Issue #7 is online!
It’s another month, and another issue of Junsjazz Digital Magazine has been published. Issue #7 presents a sampling of minimalist photographs from my image collection. It’s all about simplicity and order, and organized emptiness, if you can call it that. As tradition for the past four issues now, half of the magazine (which has grown to 34 pages from an original of eight) is devoted to guest photo bloggers and their works. I’d like to thank the following who have responded to my invitation:
Ellen Pardee
Sally W. Donatello
Tim May
Roy Thoman
Michael Lai
Stephen G. Hipperson
Scott D. Hill
Dan Granroth
I extend my gratitude to them for generously sharing their impressive images through this digital magazine medium. Also starting with this issue is a new feature – a collaborative piece between a photographer and a poet – literally a fusion of imagery from the visual and the written word. Much thanks to wordsmith Kelly Hartland for joining forces with me. Again put on your headphones for a multimedia experience. You can check out all the Issues here. Enjoy!
When less is more
It is said that minimalism is the art of less. In photography that means less clutter, less distraction, less chaos, less disarray, less disorder and hodgepodge. Minimalist images are clean, clear, plain, tidy, trimmed and unblemished. You show your subject in an empty space, or in relation to emptiness. The psychology is that in the absence of distracting elements, you highlight more the subject that you include in the frame.
The photographer has lots of tools and techniques at his disposal. He can utilize selective focus, selective blur, shallow depth of field, framing, color and tonal contrast, high key and low-key lighting and composition. Again, like many other genres of photography, this requires a combination of the technical and creative. But the motivation still remains the same – isolate and simplify. It was abstract expressionist painter Hans Hofmann who said: “The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.” In minimalist photography, the one that speaks is your main subject in the midst of glorious isolation, powerful in emptiness and splendid in blankness. The latest Issue of Junsjazz Digital Magazine will be all about Minimalism. Watch out for it as it goes online next week.
JJ Digital Magazine goes minimalist
Yup, Issue #7 of Junsjazz Digital Magazine will be all about the photographic art of minimalism. I will be showcasing images with the barest elements and subjects, highlighting the clean, simple look, and proving that the technique of “less is more”, can produce remarkable pictures. Of course, I get again to feature another set of talented photographers from the blogosphere. Watch out for the next issue coming out sometime this March. Meanwhile, if you haven’t done it yet, take a look at the past six issues of the Digital Magazine. Thanks! Have a wonderful, creative and colorful week ahead!
The Fiesta Issue is online!
Junsjazz Digital Magazine Issue #6 is now online and available for viewing. Its the Fiesta Issue showcasing select images of Philippine festivals. It highlights people, culture and heritage, and presented in full living color with voice-overs and music to boot. From eight pages in the first Issue, this latest one is 30 pages thick from cover to cover. And for the fourth time I feature guest photo bloggers and a selection of their works. For taking time from their busy schedules to respond to my requests and for sharing their images in the magazine’s pages, my heartfelt thanks to the following:
Monika Isabelle Betley
Mekala Rodrigo
Jane Chesebrough
Katerina Janouskova
Elisa Ruland
Susan Mae Detera
Jennifer Nichole Wells
What do I get from this project? Nothing. Do I earn from it? I can, but I choose not to. It’s not a commercial or business undertaking. Like my internet radio JJeFM which will be on its fourth year this March, this digital magazine is a personal online activity that gives me immense satisfaction. Your recognition, support and appreciation are my rewards. Thank you! Enjoy the latest Issue, and if you’re new to this blog you may want to view the previous issues.
A preview to the Fiesta Issue of the Digital Magazine
With nearly two thousand photos of various fiesta and festival events in my collection, it is but natural that I release a fiesta-themed issue of Junsjazz Digital Magazine. And that one, Issue #6, will come out this weekend. It contains select images from Philippine Festivals I had the opportunity to experience and document. This Issue promises to be very colorful, just like the tribal performer in the photo. For those new to this blog, I come out with an interactive online photography magazine and have published five issues so far. The Fiesta Issue is the sixth. And again I feature guest photo bloggers and their works. There are seven of them, each with her own two-page magazine spread. Yes, I said “her.” They are all women photographers. To access these online publications just click on the digital magazine picture at the top of the sidebar.
Festival fever
Tomorrow, the last Sunday of January, is the culmination of one of the biggest if not the biggest tourism event in the Philippines – the Dinagyang Festival of Iloilo City in the central part of the country. It has been voted for three consecutive years in the past by a national organization of tourist and travel operators as the No. 1 tourism event, rivaling the equally grandiose Sinulog Festival of Cebu City. I had the opportunity a couple of years back to cover the Dinagyang event together with my photo buddies from Metro Manila and I tell you, even for locals like us who watched it for the first time, it was an experience unlike any other. Now the Philippines is a “fiesta country.” Every town and city celebrate a fiesta of sorts in honor of a patron saint. There’s almost a fiesta everyday somewhere all year round. These usually consist of local beauty contests, drum and bugle competition, the community parade and a culmination night in the city gymnasium or town square where there are special numbers, live bands and fireworks show. Some places have kept the celebration small, others through the years have become a national showcase and tourism attraction – the likes of the Ati-Atihan in Kalibo City, the Sinulog in Cebu held last weekend and tomorrow’s Dinagyang in Iloilo. These premiere festivals that attract thousands of visitors from within the country and from all over the world are virtual explosions of colors, of tribal and local costumes, elaborate choreography, beats of drums and music. It is a flurry of synchronized movement from the performers garbed in their most eye-catching attire. It is the “Mardi Gras” of East Asia. I will run out of words to describe the magnificence and sheer pageantry of these events. But I will not run out of photos I took and the best of them will be presented in the next issue of Junsjazz Digital Magazine which will come out this February. It will be in direct contrast to Issue #5 which was all black and white. Issue #6 will be all about the colors of Fiesta!
Issue #5 is online
Yes folks, you can now enjoy Issue #5 of Junsjazz Images & Inspiration Digital Magazine. It carries an all black and white theme and features the following photographers and a selection of their works:
Shannon James O’Neill
Richard Cooper-Knight
Xavi Geis
Emiliano Valdarquis
Petra Stridfeldt
Jennifer Koe
My heartfelt thanks to them for sharing their time and talent in this ongoing digital publishing project. Same gratitude goes to six other photographers I have previously featured. You’ll notice that Issue #5 has an edgier design and meticulous lay-out. I guess I wanted to outdo myself with each new Issue. I hope you’ll have a great time going over it as I did creating it. Again, put on those headphones for a multimedia experience. Thanks!
The most ambitious issue yet
Issue #5 of the digital magazine edition of this blog will be out later this week. This is the most ambitious issue so far in this ongoing online project of mine. It has an all black and white photography theme, thematic background music, subtle lay-out changes and design, contextual voice-overs and, from eight pages in the first issue, this latest outing has now ballooned to 26 pages from cover to cover. Half of it is devoted to six photo bloggers who have responded to my invitation to be featured in Issue #5. In the above magazine cover pic, their names have been deliberately blot out; I will reveal them when the issue goes online. Before that happens, I would like to thank from the bottom of my heart these six photographers who took the time from their busy lives to coordinate and communicate with me with regards to the content, materials and permissions to use their copyrighted works. For that I am grateful. For the past two issues, I have been sharing this digital platform with photographers and it gives me immense pleasure and satisfaction that in my own little way I get to confer recognition to my peers. And I’ll keep doing so in the next issues.
Character in monochrome
Book Excerpt: “Character is destiny,” wrote Greek philosopher Heraclitus back in the fifth century BC. And what better way to see character than to observe the lines of someone’s face?…in the absence of color you have shapes–and lines. Therefore, black and white emphasizes lines and portraits created using black and white can show character at a deeper level than those in which the structural issues are masked by color.”~Harold Davis, The Monochromatic Vision from his book Creative Black & White
This is just a sample of the many monochrome images that will be showcased by yours truly, together with four featured photographers, in the all black and white Issue #5 of Junsjazz Images & Inspiration Digital Magazine, coming out at month’s end.
Issue #4 is online
The latest digital magazine edition of this blog is out and online. We are now on Issue #4.  Just like what I’ve started in Issue #3, I have again featured three photographers from the WordPress blogging community. You probably know them and are in your blog list. My heartfelt thanks to Jenny Alexander (Pondering Pixels Blog), Greg Walker (Sounds.Pictures.Words) and Lynne Ayers (Beyond the Brush) for being so kind as to allow their works to grace the pages of the magazine. My hats off to these blogger peers who take remarkable pictures regardless of what camera they use. There are many talented photographers out there (they are in my blog roll) and I hope to feature them in upcoming issues. Meanwhile, enjoy the results of this delightful  side activity of my blogging. These can all be easily accessed in the Digital Magazine menu of this blog. And again, put on your headphones. Like the previous ones, this is a multimedia experience. Onward to more blogging (and more Issues) in 2013!
A holiday gift unwrapped
Merry Christmas! I wasn’t able to wrap my gift for all of you. But then they’re not meant to be wrapped, but rather read, listened to and experienced. Enjoy the 3 issues so far of Junsjazz Images & Inspiration, the interactive digital magazine version of this blog. Here are the links: Issue #1, Issue #2 and Issue #3. Stay updated with upcoming issues by visiting the Digital Magazine menu. Thanks!
Issue #3 is online
Yes folks! Issue #3 of Junsjazz Images & Inspiration digital magazine is now online (just click on the link). And as recognition for the outstanding works of photo blogger friends, I have featured three of them in this issue – Leanne Cole, Cornelia Lohs and Seth Johnson. I’d like to extend my wholehearted thanks to these three who have graciously allowed the use of their images in the magazine’s pages. I know some of you are following them, if not, oh do follow these passionate photographers. Well, this is my form of award and appreciation to blogger peers for their inspiring works and images. I intend to feature three or more photo bloggers in every succeeding issue of the magazine, making it virtually an online photography collective publication. Who knows, you might be in the next issues. Be updated with every issue that comes out through the Digital Magazine menu of this blog. Enjoy the magazine, and again put on your headphones, its a multimedia piece of work. Happy Holidays everyone!
Issue #2 is online
I originally planned to release it by month’s end but there’s no point in keeping it on hold if its already done from cover to cover. It ain’t a news stand magazine, its the digital magazine version of this blog so I’ll release it anytime I finish creating an issue. Consider it an early Christmas gift to all of you. Again, put on your headphones, its a multimedia piece of work. Enjoy Junsjazz Images & Inspiration Issue #2. Get updated with every new issue that comes out by visiting the Digital Magazine menu of this blog. For more info on creating your digital publication, read my review on Joomag which provides this online service.
Issue #2
Yes folks, there is already an Issue #2 of Junsjazz Images & Inspiration interactive digital magazine. Well, at least for the magazine cover; the contents are still a work in progress. Issue #2 will feature images of Philippine churches and cathedrals, some of my random thoughts, and of course a selection of photography tips and techniques that I have compiled and shared in this blog. The second issue will come out before month’s end, hopefully after the Christmas hangover and before the big bang of the new year. For the meantime, if you haven’t seen, viewed, heard, read and flipped the pages (sorry for the verbs, the magazine is a multimedia experience) of Issue #1Â featuring sunsets and sunrises, here’s your chance to do so. Just click the link. Thank you always my friends for following, for the comments, the likes, appreciation and support. Its probably why I haven’t been “facebooking” for awhile and have been more engrossed in “wordpressing”. It’s different here in the blogging community, the audience is more engaged and active. Have a great week ahead my blogger peers! Stay safe, have fun and keep on clicking!
Tried & Tested 3: Joomag
If I can’t have it in print, then I’ll have it in digital form. I’m talking about having my own photography magazine. And I did just that with an online magazine creator and publishing tool at Joomag. This is as close as you can get with a cover, pages and content similar to a printed publication. You can have it published online, and you can even download your magazine in PDF format and have it printed. This is an assessment in the one-week time I created a magazine and tested out the site.
The Upside
1. It is interactive. You can have an engaged reader or audience by having interactive elements such as videos, music and sound. You also flip the pages like you do in a real magazine (it is based on flash). There is the option to view the magazine full screen or to zoom in at whatever size and area of the page.
2. It has lots of templates for you to choose from both for the cover and inside pages. It’s just a matter of replacing the images and texts in the templates with your own and lay them out following the template grids and guides, or experiment and mix it out with your own lay-out.
3. With a single account, you can make as many issues or as many magazines, books, albums or catalogues that you want. And you can add as many pages as you like. Just be sure you don’t run out of materials to put in.
4. Your magazine is embeddable and linkable. Share it on Facebook, Twitter, social media sites, blogs, forums and other websites.
5. There is the basic free membership which for my purposes is good enough. You get a professional editor, embedding function, and features for adding video and audio.
The Downside
1. The paid subscription is rather expensive. The Silver, Gold and Platinum membership unlocks full features offered by Joomag such as tools for branding, selling, ads-free viewing, support for iPad, HTML5 for mobile and multi-user accounts. This is all good if you are in pursuit of commercial and business goals.
2. Using the professional online editor requires some background in page-making, topography and lay-out. I’m familiar with desktop publishing softwares but still grappled initially when I went to do the online magazine. I’m acquainted with the various tools and environment but couldn’t seem to find an “undo” or “go back” button hence for every mistake I did I had to start again from scratch. The trick is to minimize making mistakes (helps to have a lay-out drawing on paper and determine first where to put titles, text body and images), do one element or page property at a time, and save the page as often as possible (you can go back to continue editing where you left off). Don’t let this deter you from working on your creation. Everything can be learned, with patience and determination. You can start out by creating a simple, uncluttered lay-out then work on more edgier designs in your next issue.
This blog now has an interactive digital magazine version. Each issue comes out every month and revolves around a theme. Junsjazz Images & Inspiration Issue #1 (December 2012) which showcases sunsets and sunrise images, was published and went online yesterday. For me this is a milestone, being able to share my works using today’s evolving technology in a soon-to-be paperless world. Note: be sure to put on your headphone when viewing the magazine. Enjoy!
Junsjazz Images & Inspiration 