Electronic "Railway Photography" Magazine - sad news!

SLR and Compact Digital Cameras. Discussions, hints and tips.
Post Reply
Kevin Wilson-Smith

Electronic "Railway Photography" Magazine - sad news!

Post by Kevin Wilson-Smith »

"Railway Photography" is no more....

Colin Marsden, the Editor writes......

"After producing 25 issues of the free Railway
Photography e-magazine it has been decided to
cease production for the present time.
This decision has been made due to the publishers
TheRailwayCentre.Com Ltd having recently been awarded
the franchise to take over editorship and full production of
the printed magazine Locomotives Illustrated and re-launch
the title as Modern Locomotives Illustrated from the summer
of this year.
A huge level of work surrounds production and
publication of such a title and to spend the required time
on this product (and for other reasons detailed below) it
will now be impossible to continue producing Railway
Photography.
The circulation of Railway Photography has grown,
and recently it has been distributed to over 9,000 people
worldwide via e-mail, plus a further 3,000 people who select
to download the product from the website. This is far more
than the level originally estimated.
The level and quality of submissions are of a very high
standard and The Railway Centre are now in advanced
discussions with a main stream publisher to produce a
similar product as a proper printed magazine available
through normal high street outlets. As and when this
happens, all contributors and registered subscribers to
the e-magazine will be notified and given the chance to
subscribe at a special rate reflecting your loyalty to the
product in its early days. If talks progress well, TRC hope to
have the first issue on the bookstalls in early 2009.
One of the problems in producing any form of e-magazine
which does not generate a financial return, is the inability
to pay reproduction fees to contributors. As Editor I
have always been very unhappy that contributors are not
receiving just payment for their work, as I and several other
well known and respected photographers and writers spent
many years banging on the doors of railway magazine and
book publishers fighting for a fair remuneration for work
published in railway titles.
The recent publication of photographers quality work in
the expanding range of ‘give away’ titles is totally unfair
to contributors and one with which I do not agree. In many
cases excellent pictorial images, which could attract a
worth while reproduction fee, are published for no financial
return for the photographer, of course once such images are
published few printed media publishers are then interested
in the work and you as the photographer go un rewarded.
I know many photographers are happy just to see their
pictures in print, that’s fine, but just think for a minute how
much you could improve your photographic or computer
equipment or travel further if you have a reproduction fee -
just 20 pictures published could see a photographer purchase
an entry level Nikon or Canon camera.
This lack of ability to pay contributors is another and in
many ways the major reason for ending the free Railway
Photography title. Hopefully photographers will think
carefully about contributions to none fee-paying magazines
in the future and view their quality work with pride bearing
in mind that every picture published is worth remuneration.
Returning to the work of The Railway Centre.Com
Ltd, we have attached an electronic ‘flyer’ covering our
new publication Modern Locomotives Illustrated, the first
issue of which is due for publication in May. While this
issue is virtually complete, we welcome contributions for
subsequent titles, and in the first year the bimonthly title will
be covering, Class 86s, Class 59s, The prototype Diesels,
Class 58s and The Blue Pullmans. If you have any material
(colour or black & white) you would like TRC to consider
for inclusion in these products, you are more than welcome
to contribute. Images can be sent by e-mail or to TRC.Ltd,
PO Box 45, Dawlish, Devon. EX7 9XY. A reproduction
fee will be paid for all material published in Modern
Locomotives Illustrated - £15 will be paid as a minimum
fee and this will be far higher for covers and contents page
images. Please contribute, it is only with support that we
can make the title the very best on the market. For a guide
on contributions please see our website http://www.modernlocoillustrated.
com
Returning to Railway Photography, I will not be disposing
of any material already submitted for the e-magazine, this
will be filed and used as a nucleus for the new magazine. I
will also continue to accept quality general railway pictures
and save these for when work commences on the new
product.
In the meantime I would like to thank everybody who has
contributed to the e-magazine Railway Photography, and
look forward to your continued support with our expanding
publishing portfolio, with the knowledge that you will at last
be paid for all your hard work.
Obviously we are unable to pay for images used on our
website (at least at this time), but hope you will continue
to view http://www.therailwaycentre.com for the most up to date
news on the UK and worldwide railway scene, plus our
dedicated section covering the ever popular Dawlish Sea
Wall.
Colin J Marsden. Editor"

Good luck Colin!
Post Reply

Return to “Photography - Still Photography”