An enjoyable experience without the BS

I like photos and photography in a casual way. I’d love ot be a better photographer but I’m not sure I have the energy or the time to put in the required work to get there.

For now I’m content to take a nice photo now and again, but more importantly, to marvel at the wonderful photos being shard online by very talented artists.

A natural fit, you would think, for me to get an Instagram account. I had one once, when they were independent, but closed it the same day of the Facebook take-over. I’m glad I did. But I missed scrolling through others’ photos, be them filtered to death or badly composed, there was something quite personable about them, and that’s what I enjoyed.

Instagram today, is just a cesspool of hatred, sneering, judgement and worst of all, ‘influencers’. Not to mention the crossing-the-creepy-line of advertising that doesn’t in any way, share or form bring value to the experience.

Recently, I’ve gone back to browsing some of the fantastic work being shared on photography platforms. My favourite for grazing is 500px. It’s better than the Instagram experience and it comes without all the BS. You should give it a try, you might find that you’re better off for it.

13 November 2019 — French West Indies

Matthew Cowen @matthewcowen