URB Photos #1
From our first issue, URB photography has been essential to our mission. So why am I so freaked out about posting on Substack?
^ Despite last week’s post, we adore M.I.A. She’s appeared on three covers, including issue 147, June 2007. Photography by Nick Ballon.
Like our cover star above, I’m a little p-noid. After guarding the URB photo archive for three decades, I’ve been pretty resistant to dumping images on Substack since we launched here five months ago. It pains me because photography and imagery have been part of our aesthetic since our first issue in December 1990. So, it’s always been my intention to light up this blog with photos from the archive and the work of our celebrated auteurs.
Much of what I plan to share here has never lived outside our print pages and not in the full backlit pixelated grandeur of your iPhone or 4k monitor. Of course, the minute art becomes pixels, it can be re-posted, claimed, and shared without any attribution or context—my biggest fear. And, to be clear, not entirely a worry for any diminished personal upside but out of a concern for the photographers whose work appears here.
What’s the solution? Beyond ugly watermarks (which I just learned Substack has added as an option, which I am forgoing for now), purposely making images low-res (to discourage secondary use of the photo), or other tricks that only create a subpar user experience, there’s no real way to protect online images from plagiarism entirely.
I concluded that if so much of our photographic history remained locked away, keeping it hidden felt like a bigger disservice to culture compared to the risk of piracy.
Which is a shame because photography looks beautiful on Substack. It’s one of the reasons I decided to experiment with the archive here. I concluded that if so much of our photographic history remained locked away, keeping it hidden felt like a bigger disservice to culture compared to the risk of piracy. So, I’m relaxing my guard a bit and hoping for the best. To paraphrase Sting, if you love something, set it free.
I plan to occasionally post images from our cover shoots, feature stories, and outtakes never before shared online by us. You can help me decide how often we do this by your engagement with this post. And, if you’d like to help me grow this project by sharing these images, I kindly request that you use the full link (or the convenient share button below) so the entire post can be seen in context and the photographers get their credit.
As always, your comments, suggestions, and feedback make me smile, so drop me a line with your thoughts on what you’d like to see next. OK, thanks for reading this rant—now look at some pictures.
One last thing from my AI lawyers…
Copyright © 2023 URB Magazine. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise stated, all text, images, and media on this blog are the property of the photographers credited and URB Magazine and are protected by copyright laws. Some content, such as photographs, may be owned by third parties and used on this blog with permission or under fair use.
You may not reproduce, modify, distribute, or republish any content from this blog without the express written permission of the copyright owner(s). For content owned by third parties, you must obtain permission directly from the copyright owner before using, reproducing, or distributing the content.
If you believe that any content on this blog infringes on your copyright or the copyright of someone you represent, please get in touch with us immediately for prompt removal.
For any copyright inquiries or permissions, please contact: info+substack@urb.com
OK, now, really, please enjoy.
^ The Toy Ladies, aka Joey and Christine, for our “Coming of Age” cover story, issue 60, July/August 1998. Photograph by Michael Tullberg.
^ Slug (right) and Ant from Atmosphere walk into a bar for issue 153, May/June 2008. Photograph by Matt Blum.
^ Team Sleep, with Deftones vocalist Chino Moreno, our first emo-core cover story, issue 127, June 2005. Photograph by Paul O'Valle.
^ Science, URB’s Sunday night drum & bass adventure in Santa Monica, ran from 1997-2000. Photograph by Michael Tullberg.
^ Gnarls Barkley (aka Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo Green) got weird for issue 142, December 2006. Photograph by Kareem Black.
^ Drum & bass legend DJ Rap and some of her fans at the first Coachella, for issue 70, December 1999. Photograph by Beau McGavin.
Savath & Savalas (pictured: Prefuse 73 and Eva Puyuelo Muns) on the cover of issue 112, January 2004. Photograph by Marc Baptiste.
^ The tastiest… Peaches put it all out there in issue 111, December 2003. Photograph by Conrad Ventur.
^ Family Ties: Georgia Anne Muldrow and Rickie Byars-Beckwith in our “Be Girl Issue” 144, March 2007. Photograph by Kareem Black.
^ Paradise by the Dashboard Light: On the road to Coachella, issue 146, May 2007. Photograph by Kristin Burns.
The End.
Feel free to repost any of my images. I'd much rather have them have a life as part of the URB archive, than be lost to history. I'm so happy that you're doing what you are here.
I’m in. Please feel free to use anything I have contributed to URB. I haven’t done much with my life. My photos are all I have to document that I was there.