Luminous Landscape Forum
Site & Board Matters => About This Site => Topic started by: Mark D Segal on May 12, 2016, 11:08:54 am
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Kevin Raber and Chris Gampat,
Thank you, thank you. Chris is an inspiration to all of us. What an amazing life story and determination to rise above hardship and create such a wonderful resource for the photographic community. Chris, I downloaded the first issue of your new La Noir Image e-magazine. I think the content and the presentation are excellent. Your taste in the selection of photographers and photograph excels and serves to remind us of how powerful a medium black and white photography can be. I have contributed to your Kickstarter initiative and I highly recommend that other site members do likewise. There are only several weeks remaining in the campaign and a fair bit is needed to reach the goal post. This deserves to succeed.
Mark
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Thanks Mark. I really appreciate your kind words and I also hope that this is successful.
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Link to article/issue, please?
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It's today's featured article on the front page of the website.
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Featured article: https://luminous-landscape.com/working-towards-dream/
La Noir Image: http://lanoirimage.com
Kickstarter with link to the issue: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2032808916/la-noir-image-documenting-the-monochrome-lifestyle
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Hey Chris -
As someone who started his first company at 27, I know the road you're on, and I just want to say congratulations, good luck, and great work so far! You obviously already have a feel for the highs, the lows and the responsibilities and burdens that come with taking responsibility not just for yourself, but for your employees and their families. Just keep on even in the worst days and you'll look back in the end and be deservingly proud of your work and what you built. Congrats, and good luck with the kickstarter!
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Hey Chris -
As someone who started his first company at 27, I know the road you're on, and I just want to say congratulations, good luck, and great work so far! You obviously already have a feel for the highs, the lows and the responsibilities and burdens that come with taking responsibility not just for yourself, but for your employees and their families. Just keep on even in the worst days and you'll look back in the end and be deservingly proud of your work and what you built. Congrats, and good luck with the kickstarter!
I appreciate your words James. Thanks a bunch.
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Featured article: https://luminous-landscape.com/working-towards-dream/
La Noir Image: http://lanoirimage.com
Kickstarter with link to the issue: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2032808916/la-noir-image-documenting-the-monochrome-lifestyle
Thank you, Mark also.
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I'd hate to criticise, but do we really need yet another online magazine devoted to black and white photography? I already new about Lenswork and Monovisions.com and, following your article, I had the curiosity to search on the iTunes store for "magazine black white". Included is a screen shot.
Here is also a link to a list of online magazines (not all Black and White), for your browser: http://www.fstopmagazine.com/links.html
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This is art and who's to say how much is too much. There is a huge amount of talent out there to be tapped and depending on the quality, the more the merrier. There is no question of "need". If a new initiative is bringing new artistic production of merit to the public mind, that is to be encouraged.
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I'd hate to criticise, but do we really need yet another online magazine devoted to black and white photography? I already new about Lenswork and Monovisions.com and, following your article, I had the curiosity to search on the iTunes store for "magazine black white". Included is a screen shot.
Here is also a link to a list of online magazines (not all Black and White), for your browser: http://www.fstopmagazine.com/links.html
Mine is going to work just like an app and interface very much like the BJP. It's going to be a completely different experience. Also, I don't think that there are many that embrace the newer school of artists out there.
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Mine is going to work just like an app and interface very much like the BJP. It's going to be a completely different experience.
You mean it will interface like the BJP web site? I find that interface neither pretty nor practical.
Also, I don't think that there are many that embrace the newer school of artists out there.
I find the opposite to be true. With the glut of "online magazines" on the Internet, the new ones are desperate to try to reach untapped readers by publishing fringe photographers.
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I find the opposite to be true. With the glut of "online magazines" on the Internet, the new ones are desperate to try to reach untapped readers by publishing fringe photographers.
And just what is a "fringe photographer"? And if a number of these so-called "fringe photographers" are producing excellent work, do they not deserve to be published? Did the non-fringe photographers come out of the womb that way, or did they start off being "fringe" - perhaps for quite a while - before they hit mainstream and became household names? Thank goodness there are people willing to publish the quality work of these so-called "fringe photographers".
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I'd hate to criticise…
Uh…yeah.
Personally I'm always up for seeing new work via curated publications, print or online. Bring it on!
-Dave-
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I think we are not quite understanding each others.
What I meant is that there are already many, many online photography available and on all sorts of subjects. More than what the market is able to sustain, actually: quite a few of them seem to find it difficult to survive.
Under these circumstances I fail to see how a further one could survive. I would love to be proven wrong, of course.
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I think we are not quite understanding each others.
What I meant is that there are already many, many online photography available and on all sorts of subjects. More than what the market is able to sustain, actually: quite a few of them seem to find it difficult to survive.
Under these circumstances I fail to see how a further one could survive. I would love to be proven wrong, of course.
Entrepreneurship and vision are all about taking risks and doing one's best to make the ventures succeed. Failure to see how one could survive and waiting to be proven wrong are recipes for keep-back and non-achievement. Ask any successful businessman whether they embarked on a venture with this kind of attitude and I can guarantee you what the answer would be. The world is a crowded place - there is very little that hasn't been done before and often by many people, but that has never prevented fresh initiatives from succeeding if they bring something attractive to the table that makes an impression with the public. I have no doubt Chris understands the environment he's working in and knows what's out there. Any sensible person would find this necessary before going to all the effort involved in such a venture.
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I have no doubt Chris understands the environment he's working in and knows what's out there. Any sensible person would find this necessary before going to all the effort involved in such a venture.
What made me write what I posted in this thread is that the article starts with: The community for providing photography based internet content is rather small. The opposite is actually true: there is a glut of web sites "providing photography based internet content".
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What made me write what I posted in this thread is that the article starts with: The community for providing photography based internet content is rather small. The opposite is actually true: there is a glut of web sites "providing photography based internet content".
Well, I did say the World is a crowded place, and yes you have a point, there are gazillions of websites providing photographic content. That is plain for any one to see. If Chris cares to comment on what he meant by that statement of course he can speak for himself, but I suspect he had in mind the specific kind of content and presentation he is developing.
I'm not going to sustain an argument on this matter, especially as I have a policy of not getting into forum arguments with screen names, but I'll just reinforce a perspective that Chris is probably at least as aware of the risks as you are, especially as he is actually doing it, and a positive attitude is probably more helpful all round.
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I'm not going to sustain an argument on this matter
That's good because I was starting to wonder why you seem so active in defending this project: you have written half the messages in this thread.
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That's good because I was starting to wonder why you seem so active in defending this project: you have written half the messages in this thread.
Maybe Mark is just more willing to respond, and more patient in responding, than (at least some of) the rest of us.
Most endeavors—creative, business, whatever—fail. This isn't news. Knowing this: to come on like Debbie Downer or wish someone well? IMO only one of those options is worth doing.
-Dave-
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I certainly wish Chris Gampat well, that is not the question here. But you are right that probably this discussion has reached its end.
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Maybe Mark is just more willing to respond, and more patient in responding, than (at least some of) the rest of us.
Most endeavors—creative, business, whatever—fail. This isn't news. Knowing this: to come on like Debbie Downer or wish someone well? IMO only one of those options is worth doing.
-Dave-
+1.
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Dave and Mark - well said, and with more patience than I could muster. 'Fringe photographers' LOL!!
Chris, really liked your site! It has the perfect look and feel for noir' content. Your uncovering some really terrific edgy talent. I think your tapping into growing communities and markets that some folks here may not understand.
So good luck with your vision! Kickstarter funding on the way.
I also want to applaud Kevin for continuing to expand the 'Luminous world'. My main goal has always been to make compelling and interesting images of 'everything' around us.
Cheers,
Steve
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Maybe Mark is just more willing to respond, and more patient in responding, than (at least some of) the rest of us.
Yeah, that's indeed seems to be the case.
At one point I was going to respond too, but IMHO what's being discussed here is pretty obvious... If there is one thing that I could add here, it's this:
If there are two prospective businesses, one more stable and/or lucrative but for which you have no desire whatsoever, and the other one that is [far] more risky but for which you have a true passion, by all means go for the latter. And not only because it will make your life more interesting, but because you'll have more chances to succeed.
Note that I said "businesses", not just "areas of interest"... There has to be a business case in what you're doing. With that caveat, everything I said stands.
Anyway, Chris, I wish you best of luck.
P.S. Downloaded that PDF and enjoyed it a lot. Even decided to do a bit of B&W myself in the near future. See? You're already changing this world a bit...
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You mean it will interface like the BJP web site? I find that interface neither pretty nor practical.
I find the opposite to be true. With the glut of "online magazines" on the Internet, the new ones are desperate to try to reach untapped readers by publishing fringe photographers.
No no no! Like the BJP on the iPad! Meaning if you buy the subscription to the magazine on iOS and get the magazine delivered to your iPad or iPhone via their app.
Also, the Phoblographer has been around for six years and it's a well respected photography publication that features artists often. I'm proud to say with confidence that I often end up finding these artists first. I'd put the stake of my business on that statement in the same way that I'm doing it with my black and white photo magazine.
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What made me write what I posted in this thread is that the article starts with: The community for providing photography based internet content is rather small. The opposite is actually true: there is a glut of web sites "providing photography based internet content".
that part is an introduction by Kevin! And it is true in the sense that few of us actually stand out enough to gain the recognition to be invited to these press trips that he continues to speak of.
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Well, I did say the World is a crowded place, and yes you have a point, there are gazillions of websites providing photographic content. That is plain for any one to see. If Chris cares to comment on what he meant by that statement of course he can speak for himself, but I suspect he had in mind the specific kind of content and presentation he is developing.
I'm not going to sustain an argument on this matter, especially as I have a policy of not getting into forum arguments with screen names, but I'll just reinforce a perspective that Chris is probably at least as aware of the risks as you are, especially as he is actually doing it, and a positive attitude is probably more helpful all round.
So to add to my previous comment, the intro was done by Kevin. On these press trips, there are often journalists invited and business owners. Amongst those publication/business owners are myself, Kevin, Steve Huff, the Northrups, Gordon Laing, and someone from Resource, SLR Lounge and FStoppers.
I'm quite aware of the risks and that's why I need to fund this via a Kickstarter. $35k for the first year isn't a whole lot to ask and I plan on getting advertising to support the magazine and keep costs down the way everyone else does. But my ads don't interfere with the content.
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+1.
My mentor taught me one big thing and it was reinforced in RoTC: If you don't try, then you fail. If you try, you've got a bigger chance of success.
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Dave and Mark - well said, and with more patience than I could muster. 'Fringe photographers' LOL!!
Chris, really liked your site! It has the perfect look and feel for noir' content. Your uncovering some really terrific edgy talent. I think your tapping into growing communities and markets that some folks here may not understand.
So good luck with your vision! Kickstarter funding on the way.
I also want to applaud Kevin for continuing to expand the 'Luminous world'. My main goal has always been to make compelling and interesting images of 'everything' around us.
Cheers,
Steve
That means a lot, thanks!
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Yeah, that's indeed seems to be the case.
At one point I was going to respond too, but IMHO what's being discussed here is pretty obvious... If there is one thing that I could add here, it's this:
If there are two prospective businesses, one more stable and/or lucrative but for which you have no desire whatsoever, and the other one that is [far] more risky but for which you have a true passion, by all means go for the latter. And not only because it will make your life more interesting, but because you'll have more chances to succeed.
Note that I said "businesses", not just "areas of interest"... There has to be a business case in what you're doing. With that caveat, everything I said stands.
Anyway, Chris, I wish you best of luck.
P.S. Downloaded that PDF and enjoyed it a lot. Even decided to do a bit of B&W myself in the near future. See? You're already changing this world a bit...
And that's my intent: people like you. I want to keep inspiring folks. We need to drive a hard difference between "photography" and "Photography" in this world. And that's my intent.
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I find the fringe magazines have the best content Lenswork and Adore Noir being good examples. So you've got my $10 pledge. Good luck.
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I find the fringe magazines have the best content Lenswork and Adore Noir being good examples. So you've got my $10 pledge. Good luck.
Thanks. If I get the funding then I can build something larger than both.