The Online Photographer

I would up my Patreon contribution.

You are a good writer!
Your funniest post, in my humble opinion, was one describing the streets in your old town before your move to upstate NY.
A good story is always enjoyable regardless of subject. Similar to have a really good teacher that can make any subject interesting. But with a boring teacher, no matter your own interest in the subject, it will be boring.

Consider placing that new material on Substack.
The combination of free and subscriber content appears to provide writers with an opportunity to grow an audience and realize an income.
You could carry on for several years simply updating and revising the off-topic essays which have appeared on TOP. Not that this would be the main thrust, but how many writers interested in creating new content have such a backlog of existing material ripe for republication?
There’s nothing wrong with repurposing the copyright content you’ve already created. With an easy-going weekly schedule you could crank out all the new stuff you want - timely, topical to the degree that appeals - yet never fret about hitting a dry spell thanks to your mile-long shelf of evergreens.

I'm not a Patreon supporter, so probably irrelevant to your decision. Nonetheless, you asked, so I'll answer. I'd delete the TOP bookmark if it wasn't primarily about photography. I skim but only sometimes read your off-topic posts completely.

I like the idea. You might try going back through the TOP articles you wrote and TOP articles written by others and rank and compare readership numbers. Perhaps this would be a step toward distilling an essence as to what is attracting and holding readership. In my case I am with Edward Taylor: I love your writing first, however, it is inextrictably wound around the material that is the subject of your myriad narratives. I'm in it for the photograpy too. In addition to your writing which I find so attracting, you also provide a great perspective on the subject matter, even though I might already "know" what you are talking about.
There could be other reasons for the dwindle in support. What's going on here? I am a late comer to this site (as of about a year at the most). As such I have spent a lot of time going back through the CATEGORIES. Comparing some of the past to some of the present - it seems to me (and it might be just me) that you see yourself in the twilight of this enterprise? More excitement before and a lettle less now. Is it the chicken or the egg? You are only 65 for christ's sake!. I'd like to see keep going and get bigger. Send me the appropriate info to commit to some support.

While it’s photography that brought me here and keeps me coming back, I do enjoy your off-topic posts. If you start a more general blog I’ll certainly follow you there and would make a contribution to support it. I consider my current contribution to be just a subscription like I would pay for a magazine in days of old. “Wither thou goest…”

Hi Mike,

Longtime listener, occasional caller....

You are definitely worth following. So count me as one who would (i) continue my monthly Patreon support for The Online Photographer even if there were only an average of two new posts a week, AND (ii)read a separate all-topic blog of yours.

Cheers,
Mike Giovinazzo

During my work hours, I'm completely glued to the computer. Being able to switch to an engaging article helps break up the monotony of my workday.

I'd be an enthusiastic reader of your blog if it covered a wide range of subject -- just not politics. If you delve into political commentary, you'll definitely lose me as a follower. Today, I politely requested a friend to quit sending me political memes; they don't amuse me and actually make me think less of him for being immature.

Could you manage two separate blogs effectively?

I've always thought you did well because you were a genuinely nice guy who is interested in interesting things and you write well. I enjoy the photography stuff but if I had to pick one I'd choose off topic.

I wish I could be more optimistic, but I doubt a general blog would get any traction. I would read it, but generally blogs are becoming a thing of the past.

There may be other platforms, such as Medium, where you could post your writing and start charging once you have a following.

Knowing you by now, there’s also the issue how you would juggle all these things.

Unlike Mike, I don't know a lot about photography and would like to continue reading more about photography with a bit of Off Topic sprinkled in.

FWIW Mike, I enjoy the photography content the most, but I also simply enjoy your writing, plus I love learning new stuff.

Photography, like music, and other arts in general, can never be completely mastered in a lifetime, so I veer a little from your reader Edward Taylor.

I'm in between work at the moment yet I sincerely want to jump on the Patreon bandwagon. I start my next gig Tuesday morning of next week, in California, but whatever direction your site takes I'll continue as a loyal reader.

I personally find your photographic content, and the comments arising from it, much the most interesting part of this blog.

I would certainly continue to read what you write every day if you did as you propose here. Your website has become a daily habit for me, and I suspect for a lot of people. I would anticipate that you would still touch on photography regularly since that is an area of your expertise. I have always enjoyed your off-topic posts. Also, I could recommend your site to a lot more people if it weren't just about photography.

Either way, I would also be willing to be a Patreon (again). (By the way, I never intentionally stopped being a Patreon. Apparently, my credit card expired and payments stopped. I didn't realize this until recently.)

I personally like the content mix the way it is (really unique!) and value your photo related posts but am growing tired with the page desigh and navigation. I guess I'd like something more engaging visually, with perhaps available galleries/collections (bakes dozens, critiques, random excellence...). Without turning it into a gallery either! Still vague as I haven't fully thought about it as it's not my site but yeah, a bit of fresh air. Just my two cents.

Here's a suggestion. Start a second site with a name that reflects its commonality with TOP (perhaps TOC - The Online Curmudgeon) and see how it goes. How many TOP readers go there and stick? How many new readers do you get? What happens to TOP as a result? Which do like writing more?

I started watching a fun YouTube channel called Harry's Garage, about exotic cars. But this Englishman Harry is also a farmer in the Cotswolds. He started a second channel called Harry's Farm. I watched it too, liked it and now follow it too, having always had a mild interest in farming.

This needn't be double the work. It could start as just a segregation of your off topic posts from your photography posts. This who just like TOP could stay here, those who want both could visit both. And eventually maybe there would a substantial readership for just the second site, which might even become the main one if that's where the "market" goes.

Excuse me while I wipe away several tears of helpless laughter. I thought what Edward Taylor proposes is what TOP provides. Photography adjacent topics – and in my Barthesian worldview most anything can be adjacent to the semi-alchemical subject of photography – are a staple and draw of TOP. You have shown that your skill in identifying the 'punctum’ of a photo – the sparks and grace notes that make certain images notable – is equally applied to countless adjacencies.

And while there have been others that have plowed this field (Barthes’ mini-mes like Sontag, Dyer, Dillon, etc.), you are unique among them in your life-long commitment and technical understanding of photography. So TOP is not only a place where we can clustergeek about chromatic aberrations and complementary metal oxide semiconductors, but also a place to get contact highs from your so-called off-topics. But if you are laboring under the delusion that, inflexible as a Dutch shoe, you are assiduously avoiding divigations, then by all means I encourage you to stretch out more here at TOP or elsewhere.

Was it Quodvultdeus who suggested that the best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up?

Your photography writings (and many of your other musings) are geographically agnostic. I read them equally. As a Brit I’d rapidly lose interest if you focussed on general interest topics that were overly US-based - you’ve got a roller-coaster year ahead in US politics but we already hear more than we need!

I would read a blog that covers a range of topics, including thoughts on what is happening in the news. I often find a like-minded soul when you grouse about the things that bug you, like monster sized trucks to get groceries.

I'd like to see comments a bit more free-flowing, where it can be more of a conversation between your readers as we react to opinions. I know "keeping it civil" can be hard for some, but your readers (mostly us older geezers) do pretty well at it.

I, too, am curious what your patreon supporters think. As for me, I'd encourage you to give it a try, but perhaps on a zero-overhead platform like Substack or Medium.

I believe neither platform charges you to publish free-to-read articles. But as I understand it they take very different approaches to monetization. Medium has a paid tier for all readers and gives writers a cut based on how many read their articles, while Substack writers generally bring their own audience and subscribers and pay Substack a 10% cut.

There are other differences, too. One of them may make a lot of sense for what you want to do. Or perhaps neither will, but they seem to be working for some writers, at least, and might be worth a look.

If you rebranded I think you probably wouldn't get any new readers because the category would be too vague. I think you have a nice balance now of photo-related topics with rants and observations that adds a kind of charm to the whole thing.

If you're good at speaking, I'd humbly suggest doing it in podcast form. Podcasts are really in right now, the startup costs are quite modest, the necessary technical knowledge isn't onerous and widely available and certain things like editing can be easily outsourced to professional editors or producers. You can have a second Patreon. And you can cross promote ToP at the end of every episode.

If the writing is what's important, you can write an episode like you do a blog post, go upstairs and record it, edit it yourself or send it to an editor to clean up the audio and then have it out every week or every other week. Because of the longer turnaround time you could do episodes that feature multiple segments like a radio or TV magazine. Or you could write several topics in a week and then record and release multiple episodes at once.

Just an idea.

I read T.O.P. several times a week. The only blog I follow. Been reading since 2009 or maybe even earlier. I always enjoy whatever topic you address. So, yes, I'd read on if you switched to a general-interest format.

About the second issue, discoverability / business model, you're on your own there. You're the expert blogger. Living on your writing as you've done for so long is a true accomplishment. Please don't jeopardize your blog if possible. I often read old posts for fun and find them as informative and enjoyable as the first time 'round.

You write only about people supporting through Patreon. What about income from your affiliate links? How has that been going?

Even if few people are clicking through to B&H to buy $2,500 worth of camera equipment, most folks order regularly from Amazon for a much wider variety of items than the camera shop offers.

Granted, it's harder to do that now, because you have to search through previous posts for a "book o' the week" to be able to link to Amazon through TOP. The Amazon link no longer resides on your main page, and book recommendations aren't coming too often.

Would making it easier to order from Amazon through TOP make an appreciable difference in your income?

My reaction is that you should keep photography related posts at more than 50% of your total. I would in all likelihood continue as a patron if you segued to a new site with general content. But I do not think you will increase your Patreon subscribers by changing to The Online Generalist. Just my gut feeling.

Mike:

What I come here to read just about every day is your wisdom about photography. Unlike some of your readers, I also enjoy the occasional OT column, and I have benefited from your writing about diet and nutrition.

But I'd hate to see the crown jewel of TOP -- your vast experience, that is, with photography -- crowded out by an unlimited number of unrelated topics.

Yes, the rapid development of photo gear has slowed dramatically, meaning there is less that needs to be said about cameras and lenses. But photography, as you often point out, is not about gear. So maybe that's a good thing.

If you're looking for more ideas for posts, I would love to read your considered opinions on the contemporary photography scene. Profiles of or interviews with interesting photographers, from the big stars (the names Eggleston and Wegman come to mind) to the freshly minted MFAs trying to make their names in the world. You'd have to do the onerous work of going to see exhibits on occasion. Such is the price of talent and fame. ;)

Anyway, whatever you decide, keep up the great work.

Bob

I truly enjoy your off-topic posts -- even billiards! So I have had and will have no objection to them.

But I come to TOP primarily for photography. In this world of a million websites, your good taste, your curation, and the context you provide are essential. I can get tech specs elsewhere. I don't want tech specs. I want to understand the gestalt of where this hobby, practice, art, and vocation is going. There is nothing else like TOP.

A TOP with a higher percentage of Open Mike? Sure. A TOP with majority non-photography? I would probably still read every post -- like Mr. Taylor says, you are an excellent writer -- but I would feel the loss.

I’m with David Raboin on this.

Although I’d read your thoughts on the broader topic of Design as well, as I may have mentioned before.

I suspect going off topic more will cause more loss than gain in readership. I read plenty of news/editorial/tech online already.

What I prefer is more photographs - more visual content - those are the posts that I find most interesting. Discussions of subjects, composition, lighting, even the paranoia that makes street photography harder - maybe dangerous some times - are the most interesting to me.

Also encourage reader participation. Years ago I copied the directions to include photos in the comments and have posted some myself. I'd like to see more reader photos in the comments and your responses.

Please don't go mainstream - discussing current events, politics, mankind - it's too easy to slip into the cesspool of the Internet....

You'd be The Offline Photographer.

I came to this site and remain with it because of photography. If you feel you have exhausted that topic then maybe I'm exhausted too. That's not to say I don't think you're a good and interesting writer, it's more that there are few thoughtful photography blogs to turn to.

I'm with Bob Keefer on this, as a ~15 year reader of TOP and modest Patreon supporter. I enjoy most OT posts, but photography is why I'm here. Posts about the craft of photography specifically, as I'm less interested in gear. Not simply the technical craft but how to think about what we do when we go out to take photographs* and broader cultural issues concerning photography. When you seem particularly engaged and that then pulls in your commentators, the power of this corner that you've cultivated really shines. (Been around long enough to recognize many of the regulars, and I really pay attention to them.)

*I've long wished for you to do a series of "return-to-roots" posts/recycled posts: thoughts on exposure, composition, tonal range, contrast,...not what-to-do, per se, but how making this or that choice can draw a viewer into or change an impression of a photo. Posts where you explore a photographer's choices or create your own examples have helped me tremendously. I came into photography by feel and intuition. It's taken me decades to become more thoughtful about settings > shutter > print to understand a sense of the practice of photography. I search TOP to find past examples but even a refresh of prior posts with the added benefit of your perspective today, I would love.

Finally, kindly excuse the suspicion, but I've hung around enough to bet on how one aspect will play out: You'll start up Blog/Substack #2, and over there find yourself one day creating an OT post or some story invariably winds its way over to being about...Photography. I'm just sayin'...

I enjoy your off-topic posts as much as the photography posts, sometimes more so, and have no problem with them being on this blog.

When it comes down to business, the question is: would you end up with more paying customers from two blogs, each updated less often, than you would from the current photography-and-off-topic blog?

It sounds like some people are put off by the off-topic posts here. Would they be happier with - and as many of them pay for - a photography-only blog that updates half as often?

It would, I fear, be hard to build a following for a general interest blog. Fewer people read blogs these days, as you know, and while there are still thousands of them, there's less of a "blogging ecosystem" to generate interest and traffic for new ones.

As some have suggested, an email newsletter might be a better option (it can still be readable on the web, but its focus is more "sign up to receive emails). I'd avoid Substack personally - I do not trust this venture-capital-funded company not to switch focus and business models over time, much as Medium often does. But there are plenty of alternatives. I have used, and like, Buttondown who recently put together this calculator of the costs of different platforms https://buttondown.email/comparison-guides/take-rates

Yes! I'm one of your littler Patreon supporters and I read you for your writing as much - or more - than the photography content itself. Maybe consider a more modern platform like Medium or Substack. It might help with promotion. A good example is George Saunder's StoryClub substack which has a free Thursday post and a paywalled weekend post (which, incidentally, you might enjoy).

Does the slide in contributors correlate with the straying off-topic? There's your answer. If there's one thing that this little world says in spades, it's that the generalist is master of nothing and fails. If you want to quit, quit. If you want to turn your meandering subject matter into a hobby, 'whatever'. But if people are leaving, it's because you have been, so if you need this to be your income, drifting would be a terminal swan-dive into a world already over-populated with meaningless, needless, aimless etc etc (most of which is FREE, to boot). 'The Online Photographer' has been drifting off-course to the point that its raison d'etre has been so shafted that you are staring the figures in the face and yet still can't add 2+2... resulting in a post that is only seeming to ask 'which barrel should I use?'. If you want to talk about teabags, find a neighbour, but I wouldn't expect them to pay for the conversation if I were you - and that's what you're expecting here with this 'plan'...

I read and enjoy 98% of your writing on any subject, but a large part of TOP's success, I think, is what your readers contribute. Your ability to elicit and feature the best stuff from readers is a true skill. Sometimes you even link to other photographers' work. I spent a chunk of my morning going through Mike Peters's photos.

Since my name has been mentioned in the comments, I'll comment ;~).

Yes, you write well about non-photography subjects. You also write well about photographic subjects, particularly when it comes to viewing/output.

The risk you take—and you've already gone considerably down this path—is that you're catering to three customers: (1) photography only; (2) off-topic writing (opinion) only; and (3) will read anything MJ-created.

#3 is smaller than #1 used to be. #2 is of unknown size, and requires more marketing to know how it might grow. See the problem?

Whatever you decide, quality content is the only form that ever endures, so you also have to ask yourself if you are providing enough quality (and quantity) for #1, #2, or #3.

There's a case for splitting out and having two sites (OP and OC, as someone suggested), but then you have two mouths to feed.

I co-sign Edward Taylor's idea:

I will come here just the same, to read about photography or about any other topic. Photography is what brought me here, but what keeps me coming back is your writing. So feel free to write about anything, as far as I am concerned, becuase I will continue being your reader.

I've always felt that the OT posts would not be all that OT if you would include some of your photographs that are related. It is easy to fall into the excuse that writing does not leave time to photograph.

Back when I did a photoblog for friends, sometimes I felt I was accumulating photographs just so I could later write. If the topic is far OT, there's always substack, a fine platform for that. But then you will have two jobs to do then.

I've really enjoyed your blog over the years, and I'll continue the support, no matter the decision.

Mike: I think I know enough of your sensibilities by now to know that there is a pretty healthy overlap in our worldviews' Venn diagrams. :) And I feel a little out of place giving advice, or a reaction, to your professional plans. You must, of course, do what you think is the best fit for you, for your vision of the world, and for your "art." I include your website/postings in that last -- as it is quite an impressive accomplishment. Look out Samuel Pepys!

To the extent that it matters (and it may not at all, which is fine), my vote would be for "Photography Plus Other Topics" rather than "Here's What's On My Mind, Plus Photography Topics." TOP has a brand -- maybe a micro brand, but a brand nonetheless, and it would be a shame to jettison the goodwill generated here (both in the IP sense of "the reputation that goes along with that brand" and in the sense of the emotional response you have earned from your readers over the years).

That said, you have to put bread on the table. I'll be interested in what you have to say either way.

I am a small amount Patreon supporter. I visit your site almost every day to see what's new with you and TOP readers. I do enjoy your OT posts, sometime very much but I might not be as interested if photography was not the main topic. I do understand that you have a lot of topics you would like to write on and hopefully you can find a way to find more outlets for those type of posts.

Just so you know, I will continue my Patreon support either way you decide to go. I am more likely to increase that monthly support if photography remains the focus of TOP. I do agree with a few of the other folks that keeping the comments more up to date would be good for TOP. It is too bad that moderating the comments takes away some of your writing time.

I am with you Mike, whatever you decide is best for you.

Rob Griffin

My two cents: I enjoy your OT posts almost as much as I do your photography posts, and I particularly appreciate they way they situate your interest in photography within the context of a full, rich life - which is exactly how I have experienced photography over the decades.

If you decide to stick with the current format, that'll suit me just fine. If you decide to experiment with a new format, I will most definitely check it out, and I expect I'll find it very worthwhile. Either way, I'll keep reading as long as you keep writing.

Thanks for all your excellent work :-)
Dan

I've been one of your Patreon supporters since 2017 and was reading TOP regularly for a good while before that. I don't go back as far as reading the old site when it was running, but I did read every post on it, plus all the earlier posts on this site until I had caught up.

But I've become less and less keen on TOP as the number of off-topic posts has increased. Because of these posts, it often seems that there are days on end when there's nothing here to interest me. I didn't mind the occasional off topic posts, but there are just too many now.

For a photography blog, there are also surprisingly few photographs. Sometimes days go by without any photos, not even ones of cameras.

I'm getting disenchanted with TOP, and I wish I wasn't.

The blog is called "The Online Photographer," not "The Online Guy Who Writes Well and Interestingly About Pool and Jazz and a Healthy Diet, and Sometimes Has Useful Things to Say About Photography."

I strongly recommend that you stay in your lane. Unlike Mr. Taylor, I do not "know almost everything about photography," but if you don't I can't think of anyone else who does, and I have always enjoyed learning more from you. Remember that "photography" is not the same as "imaging technology": some of your most memorable and moving posts have been about pictures you saw and almost took but didn't.

So please keep writing about the infinite universe of Photography, but feel free to write also about yourself, because you're an interesting guy. I may not care specifically about Pool, or Jazz, or Diet, or Sobriety, but I do want to hear about your evenings with the guys at the pool hall, or what you listen to and why, and how you feel when you eat right and stay sober. I read TOP through an RSS reader (Feedly), and if I were notified of maybe three or four posts a week (one of them non-photographic), each written as well as I know you can write when you take your time and edit carefully, I would not only maintain but increase my Patreon support. Which I will anyway.

Photography is still something very special, whether a photograph is "taken" with a cell phone or a Linhof. TOP is equally special; don't mess with it.

Tough choice. Before I give you my 2 cents, please note that it is coming from someone who still cannot understand why the cell/smart phone is such a success. I have one for emergencies only but consider it a nuisance.

I enjoy the current mix of photography and other topics. And within photography, I like the current mix of "techy" vs "arty"; sorry, I don't know how else to phrase that at the moment.

I would not be bothered by an increase in non-photography topics now and then on slow photography news days, but given the state of the online world I would suggest keeping in mind unintended consequences. We live in a world where the comments about an online music video could go wildly political by the end of the first page of comments. But I'm sure you don't need reminding of that; I assume you have to spend quite a bit of time deleting crazy shit from your in-box.

If the non-photography content took off on its own merits, then maybe moving it to its own location (e.g., a previous commenter suggested Substack) might make sense at some point. But would that be like starting a whole new business?

I can add that I like long-form written text and would discourage thoughts of vlogging or podcasting.

First, it wasn't obvious to me that you relied on Patreon for sufficient support to maintain the blog. In my experience, regular reminders from Patreon-supported bloggers/writers/creators are essential to keep up support. In any event, hopefully this has spurred some readers to get involved. It did me.

Second, I'll second (see what I did there?) and multiply by 1000 the idea that if you go off topic, especially if the offtopic expands to politics, you'll disappear. If you were writing just for the sake of writing and communicating with an audience, like Tim V of Leicaphilia (RIP) did, you could say whatever you wanted. There was no business reason for Tim to write what he wrote, and that made his occasional blog a true treasure. He didn't care; unfortunately you need to care since TOP is your main income streams. As others have pointed out, we got on to TOP because of photography. You know more about the history of the medium, think about it with more focus, and have the ability to connect me with it in a deeper way than it's possible to find on the Web. I'm sure it would be interesting to chat with you about snooker-- or maybe it would be as boring as it looks. Either way, if I cared about snooker, or plant-based diets, I'd look it up on my own.

I do have a suggestion and it comes other commenters' mention of Kirk Tuck and the late Tim V. I confess I find his blog boring and mostly unreadable. But every once in a while Kirk will let go and get cranky about something or someone, showing the person behind the mask. Those are the only posts worth reading.

Tim's blog was the inverse, mostly his views with a smattering of other things. Do that more Mike. Not the sad Mike but the opinionated Mike. Just tie it to photography. There is plenty to dislike, to have a strong opinion about.

The idea of Substack is a good one but probably not for you. What would be more enjoyable and would build the "community" again is the ability to respond to reader comments, to interact with others. I think the idea of moderation, and especially your sometimes taking days to post, kills many of your posts. Plenty of blogs or Substacks I read and subscribe to on a number of topics have virtually no moderation. It's fine, we're all adults. If someone's out of line so what?

Andy

I would still support you if your switched.

I disagree that that everything about photography has been said. I hope I’m not misunderstanding previous comments.
I’m afraid of the whole idea of artificial intelligence, but it will be part of this continuing conversation. Perhaps photography’s new name should be image capture,- by whatever means.
I think everyone who comes to TOP is looking for honesty, excellent writing a research. I think devoting TOP to a thoughtful discussion of what’s happening in the world of AI, might be a way to extend TOP into the future, and launch a new blog. You could start slowly, by discussing AI on a weekly or monthly basis.
Fred

I used to subscribe to magazines you wrote for and then found you in the digisphere, and I'm subscribing again now with a bit of Patreonizing.

I would probably stay a while if you were even more off-topic, but photography is mainly why I'm here. I don't particularly NEED technical info, as I likely have as much experience as you, having started in the early 50's and spent many decades doing photography professionally plus being a gear head. However, I (nor anyone else) don't know it all and am always eager to learn.

Your strength, Mike, in my opinion is writing about the image, and posts on that topic are what I really come here for. There are never enough for me, but I am grateful for any that you do write. As others have noted, there aren't enough pictures, and those that you do show are rather small and not shown at their best whatever the best may be when presented on a laptop. Your print sales have provided me with a number of different images that I wouldn't have bought on my own.

In any case, you do what you have to do and I certainly don't know what would work best for you. All I've written above is what works best for me.

All of us I think wish you the best in whatever direction you decide to go, and are delighted that you made that wise decision about alcohol 33 years ago!

I enjoy your OT material very much but principally tune in for photography.
With the uptick in interest in film photography perhaps dedicating one day a week to it, one day (or so) to OT and the rest to photography of all kinds in whatever direction your muse takes you.
It sounds strange but tapping your experience with analog photography might attract some younger readers.
There is a lot of shaky advice regarding film out there. Dropping a weekly lesson on the youngsters might grow an audience.
Oh and sorry I said "analog photography".