New Herp magazine

[D3pro]

I think a small reduction in photos and an increase in articles (even just one more?) would be great. Overall, from an non biased point of view, the magazine has achieved what it set out to do, by providing articles in the 3 fields of herpetology, photography and adventure and therefore, it is up to a good start. Everything in this world can be improved (including peoples attitudes towards one another ) and I think this magazine will do just that. Looking forward to the next issue.

 

[zulu]

I like the picture of the Nile roussette fruit bat in flight by David Northcott,i dont know how he does it,couldnt see the string in the picture.

 

[mysnakesau]

I guess you need to be rich to have the right equipment to take photos like that. I have shudder-burst or whatever its called on my little camera but movement never comes out crisp. My panasonic camera was good but I killed that in salt water now I have a cheap but waterproof camera. Ok but never get pics like that.

 

[Deb64]

Although I still think Australia needs a dedicated 'reptile only' mag, if Reptiles Australasia' is of the same quality as National Geo, than I cannot see how it will not be a massive hit?

With two dedicated Reptile mags in production, I feel that we as readers have plenty of good reading ahead of us over the next few years.


Cheers,
Nick Stock

I totally agree with you Nick.. but im still left wanting to know... Is it supposed to be Australia's best REPTILE magazine... or Australia`s best National Geo??????
That is all I have been trying to find out..... I would love another REPTILE only magazine in Australia and I would fully support it by subscribing if that's what im going to be getting ..... Im just having trouble with all the mixed statements as to what the mag really is going to be about.... The thread is even called NEW HERP MAGAZINE?????? If its more of a general photographic magazine then I will continue to be happy with my current subscriptions and I will be here waiting to support the next new true HERP magazine that comes out..... We as public just have the right to know what is ahead before we can put our money behind a project by subscribing... Either way I believe it is a beautifully presented product and wish everyone involved all the best with it..... Regards Deb

 

[zulu]

re

I guess you need to be rich to have the right equipment to take photos like that. I have shudder-burst or whatever its called on my little camera but movement never comes out crisp. My panasonic camera was good but I killed that in salt water now I have a cheap but waterproof camera. Ok but never get pics like that.

Its priorities kathy,some people sacrifice everthing to get a house in MT Druitt and others put all their resources into proffessional camera equipment to further ambitions.
You can have a mix of the two,there is plenty of fruit bats in Mt Druitt !

 

[Waterrat]

i totally agree with you nick.. But im still left wanting to know... Is it supposed to be australia's best reptile magazine... Or australia`s best national geo??????
That is all i have been trying to find out..... I would love another reptile only magazine in australia and i would fully support it by subscribing if that's what im going to be getting ..... Im just having trouble with all the mixed statements as to what the mag really is going to be about.... The thread is even called new herp magazine?????? If its more of a general photographic magazine then i will continue to be happy with my current subscriptions and i will be here waiting to support the next new true herp magazine that comes out..... We as public just have the right to know what is ahead before we can put our money behind a project by subscribing... Either way i believe it is a beautifully presented product and wish everyone involved all the best with it..... Regards deb

the magazine is about herpetology, photography and adventure. What isn't clear about it?

 

[Wally]

Gee, I'd better subscribe and see what the fuss is all about.

 

[Pythoninfinite]

"We as public just have the right to know what is ahead before we can put our money behind a project by subscribing"

Deb, you're devoting a lot of time to this for some reason... If we could we'd send you a full PDF of the next 4 issues so you can make an informed decision about where to spend your money. I suppose Cassowaries have scales (on their legs), and Dugongs have tails (flukes actually), so they fit the format of that particular magazine if you want to draw a VERY long bow... But Michael has pointed out to you what the front cover tells us the mag is about, the flip-page sampler on our website gives any interested person a good idea of what's in store for them. You know yourself it's a free world - if it's not up to scratch for you, if you feel we've misrepresented the magazine to you, you can have your money refunded in full, and you don't have to subscribe in the future.

You've made your point of view well known (several times) now... maybe you should take a break lol!

"Either way I believe it is a beautifully presented product and wish everyone involved all the best with it..... Regards Deb"

And we certainly wish you all the best, whatever magazine choices you make

Jamie

 

[mysnakesau]

What magazine ever gives you a full issue BEFORE you decide whether its worth paying for. If you did that Jamie ppl will gladly plug the magazine but see how many would actually pay for it. And herpjournal has already mentioned refunding one's money if they weren't happy and keep the issue they have. What more can you ask for.

The only complaint I have is that every time I have picked up my magazine to read it today I have had to drop it to go and do stuff. Has not failed once today tomorrow I might go hide somewhere where they can't find me.

 

[Renenet]

Just took a look at the previews on the Reptiles Australasia website. It looks fantastic, as does the herp photography masterclass advertised on the site. Alas, I can't afford the latter but might look at getting a subscription for the former in a few months' time.

 

[emmbo]

This magazine did show some excellent and very relevent photos... but I was not drawn into reading it at all and there honestly wasnt much to read apart from some small bio's... it was something i'd flick through and put back down, thinking what a shame. Many have opted to give some constructive critisism... which is usually more then welcome in industry's and other magazines... it's what create's bigger and better issues. Just picking up the sence that constructive critisism isn't being handeled to well here... and it's probably due to needing a little thicker skin and appreciation instead of a skilled bite back. Kudo's for even getting thus far, it's not the easiest of tasks to skillfully pull together a magazine and for the first issue people were probably expecting something more...

 

[jack]

my two cents:
well done, an impressive first issue.

no one has mentioned it yet, but the editors message at the beginning is well worth reading twice and raises some points we should all be contemplating, and perhaps actively involving ourselves in.

looking forward to the next one (though can you please put it in plastic next time?)

 

[Deb64]

"We as public just have the right to know what is ahead before we can put our money behind a project by subscribing"


"Either way I believe it is a beautifully presented product and wish everyone involved all the best with it..... Regards Deb"

And we certainly wish you all the best, whatever magazine choices you make

Jamie

Who has devoted a lot of time to this thread?????? I said what I wanted to say in my first comment... I praised the magazine for its presentation and herp topics..... I wished you all well... The ONLY reason I have felt the need for further comments on the subject is to respond to the many (very defensive) posts from You, Neil, Michael and co ... I dont understand why you have all only chosen to highlight my thoughts on what I felt was lacking in the mag and have given zero acknowledgment on the many praises I have given it.... There are obviously some underlying stresses here and they are being taken out on the general public who were interested enough in your magazine to offer their personal views on it....
This is my last post on this topic as there is no more to add.... Regards Deb

 

[Waterrat]

You, Neil, Michael & Co. I like that. Some underlying stress ..... hmmmm.

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Hi Jack, if yours got wet as it was delivered, please let us know and we'll replace it immediately. It's important that you're happy with our product - and yes - plastic bags is on the list of things to do for issue 2. We would like subscribers to regard the mag as sort of 'coffee table' quality - so it's important also that our investment in high-quality printing results in a top quality magazine in your letterbox.

And thanks for the editorial plug by the way - RA will be putting quite a bit of effort into the politics of reptile conservation and keeping if I keep my job as editor lol! We as reptile keepers are living in a bit of a fool's paradise at the moment - the animal rights movement is gathering strength, the various bureaucracies prefer the hammer approach rather than listening to experienced herp people... we all have the welfare of captive reptiles as a priority, but bureaucrats find the big stick easier to wield, even though it is clearly not successful in achieving welfare goals... We have huge problems looming, here and worldwide, which is where our worldwide distribution will pay dividends we hope. We will be drawing on the experiences of reptile keepers around the world to arm ourselves against misguided bureaucratic onslaughts.

Jamie

 

[Dougs]

I guess the old adage applies very well in a magazine context - "you can please SOME of the people SOME of the time, but not ALL of the people ALL of the time..." I think if we recognise that from the outset, we won't go too far wrong. As Neil has stated, if the first issue doesn't meet your expectations (and I wonder where those expectations have come from - we have not put out any info that could mislead anyone into believing that RA will be a narrow-focus publication), there is no compulsion to subscribe.

Even as a commercial decision, narrow focus = narrow readership, broad focus = broader readership.

Jamie

I would have thought that by making the magazine available only through subscription you would be narrowing focus= narrowing readership as you put it.

 

[Snakeluvver2]

What a load of rubbish half of you come out with.
Great magazine.
It's not scales and tails or reptiles australia
Those two magazines were basically the same.
This magazine is for people who don't really want the basic facts of husbandry (although S and T comes out with a good scientific article) but more specific info that you can't just google.

Thought that was pretty obvious.

 

[mysnakesau]

I really enjoyed the article about the alligator lizards. Its really sad to see and hear of habitats being destroyed by us. I don't know if the writer of that article visits this site but I wish them all the best to save these guys from extinction. I'd like to see follow up articles on such projects, especially to hear some good news that numbers are increasing rather than declining.

 

[Wally]

We as reptile keepers are living in a bit of a fool's paradise at the moment - the animal rights movement is gathering strength, the various bureaucracies prefer the hammer approach rather than listening to experienced herp people... we all have the welfare of captive reptiles as a priority, but bureaucrats find the big stick easier to wield, even though it is clearly not successful in achieving welfare goals... We have huge problems looming, here and worldwide, which is where our worldwide distribution will pay dividends we hope. We will be drawing on the experiences of reptile keepers around the world to arm ourselves against misguided bureaucratic onslaughts.

I couldn't agree more. Great to hear that this will be a focus and it has tipped me over the edge, so I've subscribed. I doubt it's possible to have a unifying medium in this hobby given we're such a divisive bunch, but an effort still needs to be made.

 

[jack]

yes my issue is a bit crinkly because it got damp, but it will probably end up in the back of my lab for students to read (like my collection of the aforementioned Nature Australia) so i wasn't that fazed.
before you get a big editorial head jamie, did you pick up the author of the taronga article referred to Litoria castanea as "Yellow-spotted Bell Frog" and then in the next paragraph called it "Yellow-spotted Tree Frog"?