I only started to watch AS YT videos because he mainly uses the 24/1.4 which is the same lens I prefer for candid work.
Are some jealous here because of his early fame with music and then Leica picking him up as a good person to further their marketing scheme? I see some sharp wording from some from time to time.
I don't know yet what this new photography oriented site has to offer. I will wait and see before passing judgment.
I don't know for sure what the entire set of motivation and people are behind the site's creation. It seems likely to me that it is a mix of a vision for photography and commercial interest. That is fine with me. If true it is similar to FM and other sites I enjoy.
I am interested because of Alan Schaller's involvement (lead) in establishing it's vision and creation. Primarily this is because of two things. First, the strength of his photographic work, which I enjoy very much. Second, because he came up through, and was very successful with, the existing photography social media websites. From a photographer's perspective he likely understands their strengths and weaknesses well. Hopefully, he has a vision that will improve on the current offerings to our benefit.
I don't feel that position reflects any form of celebrity idolization as some here suggest. It is just an optomomistc view of the potential of the new site to improve an endevour and community experience I enjoy.
wolfloid wrote:
I’m not quite sure what you are getting at here. But the self-certainty in your tone is again so categorically arrogant.
My self-certainty is borne out of decades of first hand experience with these platforms. I know what's in, I know what's out, I know what it takes to be successful on these platforms, and I know what the average joe likes to consume. It's kind of hard to carry a conversation with people who don't have that experience, clearly. It's ok to be confident about things in which you have a mastery of knowledge.
A handful of photographers isn't enough to make a stills-centric app successful. Look at how popular Flickr was in its heyday and they were going bankrupt until Yahoo stepped in. It performed so badly that even Yahoo sold it off. Now it's just a passion project of Smugmugs with yearly feature degradation because their profits are lagging.
RoamingScott wrote:
My self-certainty is borne out of decades of first hand experience with these platforms. I know what's in, I know what's out, I know what it takes to be successful on these platforms, and I know what the average joe likes to consume. It's kind of hard to carry a conversation with people who don't have that experience, clearly. It's ok to be confident about things in which you have a mastery of knowledge.
A handful of photographers isn't enough to make a stills-centric app successful. Look at how popular Flickr was in its heyday and they were going bankrupt until Yahoo stepped in. It performed so badly that even Yahoo sold it off. Now it's just a passion project of Smugmugs with yearly feature degradation because their profits are lagging.
So, you with your low number of followers on the platforms you feature here, you know it all, while Mr. Schaller, who vastly outperforms you on social media, is a nincompoop. I wish I had your - false - confidence.
These new platforms spearheaded with top talent is great. Have some access to the data side of things and long form content with a focus on stills is growing and thriving. Eventually one of these platforms will catch.
RoamingScott wrote:
The masses of the world have moved on from still photos. It's all about consuming 30 second or shorter videos for quick, never-ending hits of cheap dopamine.
The only people that care about these types of alternative apps are photographers who usually have only a passing interest in consuming other peoples' works and more of an interest in sharing theirs. That creates vacuum chambers where no one is talking or engaging and the app dies.
How many "stills-centric" apps do we need to start before it's clear that the era of stills is DEAD?
Ironically the best places to display your photography (in terms of eyeballs) these days are Youtube and TikTok....Show more →
While video is indeed ever increasing in popularity year after year (major camera manufacturers agree), apparently stills photography is still very much a part of human culture, thanks to mobile phones:
" In 2025, humanity will take approximately 2.1 trillion photos. In comparison, 1.9 trillion photos were taken in 2024 worldwide.
Globally, we capture 5.3 billion photos daily, or 61,400 per second.
The average American takes 20 photos per day.
There are approximately 14.3 trillion photos in existence.
Smartphones account for 94% of all photos taken in 2024.
Google Image Search indexes an estimated 136 billion images.
14 billion images are shared daily on social media, with WhatsApp leading at 6.9 billion."
johnvanr wrote:
Alan Schaller and partners are about to launch a new site taking on Instagram etc. to allow for photo sharing without the rush to popularity of existing sites. It sounds good. This may actually be a site I want to use, which would be new to me, as I sparingly use any of the existing ones.
Thanks for posting. I joined the waiting list. I am curious to see how this project goes. I'm also thinking this platform might also appeal to Leica Lux photographers.
My self-certainty is borne out of decades of first hand experience with these platforms. I know what's in, I know what's out, I know what it takes to be successful on these platforms, and I know what the average joe likes to consume. It's kind of hard to carry a conversation with people who don't have that experience, clearly. It's ok to be confident about things in which you have a mastery of knowledge.
Is that ‘Texan charm’?
A little modesty can go a long way. Even with your ‘decades’ of experience, you do not convince, but just try saying it louder.
Who knows, maybe Leica has a stake in it too. On the brief video Alan posted the first poster on the top was Penman, another Leica shooter. I cannot imagine Schaller wouldn't have floated the idea to Leica and this boutique stuff is right up their alley. A bit of integration with Fotos and some good chat and you've got a nice Leica corner of the world.
panos.v wrote:
I must be missing something here but why is an irrelevant photo worse than an irrelevant video? Is it simply because you have to waste 3-4 seconds to realise the video is crap before you move on vs half a second on the photo? Thus you get that extra few seconds of engagement that somehow may generate interest in a "oh maybe there is something if I keep watching"?
Have you observed people using TikTok? Photos don't keep people in the app. No app, no ads, no money.
There is a very strong reason Instagram has promoted the use of video.
Have you observed people using TikTok? Photos don't keep people in the app. No app, no ads, no money. There is a very strong reason Instagram has promoted the use of video.
I’m sure for huge audiences, that’s true, but really, how many thinking adults want to be part of that frenetic noise, unless they are desperate to promote themselves?
Others, as panos.v and others have suggested, may be looking for a quieter corner. Not everything has to be mainstream, commercial, jarring, addictive distraction, or a dopamine flow.
panos.v wrote:
Who knows, maybe Leica has a stake in it too. On the brief video Alan posted the first poster on the top was Penman, another Leica shooter. I cannot imagine Schaller wouldn't have floated the idea to Leica and this boutique stuff is right up their alley. A bit of integration with Fotos and some good chat and you've got a nice Leica corner of the world.
On the site, you can see they also plan on bringing out a magazine and, I think, stock photography. I really have no clue, but I hope there’s a place away from the masses just featuring images for those who care about images. They face many challenges, not the least of which will be dealing with AI-generated crap.
johnvanr wrote:
On the site, you can see they also plan on bringing out a magazine and, I think, stock photography. I really have no clue, but I hope there’s a place away from the masses just featuring images for those who care about images. They face many challenges, not the least of which will be dealing with AI-generated crap.
Good thing Leica has that content creds thing then. They must have their hands in it. Probably don't want to be too visibly associated in case it doesn't work. Who knows...
I am old, with a failing eyesight. I don't use my phone to look at pictures unless I have no other option. And I am in front of computer with a beautiful big screen more time than I want to admit. All these phone apps without desktop support are not even conversation starters.
wolfloid wrote:
I’m sure for huge audiences, that’s true, but really, how many thinking adults want to be part of that frenetic noise, unless they are desperate to promote themselves?
Others, as panos.v and others have suggested, may be looking for a quieter corner. Not everything has to be mainstream, commercial, jarring, addictive distraction, or a dopamine flow.
You're missing the point of the argument. I'm talking about making a platform viable. Advertisers want mainstream addictive content. I can confidently state that there is no way this new app will make enough in reoccurring income to stay afloat for anything but a short time.
I don't wish it. I'm a stills only shooter. But I don't see it working.
I don't think people have moved on from stills. Quite the opposite, really--most people's phones are drowning in stills with thousands of images and they take more and more each day. More people are taking more still images than ever before, and the taking of pictures has become more firmly woven into most people's everyday life. Taking multiple still pictures is a daily activity for most folks.
It might be a question whether there is a way to build a commercial business out of those billions of still photographs, a way of connecting them to each other. Beyond Meta's businesses, that is an open question. But still photography is actually bigger than it has ever been, though it uses the technology of phones rather than cameras.
stgrove wrote:
I only started to watch AS YT videos because he mainly uses the 24/1.4 which is the same lens I prefer for candid work.
Are some jealous here because of his early fame with music and then Leica picking him up as a good person to further their marketing scheme? I see some sharp wording from some from time to time.
I don’t know if there is a better Leica lens than the 24 1.4-
Maybe the 50 Lux but oh man- it’s close. Love that lens!!!!
Alan Schaller’s new photo sharing site
