Alternative Magazines

Last month in Alt.Fashion magazine I had an article published about the two Wild west shoots that took place last year at Laredo. Whoop! Whoop! we all say, but do we? What should have been a multi-image, multi-page article for which around 100 images were provided by various photographers, ended up as being quite a small article, and even that was hi-jacked without me knowing, very unprofessionally by a model that wanted her full page image to be changed to one of her choice.

In all fairness to Alt.Fashion magazine, this is a fashion magazine (clue is in the title), and as such, priority no doubt goes to fashion articles and printing constraints. A wild west shoot is hardly going to interest followers of alternative fashion. Another magazine 'Nocturnal' which is an online, downloadable, printable magazine which had been many years in coming, also was expected to run an article, but it seems to have disappeared from the face of the earth.

I've always been totally bemused by the sheer lack of interest of all the other alternative magazines, publications out there.

So why do I have high expectations about the interest in these events? By these events, I mean the 'Secret Nuclear Bunker Shoots' (currently organising our official 7th one), the Classic Car Shoot, the Wild West shoots etc.

When you have a shoot you are bringing together two or more 'disciplines'. Photographer and model, then add in Make up artist, Clothes designer, stylist, prop supplier, location, retouching, digital art etc It can build up into a team of different skills all coming together to create an end image. That in itself can be quite something....but lets take it a step further with groupshoots. Groupshoots were mainly about getting together, models, photographers etc, and having a social gathering around taking photographs, networking, havingfun, meeting lots of people, and any good images that resulted from this were a bonus. The shoots we've been organising, in particular the nuclear bunker shoots have changed deliberately from this, to events where we are trying to realise the potential of having all these skilled people together in a unique location.

Its not a celebration of what we do by getting together with like minded people. Its about bringing all these people and their skills and vision together to create something potentially new and unique. Without blowing our own trumpet, these are unique events.  Even events such as Whitby Goth weekend are really only celebrations of an interest, and not a coming together to create something that is greater than the sum of its parts.

So we have a handpicked bunch of Photographers and Models, we have makeup artists, stylists, designer clothing and accessories , props and equipment, all thrown into an amazing location be it a nuclear bunker, a wild west town, a field full of classic cars.  All the 'disciplines' that we are interested in coming together to create something new and unique, that cannot be achieved anywhere else.

So why is there such a sheer lack of interest. I've approached plenty of magazines ,  Bizarre initially showed some interest especially once I told them that we actually would have a number of Bizarre UltraVixens there, but their interest soon disappeared, after all how can we compete with articles on custard wrestling or quite a few other equally banal and pointless subjects.

It does make me ask, are there actually any magazines out there that are about what we do, about the bringing together of different types of people to create something. I look at a numberof magazines and quite honestly it does seem they are scraping the barrel in many cases just to fill the magazine with 'interesting' articles. Yes thats a subjective statement, but one I feel is justified in the light of what is available to them out there.  

In October we have the 7th Nuclear Bunker shoot. It will be an exciting event as by that time  it will be the first one for two years. It will also be the first one that is being organised and promoted outside of net-model, mainly via facebook. So far apart from two models, the rest have never been to the bunker and therefore alot of new faces.  Now will any magazines be interested?