There Goes The Neighborhood

Have you been reading the newspaper or watching television news the last few days? One of the big stories concerning photographers was the demise of Gourmet Magazine, Modern Brides and a few other Condé Nast titles. That means that there's now fewer editorial assignments to go around. It's really bad news, generally, when magazines die, because we lose another window on our world. Forget about the jobs lost (well, almost).

Closer to home, and something you're not likely to read about in the newspaper or see on television network news programs, is the rumour I heard today. Actually, it's more than a rumour because I heard it from a highly knowledgeable source. Still, a rumour because I haven't confirmed it with a second source but you can almost take it to the bank: one of our favorite photography magazines has told its staff that they're being furloughed three days a month to cut expenses, which amounts to, roughly, a ten percent pay cut for them. Hard to imagine that they can't make a buck, even with the fast pace of change in the digital world... there's just not enough advertising dollars to go around.

There's other sad news as well. Last Wednesday, Marty Forscher, the legendary camera repairman and inventor of both the motor drive and the Proback Type 108 Fiim Holder for 35mm cameras, passed away in New York. Everyone I know has a great story to tell about Marty, he made that much of an impact on our working lives. He'll be sorely missed.

And, just minutes ago, I learned that my favorite photographer of all time, the venerable Irving Penn, has died this morning at 92.

There goes the neighborhood!