''Modern Photography'' was a popular American
photo
A photograph (also known as a photo, or more generically referred to as an ''image'' or ''picture'') is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor. The process and pra ...
magazine
A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...
published and internationally distributed for 52 years from
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. An unrelated ''Modern Photography'' magazine was published in
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
from 1976.
History
''Minicam''
The original magazine, ''Minicam,'' "The Miniature Camera Monthly," was launched September 1937 (Volume 1, No. 1) by the
Cleveland
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...
publisher, Automobile Digest Publishing Company. By September 1940, the magazine was called ''Minicam Photography'', then, in 1949, ''Modern Photography.'' Minicam was devoted to what was then considered the amateur
35mm 35 mm may refer to:
Film
* 135 film, a type of still photography format commonly referred to as 35 mm film
* 35 mm movie film, a type of motion picture film stock
* 35MM, a "musical exhibition" by Ryan Scott Oliver that features music ...
"miniature" camera format. It was produced in
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
and appeared only a few months after the launch in 1937 of ''Popular Photography''. Thenceforth, the two publications remained fiercely competitive rivals, though the latter was to achieve about twice ''Minicam''s 110,000 circulation.
''Minicam'' was first edited by George R. Hoxie (1907–1984), art photographer and portraitist of
Basil Rathbone
Philip St. John Basil Rathbone MC (13 June 1892 – 21 July 1967) was an Anglo-South African actor. He rose to prominence in the United Kingdom as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in more than 70 films, primarily costume drama ...
,
Bennet Cerf
Bennett Alfred Cerf (May 25, 1898 – August 27, 1971) was an American writer, publisher, and co-founder of the American publishing firm Random House. Cerf was also known for his own compilations of jokes and puns, for regular personal appearanc ...
,
Robert Frost
Robert Lee Frost (March26, 1874January29, 1963) was an American poet. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American Colloquialism, colloquial speech, Frost frequently wrote about settings from rural life in New E ...
,
Salvador Dali
Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to:
* Salvador (name)
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
*Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music
** ''Salvador'' ( ...
, and
Maurice Tabard, who was active in the
Photographic Society of America
The Photographic Society of America (PSA) is one of the largest, non-profit organizations of its kind. Established in 1934, it has expanded to include members of over 60 countries.
The mission of this association is to promote and enhance the a ...
as both a judge and entrant in salon photography competitions. He became associate editor of the magazine in December 1943 and editor in July 1946, and remained in that position until November 1948.
''Modern Photography''
Printed in a small format ''Minicam'' proved unattractive to advertisers and when purchased and renamed in 1949 by Photographic Publishing Company in New York, from September that year its dimensions were increased.
In 1963, the magazine was purchased by
Billboard Publications
''Billboard'' (stylized in lowercase since 2013) is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles related to th ...
then sold again to
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting
* Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
Leisure Magazines (which became ABC Consumer Magazines).
Editors
Other
Editors-in-chief
An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...
included
Herbert (Burt) Keppler (associate editor from 1950) who in 1956 became executive editor of the magazine, then editor and publisher in 1963, and editorial director and publisher in 1966.
Patricia Caulfield worked alongside, and then succeeded Keppler. Her interest in photography was sparked at the age of 20 while studying at the
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...
and working during 1953 at
Eastman House
The George Eastman Museum, also referred to as George Eastman House and the International Museum of Photography and Film, is a photography museum in Rochester, New York. Opened to the public in 1949, is the oldest museum dedicated to photography ...
in an educational program which sponsored a television show in which
Beaumont Newhall
Beaumont Newhall (June 22, 1908 – February 26, 1993) was an American curator, art historian, writer, photographer, and the second director of the George Eastman Museum. His book, ''The History of Photography'', remains one of the most signif ...
taught her photography. After graduation, she attended art school at night and worked in a camera store, then at other jobs in New York before becoming a secretary at ''Modern Photography.'' She advanced over ten years to editorial assistant, then assistant editor, picture editor, managing editor and into her final position of executive editor. She contributed technical writing and advice to amateurs. Caulfield, inspired by
Eliot Porter
Eliot Furness Porter (December 6, 1901 – November 2, 1990) was an American photographer best known for his color photographs of nature.Amon Carter MuseumEliot Porter collection guide. Retrieved September 12, 2008. Early life and education
Porter ...
, went on to become an environmentalist, prominent nature photographer, and advocate for preservation of the
Everglades
The Everglades is a natural region of flooded grasslands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orlando with the K ...
.
Contents
''Modern Photography'' featured regular columns including "Hard Knocks" that reviewed reader pictures, and "Camera Collector", and advertised photographic equipment and materials, with a back-pages
classified
Classified may refer to:
General
*Classified information, material that a government body deems to be sensitive
*Classified advertising or "classifieds"
Music
*Classified (rapper) (born 1977), Canadian rapper
* The Classified, a 1980s American ro ...
s section devoted to
mail-order
Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as:
* Sending an order form in the mail
* Placing an order by telephone call
...
offerings.
Keppler wrote technical reviews, editorials, and articles on the full range of topics relating to film, cameras, and photography. He remained for 37 years at ''Modern Photography'' a photographer, journalist, consultant, and editorial director (moving on to ''Popular Photography'' for a further 20 years). He wrote a monthly "Keppler's SLR Notebook".
The magazine changed how the industry tested and reviewed cameras and lenses. Keppler developed objective tests in a lab environment over 20 years that were repeatable between many different models to give measurable proof of a certain model's performance, and lens tests for which he had photographed a grouping of high-contrast
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
resolution targets to determine lens definition at centers and corners of the
negative. Keppler championed the quality and engineering of the Japanese camera at a time after the war when anti-Japanese bias still prevailed.
The magazine hired consultants from the Japanese Camera Inspection Institute to ensure the rigour of their "Modern Tests" feature, since each camera successfully tested was guaranteed with a "Seal of Approval" that it would perform as tested or be replaced or repaired.
Influence
The audience for ''Modern Photography'' spanned amateurs who wanted to learn how to improve their picture-taking, and professionals who wanted to keep apace of new developments in photo technology and to access reliable testing of it. It published an annual that displayed folios of significant new photography from the fields of photojournalism, commercial, fashion and art photography. It issued spin-off publications including ''Photo Buying Guide'', ''Photo Information Almanac'',
and ''How To Photograph Nudes''.
The June 1964 issue of ''Modern Photography'' included a folded insert of a color photograph of seven
hibiscus
''Hibiscus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the Malva, mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising List of Hibiscus species, several hundred species that are Native plant, native to warm temperate, Subtropics, subtropical ...
blossoms taken by the editor-in-chief, Patricia Caulfield to illustrate an article about a
Kodak
The Eastman Kodak Company, referred to simply as Kodak (), is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated i ...
color processor.
Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...
's ''Flowers'' was based on her image, cropped square and with the number and arrangement of the blossoms edited in variations, differing from one another in color and size, produced using the
screen-printing
Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink (or dye) onto a Substrate (printing), substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen i ...
process in some case with blossoms and background painted by hand in
Day-Glo
The Day-Glo Color Corp. (also styled as DayGlo) is a privately held American paint and pigments manufacturer based in Cleveland, Ohio. It was founded in 1946 by brothers Joseph and Robert Switzer and is currently owned by RPM International. It ...
colors, and presented in exhibitions covering entire gallery walls as though they were wallpaper. Caulfield had not given Warhol her permission and brought a legal action against him. Though Warhol offered Caulfield two sets of ''Flowers'' by way of payment she declined, preferring a cash payout. The incident is credited with Warhol's taking up the camera himself for later screen print productions.
Cessation of title and merger
After Capital Cities-ABC sold the magazine to
Diamandis Communications
Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc. (HFM U.S.), originally known as CBS Publications, was a subsidiary of Hachette Filipacchi Médias (one of the world's largest magazine publishers), and was based in New York City.
History
It was formed in 19 ...
, the new owner announced that publication would cease as of the v. 53, no. 7, July issue of 1989,
at which time its subscriber list was taken over by its larger rival, ''
Popular Photography
''Popular Photography'', formerly known as ''Popular Photography & Imaging'', also called ''Pop Photo'', is a monthly American consumer website and former magazine that at one time had the largest circulation of any imaging magazine, with an edit ...
'',
Alternative access → (US Newsstream database).
also owned by Diamandis,
[ (US Newsstream database).] who reported a final circulation figure of 689,000 for ''Modern Photography.''
Photo historian Bob Lazaroff gives a subscriber number of 500,000 at merger.
References
{{Reflist, 30em, refs=
[{{Cite book , editor-last1=Warren , editor-first1=Lynne , date=2006 , title=Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century Photography. – ''"Intentional Photography and Modern Photography in the 1960s and 1970s"'' , url=https://archive.org/details/Encyclopedia_of_20th_Century_Photography_Volume_1/page/275/mode/2up , url-access=registration , volume=1 (of 3); "A–F" , page=275 , publisher=]Routledge
Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...
, via=Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
{{LCCN, 2005046287; {{ISBN, 1-5795-8393-8 (3 Vol. set), {{ISBN, 0-4159-7665-0 (Vol. 1); {{OCLC, 611424117, show=all.
[{{Cite book , editor-last1=Warren , editor-first1=Lynne , date=2006 , title=Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century Photography. – "Modern Photography" , url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaoftw0000unse_s6m2/page/1060/mode/2up , url-access=registration , volume=2 (of 3); "G–N" , page=1058 , publisher=]Routledge
Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...
, via=Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
{{LCCN, 2005046287; {{ISBN, 1-5795-8393-8 (3 Vol. set), {{ISBN, 0-4159-7666-9 (Vol. 2); {{OCLC, 611424117, show=all.
[{{cite book , title=Photo Information Almanac , location=]New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
, publisher=Billboard Publications
''Billboard'' (stylized in lowercase since 2013) is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles related to th ...
{{LCCN, 74640110; {{ISSN, 0093-1365; {{OCLC, 1791034, show=all.
Monthly magazines published in the United States
Defunct photography magazines published in the United States
Magazines established in 1937
Magazines disestablished in 1989
Defunct magazines published in New York City