Read and see beautiful faces. Review on Better Photography LifeStyles Magazine

I feel very comfortable in writing a Review on Better Photography, because I am an advanced amateur photographer of long standing. I started photography with a Kodak Brownie E Box Camera when I was 16. In those days the Brownie Box was costing Rs.32 only. The first photograph I took with it was in Puri, catching the full reflections of a Boat standing on the sand when the waves have receded. I had used the built-in yellow filter of my Brownie. And the result was superb. I had sent it to Kodak, and it was published in the Kodak magazine. Kodak does not publish such magazines now. When my interests in Photography expanded, I started buying better Cameras like Edixa, Exakta and Leica. Today I have an Exakta, Canon EOS/888, Pentax Auto 110, with wide angle and telephoto lenses, a Yashica Zoom Compact and an Olympus Compact. Having an array of Cameras, some of which are expensive, I started reading books and journals on Photography. I bought some expensive Photography books and subscribed to Photo Journals.

When I was studying in London I used to buy the magazine Amateur Photographer, costing 1s 6d an issue. Sometime I was buying Popular Photography and the American Modern Photography. After coming back to India I was looking for a good Photography Magazine. Better Photography and The Times Journal of Photography appeared in India.

I started subscribing for both, but finding Better Photography to be better than The Times Journal of Photography, I stuck to the former. I am a subscriber to it since the publication of its very first issue.

Better Photography is published by the Tata Infomedia Limited, and like all Tata products, it reflects excellence in every aspect of photojournalism. I say so, because I have taught photojournalism for 12 years at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication.

I have before me the June 2003 (Vol 7 No.1) issue of the magazine. It is the 6th Anniversary issue, which is marketed as a Collector's Issue. The Cover shows the photograph of a glamorous girl, and to her right is shown the photograph of a Nikon F75, about which there is an exclusive Test Report, together with that of Fujichrome Velvia 100F. The Cover Design also qualifies Better Photography by saying that ''By far, India and South Asia's largest selling photography magazine.'' True. There is not an iota of exaggeration in the statement.

The Editorial Advisory Board of Better Photography are Hoshang S. Billimoria, Cyrus Guzder and Rustom Davar. The Editor is Hoshang S. Billimoria, and the Assistant Editor is K. Madhavan Pillai. It has an able Editorial Team, supported by an Art Director and Chief Photographer. Rahul C. Shah is the General Manager with Kapali Thatta as the Marketing Manager.

In the edit page there is a Letter from the Editor, the concluding lines of which read, ' As usual, our anniversary issue is packed to the brim with features. Happy reading.'

Better Photography has letters to the Editor, news, illustrated features, announcements regarding courses and workshops, interviews and the like. In this issue there is the announcement for an international competition. The last page of every issue of the magazine has ben 'Did You Know ? This issue writes about ' Your first SLR.'

The advertisements are just superb. Every issue has a Tutorial with theoretical and practical tips for beginners.

I have gone through this issue of Better Photography with interest, as I do with all the issues. Its single issue costs Rs.50 and a five-year subscription can get you a geed Camera Bag costing Rs.1300.

I recommend Better Photography to serious students of Photography and to the beginners as well. Read the contents and see beautiful faces. Also write to the friendly Editor. Happy reading !