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Rangefinder Magazine
Features/January 2002

Rangefinder: 50 Years of Excellence by Carolyn Ryan and Bill Hurter

Volume 1, Issue 1, The Rangefinder

Rangefinder Magazine Mission Statement, June 1952:
Editor’s note: The Los Angeles area is perhaps as densely populated with photographers as any large city in the world. Yet, as far as we know, there has been, to date, never so much as a circular, which could be called a trade journal distributed to the local members of this profession. Starting with the idea of printing a small bulletin to the local trade, we quickly realized that a circular type of publication was not adequate. So, The Rangefinder was born by the demands of the professional photographer of Southern California. Its distribution is exclusive to him without charge. The Rangefinder will do its utmost to encourage all photographers to raise the standards of the profession, to abhor unfair competitive practices and the use of subterfuge in dealing with customers. The editorial policy of The Rangefinder is to bring about a greater understanding among varied branches of professional photography.

The early Rangefinder years presented challenges and opportunities for growth. Steve, Janet Marshall Victor and Hy.

The Simple Version of The Range€nder Story
Rangefinder magazine was started in 1952 by Janet Marshall Victor and her two partners. Janet was a retouching specialist and chairman of the local chapter of professional photographers. Hy Sheanin, father of Steve Sheanin, stepped in by the sixth issue to manage the “pamphlet’s” business and advertising. The publication grew out of a series of chats, then discussions, about a shared perception that photographers could learn how to run their businesses more profitably.

That creed found in the 1952 mission statement—to educate photographers and raise the standards of the profession—has been the guiding force behind Rangefinder Publishing Company and its subsidiary organizations and publications over the last 50 years.

	Steve Sheanin

Rangefinder grossed less than $5000 a year for the first four years, and did not transition from its original 51ž2 x 81ž2 pamphlet format to 81ž2 x 11 until 1962. By 1968, 16 years later, Range€nder was grossing enough for Hy to quit his “day job” and focus on the publishing company full time. By 1983, when Hy retired and turned the reins over to Steve, the magazine was poised for the great expansion and progress realized in the 1980s.

The story of Rangefinder’s growth and success is not unique, but the statistics (pretty grim, in general), for survival of start-up publications, does fix the achievement in the scheme of things. Hy recalls that he “Never thought about the big money.” He was in it from the beginning for the challenge—and because he “couldn’t stand to work for someone else.”

Steve, who started working nights and weekends for the company while in his early 20s, found the company challenging as well. In an effort to learn the ropes, he did whatever job needed doing, from sweeping the floors to helping label and bind each of the issues, to driving a borrowed truck (four loads’ worth a month) containing the issues to the Terminal Annex post office in Los Angeles.

A Little History…
“I was born on July 18, 1909,” says Hy, with his signature dry delivery. “Normal family. Five kids. Second of five children. We had a nice family life.” Hy’s father, Harry, was a cabinetmaker by trade, but he was a dedicated political activist in spirit. It’s his natural leadership and deep commitment to the social issues of the day that repeats itself in the imprinting of his children. “My father was never a breadwinner in spirit,” recalls Hy, “But he had guts. And he always fought the battle.” Hy recalls his mother, Sarah, as “a saint.” “She was docile, and believed in what my dad believed in, and she never learned much English, but she was a smart woman. She figured things out. She was like my dad. She had guts. We kids always knew that.”

The Rangefinder Years
Hy met Janet Victor, a photo retoucher, and secretary for the Los Angeles Professional Photography Association, in the early ’50s, and joined her and two partners in their start-up venture in early 1953. Blending photography knowledge with chutzpah, they agreed on the niche, wrote ads, laid out the magazine, planned the editorial, and searched for advertising possibilities. Hy bought an old Elliot addressing machine, and began to build the mailing list. The first several hundred readers were movie lot still photographers.

Every spare minute went into marketing plans and the struggle of printing the “pamphlet” for one more month. “And I am eternally grateful to Millie for having the patience with me,” recalls Hy.

The “eventual” Rangefinder magazine had all the earmarks of a serious hobby in those early years. Combining his talent as a salesman, his accounting degree from UCLA and his practical credit skills from his job at Sears credit department, Hy was determined to teach photographers how to sell their product, and also how to allow their customers to establish credit. “I say this in all honesty,” he says, “I pioneered selling photography on credit. It’s one of the most valuable contributions I have made to this industry.”

He got photographers to “take a chance,” designed credit forms, and sold them in a package: contracts; ledger cards; and instructions. In 1962 he wrote a book, Cash in on Credit. He sold 2000 copies at $3 each. At that time Kodak had 35 retail stores, and when management saw the credit package, the company printed and sold them.

Hy recalls, “I made enough money in 90 days to buy a new car. I thought that was pretty terrific.” The truth is, however, it was many long years before Rangefinder brought much money in the door. Hy admits to his obsession: “I went to work, but my free time was spent thinking up new ideas. I kept a notepad with me to write them down. I always felt the magazine would take off one day. I just never dreamed it would make this kind of money.”

The first real Rangefinder office was a 12-foot-square room in Hollywood. Rent was $30 a month. “We moved from one location to another, until a friend, Ernie Walker, and I rented a whole block of stores and subleased all but our Rangefinder office,” recalls Hy. “When I started out, I knew nothing about printing, so I went to L.A. City College at night to learn the rudiments of what we had to do.” Rangefinder was printed on letterpress, not offset, on a small 11x17 press and a smaller linotype machine.

Steve, who would buy out the business in 1983 says, “I was a kid at the time dad was so focused on Rangefinder. We never knew for sure what he was doing. I recall seeing this small booklet, but didn’t really understand.” Steve later took printing classes and when Hy acquired a used “multi” (printer) for the company, it was natural for Steve to help with some extra jobs at night and weekends to earn a little extra income. Steve would officially join Rangefinder as a full-time salaried employee in 1969 and invested years of sales and leadership as the publication began to show signs of profit.

During those early years, Steve recalls, “there was never enough money to be in business for more than the next two weeks.” The company not only survived, albeit week to week, it prospered and grew.

In the ’60s, Hy hired a man named Homer Guck as a rep to sell, primarily on the East Coast, although Homer eventually helped Hy develop a national presence for the magazine. In those early years, every new lead was referred to laughingly as “a Guck!”

By 1968, the Rangefinder had definitely become more than a hobby. Hy realized a dream: He quit his job as a battery salesman, and took the helm full time. He was 59 years old, and remembers in vivid terms how it felt to finally be his own man. “I was finally free to go at it full-time,” he says. “I was always ready to go, and I loved what I was doing. It was a challenge, because I’m not a photographer, I’m a salesman. I know what people need and want. I’ve always had plenty of ideas.” Hy recalls that he knew Steve was a natural for sales and company management: “Steve had all the instincts—just what Rangefinder needed.”

Before long, Steve knew every facet of Rangefinder’s operation, but it didn’t challenge him in the same way it challenged Hy. Steve wanted to be a bigger part of things and, in fact, almost left the company until in July 1970, he was made sales manager and hit the road, selling national accounts.

The Wedding Photographers Association
The 1970s were strong building years for Rangefinder’s yearly gross, as well as its circulation. Born of the same concept as Rangefinder, a new company emerged: Wedding Photographers of America, which eventually became Wedding Photographers International (WPI) in 1978. The organization was formed in response to industry-wide demand for an organization devoted solely to the special interests and needs of wedding photographers.

WPI was the brainchild of Hy and Steve, who saw the organization as serving important needs of an often-neglected segment of the industry, the wedding photographer. In those days, wedding photographers were known as “weekend warriors.” They were part-timers who were on the low end of the status scale. Yet they worked hard to improve their craft and they were a viable force in the marketplace, purchasing equipment and consuming film and paper at ever-increasing rates.

Steve threw his heart and soul into the new organization, developing as many personal relationships with working wedding photographers as he possibly could. Steve called upon the likes of Bill Stockwell, Monte Zucker, Don Blair, Leon Kennemer, Laverne Freezen, Ed DeCroce and Donald Jack and would invite these people to put on seminars, usually done in conjunction with local or regional labs. Here, the technique and artistry of wedding photography were presented and diagnosed—these seminars soon became very popular.

logos for Wedding Photographers International

In 1979, an advisory board comprised of the foremost names in wedding photography was organized, and at the first meeting “Wedding Photographers of America” was changed to “Wedding Photographers International” to recognize the organization’s many members from around the world.

Public relations expert Harold Glazer was soon brought in to help with promotions and positioning. The association provided wedding photography members with membership benefits, including a monthly newsletter and two international print competitions, and, beginning in 1981, an annual convention featuring a variety of seminars, a tradeshow, and print competition.

Wedding Photographers International provided a much-needed forum for photographers who had long asked for guidance, and an association of their own.

In 1981, WPI held its first convention and trade show in Las Vegas, at Caesar’s Palace. Steve recalls, “we had 24 booths—12 we sold and 12 we gave away. But we had in excess of 2500 people attend at $10 a head.” He recalls, “We would do anything to get attention for our group. At Caesars, we had Monte and the late Rocky Gunn put on the boxing gloves and get in the ring with Bill Stockwell as the referee. It was a symbolic clash of wedding styles. It was a huge hit.”

Realizing that many of WPI’s present and future members were involved in both wedding and portrait photography, Wedding Photographers International officially became Wedding & Portrait Photographers International on January 1, 1995.

revised 1996 version.

A New Magazine
About the same time that WPI was getting off the ground, Steve had a new idea. Through his association with many labs putting on seminars with the top wedding photographers in the country, he became knowledgeable about the photo lab industry and its needs. And so in 1979, Photo Lab Management was launched. It was a magazine that offered the management and staff of photo processing labs much-needed information on how best to run their business and make a profit. The same guiding principles that honed Rangefinder’s personality went into the creation of PLM. The magazine was known by Photo Lab Management for 20 years and then in 2001, realizing the incredible influence of digital technology on the day-to-day operations of the photo lab, the magazine changed its name to Focus on Imaging.

Looking to the Future
No one knew it at the time, but the original goals of Rangefinder, which were to “teach photographers” and to raise the standards of the profession, were very lofty goals indeed. So much so that the company has not only survived, but it has become a multi-million dollar enterprise, garnering a significant international following—for both magazines and WPPI.

When asked about the future Steve Sheanin replies simply, “We’re still in the memory business. We always were and we always will be, despite huge changes in our industry like the overpowering influence of digital imaging. You take the photograph today, and you take it again tomorrow. The photograph itself is what is valuable to people.”

With a solid circulation of 50,000 readers and advertising revenues increasing year to year, the prospectus for Rangefinder is promising. “Even in bad economic times, like we’re going through right now,” Steve says, “photographers are still providing a valuable service to people and many current and new businesses are thriving.”

Steve still sees Rangefinder’s charter as relevant, perhaps even more so than at the publication’s outset. He says proudly, “We are still in the business of educating photographers. There will always be a need and a place for the professional photographer, regardless of how many changes occur in the photographic industry.”

On Rangefinder’s international popularity he says, “Rangefinder is well read and well respected around the world, and even though costs prevent us from aggressively marketing Rangefinder internationally, it is gratifying to see how many places Rangefinder is read.”

He concludes, “I'm excited about the future—we will always have a purpose, helping photographers to grow their business and expanding the photographic community.”

The Rangefinder and WPPI Staff:

Steve Sheanin Publisher 31 years	Marlene Gourlay Office Manager 22 years	Gennie Kiuchi Art Associate 22 years	Jerry Goldstein Advertising Director 22 years

Carolyn Ryan Focus on Imaging Editor 19 years	Jackie Carden Art/Production Director 18 years	Irene Xiong Accounting 13 years	Rigo Luis Pressman 11 years	Bill Hurter Rangefinder/WPPI Editor 5 years

Rick Dechance Circulation Director 3 years	Valerie Stever WPPI Director 3 years	Robert Erb Account Executive 1 year	Jennifer O’Brien WPPI/Classifieds 1 year	Scott Jacobs Production/ Circulation Asst.