Macfilos is twelve today: Five million words on photography and technology

It’s amazing how time passes so fast when you are enjoying yourself. Today Macfilos celebrates its twelfth birthday after starting in August 2008 as an apple-centric blog.

Regular readers will know the story, but I launched Macfilos about the time my first iPhone, the 3G, arrived. In those days Apple was particularly exciting and still something of an outlier in terms of its enthusiast, dedicated following.

Roof goats in Kathmandu (Jean Perenet)
Roof goats in Kathmandu (Jean Perenet)

Over the next three years that changed gradually and, while I have never lost my enthusiasm for the Mac and iOS ways of doing things, much of the pioneering spirit has departed. Apple is now mainstream in more ways than one.

Cows in the Berner Oberland, Switzerland (Mike Evans)
Cows in the Berner Oberland, Switzerland (Mike Evans)

Alongside my passion for technology, I began to nurture my lifelong interest in photography. I returned to Leica with the M8 and, then, the wonderful M9. Gradually, photography started to take over from technology. This led to the current happy mix of camera comment, photography (especially travel photography) and an unrivalled panel of commenters who add enormously to the interest in any subject we care to discuss. Many of them have made the transition to authors, adding their own flavour to the blog.

Cellicebus monkey in Mogo Wildlife Park, Australia (John Shingleton)
Cellicebus monkey in Mogo Wildlife Park, Australia (John Shingleton)

So, I hope you will all join me in wishing Macfilos a happy birthday. Between us, we have published 5,087 articles and churned out over five million words. The pictures I’ve lost count of but, these days, I try never to publish an article without some form of illustration.

We are constantly seeking new contributors who can add a fresh angle with their opinions and experience. Why not consider becoming a Macfilos contributor? There’s no financial reward, of course, but you do get the satisfaction of becoming part of the ever-growing Macfilos community. You will also meet new friends all over the world.

43 COMMENTS

  1. Michael, I came to your site relatively recently and so as a newbie I held back at first but, if not too late, I would like to offer not only my congratulations on Macfilos reaching this superior highly composite number 🙂 but also to echo what many others here have said and that it is a real pleasure to read articles and comments which are knowlegeable, polite and nuanced.

    Best

    Richard

    • Many thanks, Richard, and I hope you will be encouraged to stay with us for the long term. As the site principal, I gain a lot of pleasure from the extended Macfilos community which now spans every continent in the world. Cameras and photography know no boundaries. We hope to hear from you further and that you will become a regular commentator. Or, even, one of our authors so you can add your own angle on something that interests you.

  2. I WOULD SING HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIKE MARILYN MONROE DID TO JFK, BUT THAT WOULD BE OVER THE TOP!!!!WELL EARNED ACCOLADES!

    • Yes, I have to keep KBO in mind all the time. But thanks for all your unfailing support over many years. You are one of out oldest (in service, that is) commenters and you can always be counted on for a novel take on things. Mike

  3. Congratulations Mike, my apologies I took a couple of days out, as first long weekend in years where I didn’t have to be on call.

    This is some major achievement, and I count Macfilos as the reason I bought a Leica X, and the reason I write about my photographic journey.

    Let’s hope it keeps going.

    Dave

  4. Congratulations — belated because in New York – but my afternoons would be bereft without you and your friendly contributors – so many interesting topics, so many great photographic sagas, and such great hands on reviews
    Thanks a million Mike!

  5. Congratulations Mike for your Macfilos’ 12th birthday and TYVM for all your dedication and inspiration. We look forward to future birthdays and wonder what Apple, Leica, et al have in store for you to review. Best Wishes and Good Luck for the future.

  6. Happy 12th, Mike. Compared to so many other sites/forums out there the community you’ve built here on Macfilos is a unique one. So happy to be part of it for awhile now and, more recently, to have become a contributor.

    Here’s to many more years.

  7. A heartfelt “thank you” from me also. Mike, you are doing a wonderful job as a quality-driven editor let alone the effort of making sure to publish daily. Having developped from a regular reader to a every-now-and-contributor, I am happy to be part of this freindly and open-minded community. Such an atmosphere has become a rarity in the often toxic filter bubbles of our time. Congratulations… and dear fellow readers, please feel encouraged to consider giving some support to Macfilos and Mike personally. Is is not so difficult to write an article for instance and Mike will give generous help as an editor. Hey, if manage to offer some articles as a not-native speaker, many of you will have far less effort in writing!

    • Good point on contributing, J-P. I suspect some would-be contributors are out off because they think they are not natural writers or world-class photographers. But that shouldn’t be a bar. This is not a “look what a good photographer I am” type of site. I value stories, a good angle, something unusual, with a few appropriate illustrations. A picture doesn’t have to be a work of art to tell a story. And, of course, I will edit and rewrite if necessary.

      As for your articles, you write English better than many native speakers. I wish my German grammar (a lost cause after all these years) were as good as your command of English.

  8. Congratulations Mike! I found this site about 4 years ago and it had been a refreshing, inspiring, and insightful journey. I read very few blogs due to them being negative, superficial drivel, or worse yet incorrect. Your blog is supremely professionally done and you have attracted a group of people that can have different opinions at times but manage to be respectful – a truly unique experience on the internet. Thanks! Brian

  9. Happy birthday to Macfilos! I am so pleased to see that the reader community has been growing so rapidly over the last few years. Macfilos is always my must-read website, not only because of its consistently high-quality content, but also I appreciate the respectful and wise comments from the readers. (It’s such a breezing space indeed comparing with other platforms such as twitter and reddit)

    Thanks for running such an amazing blog and I always look forward to the next article!

    • Thank you Joe. The restrained comments section is something of a mystery in that we get hardly any intemperate responses. Everything is reasoned. And it five year I have only had to delete a couple of insulting or angry responses from casual visitors. We do have spam protection, of course, and that removes several hundred comments a month. But all are genuine spam.

  10. Congratulations, Mike, from the other side of the North Sea. I discovered Macfilos fairly late, but it is my daily click, and I have also had much pleasure in trawling the archives. Haven’t read everything……yet…….

    • I sometimes cringe when I go back over the archives. Many over-processed photos (something in which Car Sassenberg covered in an article, many of are guilty) and some fatuous opinions (from me). But, overall, it is an achievement I am proud of. Macfilos as turned into a perfect retirement hobby.

  11. Happy 12th birthday to Macfilos, Mike. It’s a wonderful – and quite unique – site to check in on each day. Thanks for all the time and effort you put into it.

    Regards and best wishes.

  12. Congratulations on the twelve years Mike and here’s to the next twelve of informative and entertaining articles.

  13. Fulsome congratulations, Mike on 12 years of high standard blogging. As Farhiz says Macfilos is a rare sanctuary on the internet where civility still reigns.
    As my personal, and much more modest blog, is approaching ten years of age I can appreciate how much effort has to go into keeping a blog going at the pace you set in Macfilos.
    Here’s to a few more years of Macfilos and may all your EV charging points work and your future holiday breaks be dry or at least not too wet.

    • And thank you, John, for your unfailing support. You were one of the very first regular authors, after Bill Palmer who is now too occupied with his new business to be able to write. Slowly, over the years, we have built up a good little community. This is worth far more than page clicks and I have no wish or need to turn Macfilos into a commercial site. Mike

  14. Congratulations Mike and a big thank you for doing what you do. I’m a newbie here but have enjoyed every day of it. Macfilos is one of the very few places on this world wide web that can lay claim to civil discourse, polite opinion and dashes of humour. Cheers.

    • Thank you, Farhiz. Although you are a relatively new author, your articles and photographs have provided us all with a unique view of India. Having never been to India, I am fascinated by the breadth and scope of the country.

      Mike

  15. Hi Mike, thank you for providing this wonderful site and the contents. I think I’ve been following your site for the last 5 years at least. Not sure how I found it, but it has found a place in my few bookmarks and I visit it almost every day looking for a new article or a review.
    What interested me was a very simple looking website with great content and articles written in personanable style.

    • Thank you, Mahesh. I think your comment illustrates the attraction of Macfilos. Thanks to our band of authors, there is a wide variety of subjects, supported by thoughtful and moderate comments. Mike

  16. 12 Years old, Congratulations. Does that mean we can all now wear long trousers?

    Best Wishes to all.
    William

  17. Congratulations Mike!

    I started following this site about 2 years ago and I have been visiting it several times per week. Macfilos is an unique site, it is a good mixture of photography, gears, history, travel and technology all together. The multi-author style also introduces a diversity of ideas, perspectives and point of views. I am looking forward to many more interesting articles and fun interactions with everyone here! Be safe and healthy everyone =)

    Yours Truly,

    • Good to hear from you, Patrick, and I hope you will feel free to comment again and add to the various discussions. The comments section is sometimes more interesting than the main article and I’ve learned a lot from the many opinions and insights over the years.

    • Thank you, Jean. But it wouldn’t have been possible to continue for all this time if it hadn’t been for the increasing contribution of writers such as you. I can take things a little easier, without letting the standards lapse.

  18. Well done, Mike. No mean achievement. But I thought you were supposed to be away on holiday. Clearly you forgot to leave your iPhone behind. Back to the start line and pay the Bank 200 of whatever you have in your pocket.

    • Many thanks, David. I was back in London in time to write this morning’s piece. My long-anticipated break in the Peak District turned out to be wet, wet, wet. After all the excellent weather we’ve had earlier this month, the last week proved to be quite autumnal. Instead of being out and about, I had to spend more time indoors than I would have wished. I didn’t get much photography done, either, and that is something I had been looking forward to. With no events or fairs this year, it’s been poor pickings for photography.

    • Thank you, Don, and I’m glad that Macfilos has provided us with an opportunity to renew our friendship of sixty years. My life is certainly richer for having had the opportunity to make new friends all over the world.

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