StreetHunters Bookshelf: Street Jungle

Introduction

Dear Streethunters.net Readers,

Welcome to my second photo book / magazine review. I am very excited to start writing this post! Today I will be sharing my thoughts on another EYESHOT magazine. This time the issue I will be analyzing is called “Street Jungle”. But before I get started, let me remind you all what EYESHOT Magazine is in case you don’t already know of it.

What is EYESHOT Magazine?

The EYESHOT Magazine series was created by Marco Savarese in 2017. As a publication its main focus is street photography in terms of language and as an art form. The issue we will be looking at today called STREET JUNGLE by the EYESHOT team. You can see a list of all their magazines in their portfolio section on their website. Before I continue, I would like to say that Streethunters.net is in no way affiliated with EYESHOT.

Review of the EYESHOT STREET JUNGLE

“Street Jungle” is an EYESHOT magazine issue that has an interesting concept. Its goal is to share with the reader a collection of 105 photographs from 35 different countries showing man as an evolved, organised, animal species that lives in its 100% artificial surroundings, its man-made “jungle”, just like wild animals live in their own natural jungle. So the photos in this book are versatile and will surely keep you interested from front to back.

Also, for the first time, EYESHOT is hosting 5 guest photographers that will choose the best “Street Jungle” shot. In addition, you will also find some extras in the last few pages of the book with the winning photos from the Italian Street Photo Festival and the San Francisco Street Photo Festival. Although I don’t understand why these 2 additional sections exist in this magazine, they are a most welcomed addition. More on this later.

Moving on, I would like to mention that just like the FLASHGUN magazine we reviewed in the past, this issue is also a limited edition magazine. Once the printed edition has been sold out, EYESHOT will not be printing any more copies and only the digital version will be available in PDF format. If you wish to purchase the magazine you can visit the official “Street Jungle” page on the EYESHOT website. Let’s move on.

Book Cover

As soon as I picked up this magazine it felt as if I was holding a top quality soft cover photo book, just like I did with the “Flashgun” issue I reviewed previously. In addition, just like the “Flashgun issue, the magazine cover is printed on thick, matted, high quality paper while the big black letters of the logo on the top are shiny smooth and have a low relief, making them easy to feel and enjoyable to the touch while stroking your fingers over them. The magazine’s cover photo is by Shin Noguchi. Even though it is an interesting image which I like a lot personally, I don’t find it gives the book the initial wow factor it needs. I would have preferred a more striking image, both in colours and in content. Something that would stop me dead in my tracks. This image, doesn’t do that for me. As for the square image format that the editors chose for the layout, I find it works nicely because it gives more space for the logo above to breathe. So to conclude the book cover is good and so is the back cover. All in all this issue impresses before you open it, but I think a stronger image would increase the wow factor. Besides, we all judge books by their covers don’t we?

Shelf life

I explained what “shelf life” means in my last review, however here is a quick reminder. It is the amount of time, duration, that a book will stay on one’s shelf before it will be picked up again. The longer a book stays on the shelf without being picked up, the lower the “Shelf life”. So, how did I find the “shelf life” of this book? Well, let’s just say that I have picked it up 5+ times in the 5 days I have owned it. It sits up there right next to my “Flashgun” issue! The images that have been selected by the editor and the 5 guest photographers are stunning and engaging and most of them have documentary value giving them an additional level of interest that will be even more noticeable as the years go by, so there is nothing more to say really. This book has a good “shelf life” as you will surely find yourself returning back to it time and time again. 

Easy to read

The guys at EYESHOT magazine must have paid close attention to my review of the FLASHGUN issue, because I noticed that the pages are easier to handle in STREETJUNGLE. I am not a book expert, but I assume that maybe the page binding isn’t as strong as it was before, because now I can actually read the book holding it with one hand without worrying that it will slam shut on itself. Reading with both hands of course is the best way to go and the most satisfying way to immerse yourself in the magazine’s pages. Reading it layed out on a table, is not advisable. You will find yourself “fighting” with it to keep it open. The book fonts are sans serif, easy to read and everything is nice and clear. All in all, you will enjoy reading it.

Organization and content

I have come to the conclusion that the EYESHOT guys really did read through my previous review! Back then I had mentioned that I missed a sort of a more traditional way of indexing based on alphabetical order of the photographers names. I see now that besides the standard table of contents of the book, the editors have also included an alphabetical list of the participating photographers names. That way, I can check in one glance if a photographer whom I am inspired from is included in this book, or I can just see all the photographers listed in a fast and easy way. The actual content of this issue is of the highest quality. The photos selected are incredible. You will definitely enjoy going through all the pages, from cover to back. However, I am a bit confused about something concerning the organisation in content. When I first got this magazine in my hands and read the forward by Veronica Gabbuti I was under the impression that “Street Jungle” would be a collection of photographs from 35 different countries. However, when my journey ended I got a bonus of 2 more sections. One section is the winning photos from the ISPF (Italian Street Photography Festival) and the other is from the StreetFOTO (San Francisco Street Photography Festival). Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact that the book offers more photos, no let me correct that, more amazing photos, but I just don’t get the reason why they are there. It is a bit confusing. Are these festivals sponsoring the book? Why aren’t there any images from the MSPF, BSPF, LSPF, PhosAthens, etc? Aren’t they good enough to be featured? I don’t get it. It don’t find it a bad thing, I just don’t get it, don’t see the logic. I would have liked to see a separate magazine with all the winners from all the International Street Photography Festivals for example in one issue. That would be an interesting read. I just don’t think that these 2 sections fit into the magazine. They just feel as if they were put there at the last minute to give the book more pages. 

Quality

I am very impressed with the quality of this publication. From cover to back, this magazine screams “top notch”! The print and paper used are great, and give the reader a good experience. Pages feel nice in the hand, colours pop, fonts are clear and readable and everything is well defined with no overlapping elements, no mess, no fussiness. Just the way I like it, minimal and clean. All pages are printed on Fedrigoni X-PER Premium White paper which give them a nice heft. Photographs are placed perfectly and stand out clearly as far as I am concerned. Would I buy this issue? Yes!