The community of photography writers on Medium is small but mighty. I’m proud to say I was probably one of the first here writing about this subject and, without sounding too self-congratulatory, perhaps even set the tone for it, to some degree. I started writing back in 2017. I wrote from a place of passion, but I also hoped to connect and reflect on that passion. It seemed to me that the new avenues of self-publishing had not done much for the field of photography. It was still primarily reviews, light tips and tricks, and self-promotional surface stuff. I imagined there was a community of people who thought more deeply about the medium, what it meant, and its importance in the flow of contemporary culture. I wrote primarily to draw the community of photographers closer through our shared passion.
Over the last six months, though, my writing has drastically waned. What used to be 3 to 4 articles a month has fallen to a paltry 1, or none. I still do photography (I’m off to a shoot this morning) but I rarely feel inspired to share thoughts anymore. And I think it has to do with my disappointment in what has, or more accurately what has not, transpired around community. Not specifically with Medium, but with the world.
I was at a dinner party the other night and a very smart woman said something that really moved me. She said: “Establishment has become…
