Magazine ReviewMagazine ReviewWhen I was in high school in the late
1960s, and just 'getting into' photography and natural history
in a serious way, one magazine stood out as The magazine, the
one that offered the best photography, the best presentation,
the pinnacle of the best work out there. It was Audubon magazine
and it, above all the others I received in the mail or read in
my high school or, later, college libraries, was the magazine
I savoured. If you were an aspiring photographer, it was the one
that, more than any other, you aspired to be published in. I still
have many of my old copies, featuring portfolios by Fred Truslow
and Ron Austing and M. Philip Kahl and other early photo heroes
of mine. Sadly, Audubon eventually went through an editorial change
and the focus changed to environmentalism and issues, and not
on the celebration of nature's beauty. While those topics are
important, to me, it wasn't what Audubon was all about and I let
my subscription lapse.
A few years ago Steve Freligh, a former photo editor for Ranger Rick Nature Magazine, decided to follow his heart and produce a magazine that truly celebrated nature's beauty. His goal was to publish the best of nature photography and to do so with the best photographic reproductions available. Appropriately enough he called the magazine Nature's Best -- the best of nature and the best of nature photography. I truly believe he has accomplished his goals.
To me Nature's Best is the grand successor of Audubon's lost legacy It is a visual magazine, with many images reproduced full page, supplemented by lengthy captions. Text is kept to a minimum, with most pages dominated by photography, not words. Not that Nature's Best is a picture book only, because the articles are certainly enlightening, but it is for the images that one picks up the magazine, and lingers over every page.
Nature's Best is published quarterly. Subscription price is $20 per year, or $5.95 at the newstand. Get a subscription -- don't miss an issue.
To order, call toll free at 1-888-884-5999. For foreign subscriptions call 703-759-6575, or subscribe online at www.NaturesBestMagazine.com.