A passion for photography in Hotshoe magazine
We delivered Hotshoe magazine to our subscribers in July, and at the end of last month we held our Stack Magazine Club evening to delve deeper into the making of the photography title. I was joined by editor Melissa DeWitt, publisher Wendy Ehst, and editor-at-large Gregory Barker, and together they traced the changes that the magazine has been through over the last couple of decades. Scroll to the bottom of the page to watch the conversation in full.
Launched in 1977, Hotshoe was originally a photography magazine with a strong industry focus, featuring equipment reviews, practical tips, and specialist information. But as Melissa explained, the publishing industry has changed enormously since then, and as advertising from photography brands dried up, she and the team realised that it was time to change their approach, shifting to become, “more involved with the why of photography than the how”.
That’s a familiar model for independent magazines, and Hotshoe has excelled in creating its photographic deep dives. It publishes two issues per year, alternating between an issue that responds to a theme, and one that focuses on the work of a single photographer. The issue we sent to Stack subscribers is an example of the former, gathering a collection of work under the theme ‘To be young’, and creating a nostalgic vision of childhood and adolescence.
I loved speaking with the team and getting an insight into their process, and I’m sure lots of independent publishers will echo Gregory’s thoughts on their motivations in making the magazine: “In this Luddite world of magazines that we find ourselves in, we’re still trying to make something good that doesn’t give a shit about anything other than it being good.” That’s exactly the sort of publishing we want to deliver to our subscribers, so I’m really pleased we were able to make it work with Hotshoe.
You can see the whole conversation in the video below, and of course if you’d like to join our independent magazine club, sign up for your own subscription and we’ll start sending you our surprise selection each month.
