Can you describe your editorial tone and visual identity? 

Our style is irreverent and organic. We didn’t want a clean, uniform aesthetic because we mostly feature people who work in the coffee industry or are adjacent to it – covering their passions, musings and more – and we want that human element to come through in our storytelling. In the magazine and on our website, you’ll find handwritten pieces, a lot of film photography, and sometimes out-of-focus and off-kilter images. It’s never too perfect, often quirky, and always expressive.

What are your main considerations when choosing photographers?

We commission stories around the world and want our roster of photographers to reflect that diversity. We aim to hire local talent because we rely on our contributors’ knowledge of the places and communities that they’re documenting. We don’t treat subcultures or people as objects of fascination with a sense of remove; we want the magazine to feel intimate and bring a grounded perspective, and that means working with contributors who we can learn from and collaborate with on shaping stories.

Is there a standout editorial piece that you have worked on, where you feel the images married particularly well with the story?

Las Traileras by photographer Mallika Vora and writer Madeleine Wattenbarger is the kind of creative collaboration we aspire to. The story took us on the road with a woman who is a long-haul truck driver in Tijuana. It gave us a way to cover a profession where workers rely on coffee, while also touching upon labour, gender politics and international trade. It’s a story where the images and text work in concert, and it expands expectations of what covering the coffee community looks like.

“Our style is irreverent and organic. We didn’t want a clean, uniform aesthetic because we mostly feature people who work in the coffee industry”

Hey Barista is funded by Oatly. How much does that influence the running of the magazine?

Oatly provides a tremendous amount of support in the development and distribution of Hey Barista, but they also know that the magazine isn’t about them; they created it for the coffee community. So we’ve been given a refreshing amount of editorial freedom to pursue the stories that we think will resonate with that community as well as readers at coffee shops. 

What is your advice to photographers who may be looking for commissions?

Don’t pitch us stories about coffee, as we rarely cover coffee itself. We’re more interested in human-centred stories about people. If you’re a creative person who’s also a barista, or if you know someone in the coffee industry who has an interesting hobby or subculture that they’d like to share, please reach out to info.heybarista@oatly.com. Or if you’re a photographer who’s interested in working with us, drop us a line introducing yourself and the kind of subjects that you’re most interested in.

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Printed in A1 poster size, the magazine is huge. Why did you choose this format?

Why not? There’s been a huge resurgence in independent publishing over the past 10 years, which is great to see, but a lot of magazines stick to similar formats. I’ve always loved seeing my work blown up and displaying it, so the format of Circus being a poster magazine was one of the main starting points.

How would you describe Circus’ visual identity?

Chaotic and a bit disjointed. I wouldn’t say there’s one visual style attached to it, which is very important to me. As a poster magazine, I wanted the images to serve different tastes. The main thread running through Circus is definitely the freedom to push ideas and get a bit crazy with them.

How do you select the photographers you work with, and what’s your approach to formulating a brief?

I do a lot of research when looking for talent. I wanted to avoid Circus becoming an echo chamber of my friends. It was important for me to find creatives from across the field and not just those based in London. As for the brief, it depends. With some contributors, I let them run wild. Their visual style is what drew me to them so I just get them to create whatever they see fit, or something they haven’t had a chance to produce for a publication before. Other times, I like to pair up people who wouldn’t usually work together. I try hard not to interfere too much with what people make for the magazine as that’s something that I find quite irritating when I’m the one shooting.

The magazine is not only a celebration of beauty photography, but also the hairstylists, make-up artists and nail technicians who work behind the scenes. Why is this important?

Because it’s an integral part of how the work is made. Photography, unfortunately, is still very hierarchical and that’s something I wanted to challenge. I work with a lot of different people in the beauty world, and it was important for me to let them have a voice when commissioning shoots.

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What is the ethos behind EPOCH? Léonard Vernhet and I had both become frustrated with the focus on newness and the next hot thing in contemporary culture. Léonard conceived a publication about the wholeness of civilisation, highlighting how culture connects to, and can be repositioned through history. This chimed with my interest in Svetlana Boym’s ideas around ‘off-modernism’ – trying to find new paths for the future by going back. Creative ideas have a continuum and looking at how people rework and rethink the past can create fascinating new directions for pushing visual culture forward. We wanted a publication that mixed disciplines, from anthropology to art, archaeology to philosophy, the academic to pop culture. We are taking the legacy of something like National Geographic and making it contemporary, culturally and politically aware, with the visual quality of a high-end fashion biannual.

What is photography’s place in the publication? Photography is fundamental to our approach. It sits perfectly between the documentary and the fictional, research and imagination. We wanted to give the projects more space than they would normally get – sometimes up to 20 pages. That emphasis on photography will continue and be in flux as we want to keep an element of surprise.

Can you tell us about the decision behind having 12 covers? We created our dream publication and wanted to launch with a big statement. Instead of choosing between, say, Jonas Lindstroem and Wolfgang Tillmans, Dexter Navy and Camille Vivier, we gave them all a cover. This was a chance to arrive and demonstrate that we are doing something different.

How did you go about commissioning photographers? Léonard and I have been working in media and visual culture for many years. The artists and photographers we commissioned are an extension of our personal networks and people we have worked with and admired. We both have good reputations, I think! We made a dream list, approached them, and almost everyone said yes. EPOCH gives space to projects without the restrictions that come with many other art, style or fashion magazines.

What can readers expect from this edition of EPOCH? We have some great interviews with Laraaji and Wolfgang Tillmans. We have visual projects by Frida Orupabo, Camille Vivier, Marvin Leuvrey and Jonas Lindstroem. Some of the photographic projects are incredibly intimate – notably Nabil Elderkin’s work on a gang funeral in California, and Maciek Pożoga’s photographs of ritual whisperers in Poland. We also have an unpublished interview between the iconic Cypriot archaeologist Vassos Karageorghis and Hans Ulrich Obrist.

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rollingstone.co.uk

What’s behind the name Saliut?
Saliut is the name of a camera that was made in Kyiv during the Soviet era. But the word has other meanings too. The Saliut hotel is one of Kyiv’s most iconic modernist buildings, and the word also means fireworks in Ukrainian. We thought the combination of all these meanings made it a fitting title.

What did you learn from putting together the issues?
The main thing it taught us is that we really enjoy making magazines. With a magazine, you can delve deep into a particular topic, and evolve with each issue you make. It’s not a fixed form like a book. You can experiment indefinitely with each issue. Nadiia Chervinska is Saliut’s editor-in-chief and she works with a team of four, including a guest editor that changes with each edition. For the new issue, we chose Halyna Hleba, an art historian. She knew exactly which photographers we should reach out to.

Why did you choose a 90s theme for the latest issue?
Everyone’s looking back to that era in terms of aesthetics, and I think what was happening in 90s Ukraine was very cool. The country was producing some top photographers during that time who were making work that was different to what was emerging in Europe and North America. We wanted to show readers something they hadn’t seen before, as well as showcasing the work of contemporary photographers who are inspired by that era. Last year, Ukraine also celebrated three decades of independence and this milestone made it a good time to look back. 

The second issue had two cover images. How did you choose them?
We wanted to use two very different photographs and as soon as Arsen Savadov agreed to have his pictures in the magazine, we knew we had to put one on the cover. The image we went for was taken from a 1997 fashion shoot that took place in a graveyard. The models are posing next to floral wreaths as a coffin is lowered into the ground. The other is a black-and-white image taken by Valeriy Miloserdov of the 1998 miners’ strike when thousands of workers marched from western Donbas to Kyiv to demand the pay they were owed. 

How can people get hold of Saliut?
They can buy it from our website and we will ship the issues when the war is over. We know we will win. Supporting Ukrainian business is very important because most activity came to a brutal stop after the Russian invasion. Ukrainians need support during these difficult times. Many people have not only lost their jobs, but their homes and loved ones. With worldwide support, Ukrainians can continue to fight Russia and win.

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Safar is the Arabic word for travel. It also refers to communication, especially that seen across cultural and linguistic borders. Based in Beirut, Lebanon, Safar is a biannual and bilingual independent magazine that asserts the significance of graphic design in the production of culture. 

Safar grew out of Studio Safar, a design and art direction agency led by creative directors Maya Moumne and Hatem Imam. The duo now act as the magazine’s editors-in-chief. By launching their own publication, the studio hopes to shift artistic conversations away from the Global North, focusing instead on the visual cultures found in the Middle Eastern and North African region. Here, they reflect on their production process.

British Journal of Photography: What do you look for when commissioning photographers?

Safar Journal: We seek out photographers who have a different way of seeing things; those who are shifting the focus, or looking to tell a story in a new way. The Lebanon creative community is well-connected, and we have met many of the photographers we work with through this. We also get emails in which people share their photography, design and illustration work, and we always take a look at those to see what might work for an upcoming issue.

BJP: Are there any features that stand out for you?

Safar: We selected some images to accompany an interview between the drag queen RuPaul and the American curator Paul Holdengräber, in which they talk about the significance of drag as an art form. The world of RuPaul is often presented as one in which drag is centred in America and the west, so we found a local photographer who had captured the drag scene in Beirut. We really wanted this photo series to accompany the interview and to serve as a gentle reminder that drag exists globally, even when unsafe.

BJP: Ultimately, some of the images were ‘censored’. Why did you take this decision? 

Safar: A few of the drag artists featured in the photographs were at our issue launch event, and when they saw the photos, they told us that they were anxious about consent. We worked together with them to find a solution. This was especially urgent given that some of the artists were concerned about tattoos, jewellery and other personal markers that appeared in the photos and could give away personal details and, in some cases, put them in danger. We knew immediately that we had to censor them. We would never want to upset, hurt, or endanger any individual by publishing our magazine, nor would we want to cause any form of harm to the LGBTQIA+ community in Beirut. We initially considered reprinting, but felt that this would be a wasteful solution.

BJP: How did you overcome this issue?

Safar: We agreed with all of the featured drag artists that they would select and share photos that they found more comfortable. Our team hand-stuck the images into the magazine to cover up the old photographs. Though not at all what we had originally anticipated for this article, the outcome speaks powerfully to the importance of consent in photography, publishing and representation more broadly. It came to life when they were in control of how they appeared. Ultimately, this made the piece infinitely better. 

BJP: What advice would you give to emerging photographers?

Safar: Look where others aren’t looking. Some of our favourite photo series have featured communities that are often not given a lot of attention, especially in mediums like photography and print. Be respectful and incredibly mindful of what images you take, and how you share them.

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British Journal of Photography: What are the most important matters to consider when planning a commission?

Azia Javier: I’ve found hiring photographers that are friends of the subject is key in getting the most personality and authenticity in the shoot. In hiring photographers for the inaugural issue of A3 Magazine, we made sure to ask each feature who their preferred photographers were in an effort to build the magazine on the foundation of a growing community. 

I also took into consideration the mood board and shot list to give each photographer references as to what we were looking to include in the print magazine. This was a collaborative effort as after I gave my direction, the photographer was able to capture that in their own unique way. 

Shoot location was a huge consideration with each photoshoot as we wanted to visually tell a story that had never been done before, like Andre D. Wagner in his personal dark studio, Grounded Plants in their workspace/warehouse, and the Black Boy Fly creators on a rooftop in Brooklyn. The authenticity that we got in each of these spaces is something I’m grateful we were able to achieve.

BJP: What Does A3 Magazine do differently? 

AJ: A3 Magazine is dedicated to celebrating Black and Brown creativity in various forms. We believe everyone is innately creative and deserves to be celebrated. Our feature picks are specifically chosen to break the boundaries of how creativity is understood.

A3 Magazine is intended to be a visual story through the artist’s lens and medium. Whether that be photography, paint, entrepreneurship, etc. we focus on sharing their unique point of view unapologetically.

We’re also here to build community. Our motto is ‘community over clout’ meaning we want to build a community of Black and Brown creatives that can collaborate, share ideas, and celebrate each other. We’re not here to be a platform that deems anyone more important or valid than the next person, we’re simply here to advocate for creatives, artists and visionaries. 

BJP: How do you look for new talent?

AJ: Talent is suggested and presented to me in so many ways. Through the internet, Instagram, constant suggestions from friends and colleagues, previous collaborators, the list is endless. 

The beauty of this magazine is that the creative community has responded so positively that we’ve been able to start conversations about future projects based on the release of the first issue with creatives organically reaching out.

BJP: What catches your attention?

AJ: An artist who creates their own narrative and stays true to what inspires them. I think there are some creatives who follow the trend as to what is expected of them to be ‘cool’ or ‘relevant’ when they have deeper stories to tell. The pressure of social media makes them afraid to share or dive deeper into that creativity. 

Andre D. Wagner said it best in his interview with us, he said “If you feel something in your soul, go for it! Sometimes we wait for an articulate path forward and it’s not always there.”

All of the features and collaborators in the first issue were unique in that they were beating to the sound of their own drum. We celebrate all the dreamers out there.

BJP: What do you think some of the largest barriers Black and Brown artists face are? 

AJ: I think some of the barriers Black and Brown artists face are education, representation, and opportunity. Many of the creatives we interviewed revealed that representation has been huge in both the present and as they reflect on their upbringing. Growing up, seeing people who look like you do different jobs and create different things really opens up your mind to the endless possibilities of your future. Without that representation or exposure through arts education, Black and Brown creatives are forced to create and find art on their own. 

When it comes to opportunity, the fact that we’re still accomplishing ‘firsts’ says enough. An example of this is Tyler Mitchell being the first Black photographer for the cover of Vogue in 2018 despite its 126-year existence. Opportunities are seldom given to Black and Brown artists and barriers to entry are high. A3 Mag hopes to create a tangible space for Black and Brown creatives to build community and to never stop dreaming.

BJP: How important is social media in the photo editorial world?

AJ: I think it’s very important in terms of accessibility. You never know who is seeing your photos. It could be a 14-year old in a completely different country than you who’s interested in photography but doesn’t know where to start or a magazine who’s interested in commissioning or featuring you.

BJP: Which projects are your biggest influences?  

AJ: With my experience in the music industry, most of my influences come from live music, music videos, or album rollouts. The narratives that artists showcase in what starts as an album, then into visuals that further tell that story, and ultimately a live music experience that merges it all together is absolutely fascinating. The evolution and progression of that fascinate me.  

When I got Rihanna’s ANTI world tour photobook, the visual storytelling through a print medium had me in awe, on top of being a fan of the music.

I’m also a huge coffee table book fan and have always wanted to create my own. This magazine is a part of that creative journey. 

BJP: What advice would you give to photographers starting in the industry?

AJ: I’d tell them to be intentional about their art and trust their creative instincts. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and creativity is all in the journey, not the outcome. Just trust yourself.

www.a3mag.com

@a3.mag

Siblings Alison and Martin Root are the creative minds behind Glorious, a digital platform dedicated to elevating women’s sport through art, culture and photography. With 25 years of experience in media, Alison is the platform’s editorial director. Previously, she spent 10 years as the editor of Women & Golf, becoming the go-to voice on the women’s game for both television and radio. “We initially considered creating a magazine dedicated to one particular sport, but felt this was too narrow for the creative network we wanted to facilitate,” she explains of Glorious. “Instead, we set our sights on producing a platform, which then evolved into a community.”

Her brother Martin is the co-founder of Glorious. “Moving away from news, trends and gossip, we want to focus on personal stories from the everyday to the obscure, bringing feel-good inspiration to the sporting community,” he explains. Martin is also the creative director for Root, a London-based multidisciplinary design studio which shapes the platform’s visual direction. 

The Glorious website launched in February, and there are plans to produce a coffee-table book, as well as a series of documentaries showcasing the inspirational stories the team has discovered. We speak to Alison about photography at Glorious.

Does Glorious have a distinct visual identity?

Part of Glorious was born out of hearing negative views on female sport versus men’s, and seeing female sport marketed much less. This pushed us on to spearhead a new aesthetic for women’s sport. We collaborated with illustrators, musicians and photographers – including Coco Capitán and Maria Svarbova – and designers Kelly Anna and Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi, to broaden what was on offer for female sport in the media.

What do you look for in the photographers you work with?

A blend of attitude, style and fun, plus a willingness to push the boundaries when shooting. Sport has been shot in a million different ways, so we’re all about discovering new ideas to capture that energy, motion and individuality. If the work complements the story being told, it doesn’t matter if you are emerging or established. We always look at portfolios based on the brief. If the photographer has knowledge of the subject matter or is a specialist in their field of work, such as skateboarding or surfing, this will help us decide. On the shoot, everybody has a common goal, and we work together to achieve it. When looking for photographers, social media is extremely important. We want to create fresh, original and inventive content, and are open to suggestions – the more creative, the better.

Is there a project that produced an unexpected result?

Photoshoots can be inspiring and challenging. Shooting a women’s polo team with Coco Capitán was definitely one of our favourites. We went into the shoot with preconceived ideas about the polo world, but left with an admiration for the sheer skill and athleticism of the women who are smashing stereotypes surrounding the game. We were also surprised to find how much joy a simple game of rounders can bring when we photographed and filmed the Batley Ninjas in West Yorkshire. Heiko Prigge captured it perfectly, making the viewer feel as if they were part of the team.

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What does Atmos do differently to other magazines? 

After working with a diverse set of publications over the years, I can say with confidence that the magazine is uniquely positioned in the industry. For one: Atmos does not work with  advertisers and does not operate within the ‘fashion calendar,’ and thus is not beholden to 

those constraints. Essentially this means that, without seasonal or promotional restrictions, our  contributors have more creative freedom at all levels – from the projects they wish to pursue,  to the subjects they wish to capture and the clothing, people, or places that are featured in  their stories. Second, we do not work strictly on assignment but reach out to our community for  pitches, so a lot of the topics that we cover come as a result of regular communication between artists, our Creative Directors, Laura and David of Studio 191, and me. It has always been a  priority for me to foster ideas from the magazine’s and my own network of image makers  instead of keeping the process completely insular. 

Where do you find images/photographers for the magazine? How important is social media when it comes to finding new work? 

There really is no formula or simple answer for this – inspiration and content are everywhere, and resources are accessible to the point of being overwhelming at times! Especially working  both within and outside the confines of what is considered ‘fashion photography,’ amazing  photographers can be found in surprising places. I’m lucky enough to live in New York City  where there are many art galleries, bookstores, events, etc. that can inspire an idea or lead to a new discovery. 

And then, of course, there is social media. Not only do social platforms allow for quick and easy access to worldwide image-makers and their work, but they can also act as an easily digestible and frequently updated portfolio, as well as a glimpse into one’s personal values and interests. Social media serves as a more immediate and informal means of  communication. Oftentimes, the seedling of an idea begins to form through short messages and visual reference sharing, especially now that we are working more from home and in-person  meetings have been replaced by virtual communication. 

Social media can have its drawbacks as well. For one, I know that simply managing these  accounts can become a job in itself for many artists and there are sometimes vehicles better  suited to present their work. Instagram is usually a kind of gateway into an artist for me,  introducing or reminding me of someone I find intriguing and leading me to their website/portfolio. If I’m taken by their work and/or it’s feasible, I always prefer to meet in-person. I  tend to build the strongest connections and learn the most about their current work and future  goals by talking through an artist’s process in an informal setting. Often something that the  artist may not think would be of-interest will inspire another story or be a fit for a completely  unexpected story or project. 

How does collaboration work in the Atmos photograph selection process?

One of my favorite aspects of the role has been talking through initial projects with artists and  the Atmos team to bring what may start as a vague vision to life in a beautiful and meaningful  way. We work closely as a team to discuss each issue as it evolves. Our Editor-in-Chief, William Defebaugh, makes a point of involving everyone from the conception of an issue to potential stories and  providing space for feedback as ideas develop. Before Covid-19, we would meet around a big table and talk through both the visual and editorial/written aspects of a story and how we all  felt about a particular subject. We were all able to contribute with what grabbed us, what we reacted strongly to and where we thought the subject needed more detail. When final images come in, we independently choose our own selects and then compare notes, arrange final pages and pairings and review every story that makes it to print together –we all play an important role in the process. Though my title may have been Photo Director, we all wore many hats and our actual work expanded past the standard job description of our titles – a reality of a small team that I came to thoroughly enjoy.

Still, one thing that continually excites me is when an artist interprets a visual direction in an  unexpected way or brings our attention to an event or subject that they are passionate about  but that we may not be aware of at all. For our second issue, Greg White reached out wanting to cover the ice stupas in the Himalayas. We had not included anything like that in the initial  planning of the issue, but we were all so fascinated by his proposal that we helped him to  expand the story. On the editorial side, a writer was assigned to incorporate text about the practice. Between the text and the stunning imagery, the story ended up serving as one of the bigger features in that issue.  

What helps a photographer stick out to you? 

I’m grabbed by images that are not too busy – though I would not describe the works that get  my attention as simple either. In general, I’m drawn to clean lines, rich colors, and graphic  compositions that are not muddled with too much going on at once. My favorite works draw  the eye to different points around the photograph without immediately overwhelming the  viewer. To me, imperfections or things that may feel a little ‘off’ are actually what can make the  strongest photos. Excessive retouching or overly polished images take away from the integrity  of a subject and dilute the authenticity and artistic perspective involved in creating it. The ability to accurately depict or capture a scenario, person or situation is part of what makes  photography such a special medium and images that are too glossy start to feel dishonest or  inauthentic and, for me at least, uninteresting.

What advice would you give to new photographers? 

Shoot often and collaborate with lots of different people. Find your style but don’t be afraid to  deviate or shift. Someone like Alexandra Von Fuerst is one photographer who was very inspired  by the ideas behind Atmos and, even though she lensed one of the covers for our inaugural  issue, her work continues to develop and take on different expressions and emotions. To me, a strong body of work evolves and changes over time as the person grows personally and within their art.

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