Ah, what a rad community! APAD was like a sprawling crab nebula of creativity; a hothouse of smart, sincere critiques and prompts that helped inform incredible work and pulled you deeper into a wild cosmology of deeply caring people persuing truth in beauty. I found many friends, heartfelt debates and important hangs that changed my life.
Thank you M; I share your sense of loss for the array of unique conditions that made that special space spark off and bloom wildly (with loads of loving effort). A legancy of being part of that time is a belief in activating and participating in real life spaces; whether it's a sardine eating club or a doc screening series. In all the little ways and moments, laughter, vulnerable offerings; it adds up, it's enough to feel a bit more alive inside. I'm reminded of my favorite line from Everything Everywhere All At Once, "we're all useless alone. Good thing we're never truly alone."
When I worked in a pro lab, in Soho, London, in the early 90s, there was a community around the lab. Photographers came in, bumped into friends, chatted, checked out each others' take. We had the added advantage of being open 24hrs a day for drop off and/or E6 processing, and we had a few 24hr cafes around us. So photographers would pop in late night, and go socialize with other photographers over coffee and a plate of food while waiting for their E6. Sometimes you'd be standing at the counter next to someone you didn't know and you'd both have pit access passes still stuck to your jeans. Conversations about the nights gigs got started and you retired to Bar Italia to happily kill time. It was just so much fun.
I miss that creative buzz a lot. I mean it was Soho. Central St Martin’s art school was just there on Charing Cross Road, there were three pro labs, and the area was packed with design and ad agencies, tv post shops, record companies and magazine publishers. There used to be a cafe called The Living Room, that was literally like a living room, big old comfy sofas and armchairs. At any time of any day you could go in there and it would be packed with photographers, models, actors, artists and designers, showing portfolios, sharing info, celebrating bookings or consoling over missed jobs. It was an amazing community.
I don't know anyone that likes instagram these days, and despite a few noble efforts to make alternatives (or resurrect APAD like you did a couple years ago), nothing gains traction. Was just lamenting to a friend this week how much harder it is to see photos online now.
I feel this so much. I loved Flickr back in the early 2000s - I met so many wonderful people through groups there. I feel like that was the end of the sweet spot for the internet. Facebook kind of killed its popularity. I'm still there, but I don't see much activity there now from photographers I'm actually interested in following.
I've made a big commitment to at least texting friends on the regular this year (I live across the country from all my bffs from high school, so getting together in person is unfortunately not possible) and trying to set up regular zooms. I've also been investigating stationary subscriptions because I would like to start writing letters again! I am very grateful that at least I grew up before the internet - at least I know how nice life was before it! My friends and I were texting last night about how thankful we are that Ring cameras and cell phone tracking apps didn't exist when we were in high school - they definitely would have put a damper on our activities haha :)
We have a haphazard irregular coffee clatch of a handful of local photographers. I usually send out a text and it takes a few tries to get commitments. When someone suggested expanding it to include more local photographers it became too big a chore. Fostering community and connections is hard these days. I am grateful for the friends I do see in person.
It's almost impossible to overstate how cool APAD was to all of us when we were first getting into photography. I think I was 19 when I joined. Getting to interact on a daily basis with so many people that I held to high esteem was such a learning experience. Thanks for creating it and keeping it going for as long as you did. Forever grateful! 🥹
APAD, Light Stalkers, Sports Shooter all had different communities. Then there were the blogs of the members and blogs by people i didn't know. Felt like Facebook replaced a lot of those channels initially. I have tried following some people on Discord, but I don't need a other platform in my life. Every time I have paused my Instagram usage, my world has felt smaller. That is what is stopping me from deleting that account.
It's true. And I was a part of all of them, some more actively than others. I also miss my RSS feeds and the photo blog scene. But what you hit on with Discord, is how I'm currently feeling about Foto and Flashes. I don't know if I need another platform in my life. I've downloaded them, but don't feel particularly connected to them or feel like I have the energy to invest in cultivating community on yet another social channel.
I had forgotten about bowling alone! It’s more true now than ever. I see in my kids the desire to just be home and on devices. Thankfully it’s often talking to friends, but they don’t feel the need to go out in the world. And I had a conversation with someone just yesterday about the dearth of restaurants and bars in a specific neighborhood, and his argument was “what do you expect, people don’t go out any more.”
I don't have the answers, other than we just do. We have to find a place, make it our third space and invite others into it, or the argument presented to you will prove true.
Ah, what a rad community! APAD was like a sprawling crab nebula of creativity; a hothouse of smart, sincere critiques and prompts that helped inform incredible work and pulled you deeper into a wild cosmology of deeply caring people persuing truth in beauty. I found many friends, heartfelt debates and important hangs that changed my life.
Thank you M; I share your sense of loss for the array of unique conditions that made that special space spark off and bloom wildly (with loads of loving effort). A legancy of being part of that time is a belief in activating and participating in real life spaces; whether it's a sardine eating club or a doc screening series. In all the little ways and moments, laughter, vulnerable offerings; it adds up, it's enough to feel a bit more alive inside. I'm reminded of my favorite line from Everything Everywhere All At Once, "we're all useless alone. Good thing we're never truly alone."
When I worked in a pro lab, in Soho, London, in the early 90s, there was a community around the lab. Photographers came in, bumped into friends, chatted, checked out each others' take. We had the added advantage of being open 24hrs a day for drop off and/or E6 processing, and we had a few 24hr cafes around us. So photographers would pop in late night, and go socialize with other photographers over coffee and a plate of food while waiting for their E6. Sometimes you'd be standing at the counter next to someone you didn't know and you'd both have pit access passes still stuck to your jeans. Conversations about the nights gigs got started and you retired to Bar Italia to happily kill time. It was just so much fun.
That sounds like heaven. I kinda wish we had that here, now.
I miss that creative buzz a lot. I mean it was Soho. Central St Martin’s art school was just there on Charing Cross Road, there were three pro labs, and the area was packed with design and ad agencies, tv post shops, record companies and magazine publishers. There used to be a cafe called The Living Room, that was literally like a living room, big old comfy sofas and armchairs. At any time of any day you could go in there and it would be packed with photographers, models, actors, artists and designers, showing portfolios, sharing info, celebrating bookings or consoling over missed jobs. It was an amazing community.
I don't know anyone that likes instagram these days, and despite a few noble efforts to make alternatives (or resurrect APAD like you did a couple years ago), nothing gains traction. Was just lamenting to a friend this week how much harder it is to see photos online now.
Long live APAD ❤️
✊
I feel this so much. I loved Flickr back in the early 2000s - I met so many wonderful people through groups there. I feel like that was the end of the sweet spot for the internet. Facebook kind of killed its popularity. I'm still there, but I don't see much activity there now from photographers I'm actually interested in following.
I've made a big commitment to at least texting friends on the regular this year (I live across the country from all my bffs from high school, so getting together in person is unfortunately not possible) and trying to set up regular zooms. I've also been investigating stationary subscriptions because I would like to start writing letters again! I am very grateful that at least I grew up before the internet - at least I know how nice life was before it! My friends and I were texting last night about how thankful we are that Ring cameras and cell phone tracking apps didn't exist when we were in high school - they definitely would have put a damper on our activities haha :)
We have a haphazard irregular coffee clatch of a handful of local photographers. I usually send out a text and it takes a few tries to get commitments. When someone suggested expanding it to include more local photographers it became too big a chore. Fostering community and connections is hard these days. I am grateful for the friends I do see in person.
It's almost impossible to overstate how cool APAD was to all of us when we were first getting into photography. I think I was 19 when I joined. Getting to interact on a daily basis with so many people that I held to high esteem was such a learning experience. Thanks for creating it and keeping it going for as long as you did. Forever grateful! 🥹
APAD, Light Stalkers, Sports Shooter all had different communities. Then there were the blogs of the members and blogs by people i didn't know. Felt like Facebook replaced a lot of those channels initially. I have tried following some people on Discord, but I don't need a other platform in my life. Every time I have paused my Instagram usage, my world has felt smaller. That is what is stopping me from deleting that account.
It's true. And I was a part of all of them, some more actively than others. I also miss my RSS feeds and the photo blog scene. But what you hit on with Discord, is how I'm currently feeling about Foto and Flashes. I don't know if I need another platform in my life. I've downloaded them, but don't feel particularly connected to them or feel like I have the energy to invest in cultivating community on yet another social channel.
I had forgotten about bowling alone! It’s more true now than ever. I see in my kids the desire to just be home and on devices. Thankfully it’s often talking to friends, but they don’t feel the need to go out in the world. And I had a conversation with someone just yesterday about the dearth of restaurants and bars in a specific neighborhood, and his argument was “what do you expect, people don’t go out any more.”
I wonder how we fix it?
I don't have the answers, other than we just do. We have to find a place, make it our third space and invite others into it, or the argument presented to you will prove true.