top notch.
When the two publications split, the writing was on the wall almost from the beginning. The content of Camera Arts rapidly veered off the rails into bizarre, heavily conceptual or sureal stuff with an obvious fashion influence. The switch to a smaller format to me smelled of desperation, and I knew the end was near. Steve Simmons is a thoroughly honorable guy, and here's hoping he can revive Camera Arts.
Too bad, because we surely need photography magazines focused on the art rather than the gadgets. The racks down at your local B&N or Borders are choked with big glossies all about the gear and 75% ads by content. But other than the irreplaceable Lenswork, there's not much out there. View Camera remains very good regardless of your format preference. Aperture is just bizarre these days with its post-modern fixation; Black & White Magazine has some really nice work, but also a lot of garbage. Doubletruck is wonderful if you like photojournalism.
