J-Topics

A lot of thought and art goes into a great magazine cover. First, there is the concept or idea you wish to communicate, then the decision on photography or illustration and the construction of the visual metaphor that tells the story 

A well crafted photograph must have visual impact sufficient stand out against the deluge of images we are bombarded with on a daily basis. It must also be composed as to permit it to be the canvas upon which the graphic artist or art director can add text, logos and additional artwork.

We’ve all seen the horribly cluttered and busy publication covers where someone thought it would be a great idea to put EVERYTHING they had on the cover. Oh, and you Digirati are not immune. A good looking website is even harder to achieve and easier to make a mess of.

One magazine that has consistently produced well designed, photographed and illustrated covers is the Globe and Mail’s Report on Business magazine. For photographers and illustrators it’s a great experience to work with art directors that treat your work well.

On the Globe and Mail website they have posted two interesting galleries of cover images. The first is a collection of the ROB 25 Best Covers. For the second gallery, ROB asked some of Canada's best designers to take a crack at this month’s cover with Design Our Cover. There are 6 finalists. Be sure to read the comments on each. It will give you an art director’s view of cover design. The pie chart PacMan as a visual metaphor is inspired for a business story.

Among a group of revolutionaries whose work rose to prominence in the late 1960s and ’70s and transformed the nature of documentary photography — a group that includes friends and colleagues of Mr. Lyon’s like Mary Ellen Mark and Larry Clark — the idea of conscience has been imbedded more deeply in Mr. Lyon’s photographs than in those of all but a few of his contemporaries.

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For photojournalists and documentary photographers of a certain generation Robert Frank and his book, The Americans, published in 1958, was the epiphany and sent many of us out on the road with our cameras. I got my first copy as a gift from a friend in 1983. It is always close by and never fails to inspire.

A recent NPR article calls this book the one that changed photography.
...at least in America anyway. Franks style of photography, more common in Europe, and choice of subjects was " not done " in the USA at the time and challenged contemporary American society to look at its less pretty side. A different view of "The American dream."  Such a photographic reflection had not been seen since the depression era photography by Dorthea Lange, Walker Evans and the other Farm Securities Administration photographers.

Another insightful look at Franks work is at the US National Gallery of Art
Where you can find online image galleries and audio lectures.

The Americans was not Franks only work, just his most famous.

Frank lives in New York and Cape Breton and his work Mabou hangs in the Tate Modern n London. There is a very good entry on Robert Frank in Wikipedia

As the year closes, J-Source contributing editor Greg Locke offers a collection of "best of" photo galleries from around the world. Get ready for a wide, wild range of shots.