Photo by Avi Raju
A Note from the Editor
Why Gleam?
I was having a hard time at the beach.
No, seriously. I spent $50 at the airport on fashion, photography and (of course) tabloid magazines. In the
heat, I found myself fumbling through them, one after the other. I couldn’t pay attention to any of them for
longer than 10 minutes before getting bored and switching. I loved the ads in fashion magazines, reading
useful photography tips and learning that some celebrities aren’t so different than me and why others are
totally insane. To get all that info, I would have to cart 10 lbs worth of magazines in my bag to the beach. I
kept thinking there had to be a better way.
It came down to one of those nights, up at 2AM but not quite awake, browsing through publication
submission guidelines online to find the right place for a fantastic shoot I’d done but I just couldn’t find a
place for it. Everything seemed so genre specific. And weird! (And kinda snobby.) I wondered why there
wasn’t a place for pictures that were just beautiful! I knew I’d seen those beautiful pictures fit for publication:
all over social media, in portfolios on Model Mayhem and even just on my friends’ Facebook pages. There
were people just like me, who loved to create pictures for pictures’ sake. When you invest this kind of energy,
time and money in taking a picture (or a thousand!) the least you hope for is some kind of recognition and
exposure, and for some, the opportunity to turn a hobby into a profession. How else do you explain Instagram
and Flickr?
That same night, I was watching the Bay Bridge lights dance across the water when the name Gleam Magazine
came to me. Everything about that bright, shimmering light felt intrinsically beautiful and universal. I
wanted to create an accessible magazine, full of the kind of gorgeous photos I consumed in fashion, art and
photography magazines. I wanted to hear from real photographers and fashion professionals, but in a way that
made sense. I wanted to hear how they were just like me or well, weird.
I must thank ALL of my talented contributors for trusting me with their art for this first issue in a magazine
they knew nothing about! Every one of them and their stories touched me. And most of all, to my loving
husband Jon, who kept telling me I ought to do this and that night, convinced me I finally should.
GLEAM MAGAZINE
2
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