{"id":1007,"date":"2025-02-11T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-11T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/photoni.st\/?p=1007"},"modified":"2025-02-10T12:46:22","modified_gmt":"2025-02-10T11:46:22","slug":"why-i-try-hard-to-see-substack-as-a-good-place","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/photoni.st\/index.php\/2025\/02\/11\/why-i-try-hard-to-see-substack-as-a-good-place\/","title":{"rendered":"Why I Try Hard To See Substack As a Good Place"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As I said before<\/a>, I’m not a social media person. I often find myself questioning whether I should try harder to be on those platforms and what they could possibly give me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an age where photos are posted daily (hourly? Minutely? Secondly?) on platforms like X and Instagram, it\u2019s easy to overlook the deeper intentions behind each image. I\u2019ve spent a lot of time reflecting on this: why people take the photos they do, how they approach it, and what they see in those images. And as I\u2019ve navigated these thoughts, one platform has kept me coming back: Substack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A rusty metal hook in the sand is holding a fishing net in the sea<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Now, I\u2019ll admit it: I\u2019m not exactly sure how to view Substack as a photographer. After all, it\u2019s primarily a writer-orientated platform. But there\u2019s something compelling about it, and I\u2019m trying hard to see it as a place where photography can thrive, in its own unique way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For one, there\u2019s one glaring issue that irks me: Substack still doesn\u2019t have a photography category! How is that even possible? A platform that houses countless writers discussing their craft, reflecting on their processes, and sharing their expertise somehow still overlooks an entire medium of storytelling. But, that aside, Substack draws people who are deeply invested in the idea of process, and that\u2019s why I\u2019m still here, still trying to make sense of this space for my own photographic musings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What fascinates me most about Substack, especially when compared to other platforms, is how it attracts writers who are eager to dig deeper into their experiences. While sites like X and Instagram are often more focused on quick snapshots and immediate reactions, on images that will bring the most amount of “engagement” and likes, Substack is home to those who want to present their photos, explain the decisions they made, and analyze what\u2019s behind each image. It\u2019s a space where storytelling and self-reflection can accompany the visuals, offering readers more context about the photographer\u2019s journey, not just the resulting image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not enough to simply take a photo and upload it to Substack. Here, there\u2019s a greater emphasis on the meaning behind the photo. How did the photographer come to take that image? What was their intention? What personal history or emotion are they capturing in that moment? Substack\u2019s power lies in the way it encourages people to pause, reflect, and share the inner dialogue that led to the image being created.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To me, that\u2019s the most valuable part of Substack. It\u2019s not just a photo dump, it\u2019s a platform for sharing personal insights into the act of photography. It\u2019s a place where creators can step back and analyze their work, offering readers a chance to connect with the why behind the lens. For me, photography isn\u2019t about just producing beautiful images; it\u2019s about processing the world around me and reflecting on my experiences through the lens. Substack gives me the space to write those reflections, even if the medium I\u2019m working with is predominantly visual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On substack, I want to see good photos with a an explanation of how they came to be. After all, I want to learn how to be better from others’ experience. But I also want to see “bad” photos and why they exist. If I wanted to see only the best of what somebody can do, I’d be on IG scrolling past hundreds of photos a day without really paying attention to them until one is flashy enough that I spend 4 or 5 seconds looking at it. I want to see your worst. I want to see your messed up photos<\/a>. And I want to know why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope to see Substack grow as a space where photographers feel comfortable sharing their thought process as much as their photos. While it may not yet be a \u201cphotography\u201d platform, it\u2019s undeniably a place where the art of photography can be explored beyond the surface. And maybe, just maybe, that\u2019s exactly what I\u2019ve been looking for: a place where photography isn\u2019t about instant validation, but about digging deeper into the process and sharing those reflections with a community that values the story behind the picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I obviously continue doing all that on my personal sites (e.g. http:\/\/photoni.st<\/a>) because I’m not entirely sure of the long term strategy Substack will follow (after all Facebook didn;t start as a billionaire’s platform). But I double post to test Substack and the community there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So yes, I\u2019m trying hard to see Substack as a good place and this short text is part of me trying to convince me of it. Maybe, in time, the platform will officially recognize photography as a category. But even if that never happens, I\u2019m here for the stories behind the photos, the thoughtful reflections, and the deeper conversations. Because that, to me, is what photography is all about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#Photography #Opinion #PhotographyTheory #Theory #IMayBeWrong #Substack<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As I said before, I’m not a social media person. I often find myself questioning whether I should try harder to be on those platforms and what they could possibly give me. In an age where photos are posted daily (hourly? Minutely? Secondly?) on platforms like X and Instagram, it\u2019s easy to overlook the deeper … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Why I Try Hard To See Substack As a Good Place”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,9,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinion","category-personal","category-theory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/photoni.st\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/photoni.st\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/photoni.st\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/photoni.st\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/photoni.st\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1007"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/photoni.st\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1007\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1074,"href":"https:\/\/photoni.st\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1007\/revisions\/1074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/photoni.st\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/photoni.st\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/photoni.st\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}