Joining the team: How to become a Macfilos author

Want to become a Macfilos author? Macfilos is an entirely voluntary organisation, and we rely on an enthusiastic team of authors from around the world. Many of them started writing first for Macfilos and have since developed to the extent that their articles are in demand from other photographic sites. It’s a rewarding pursuit and one that clearly brings a lot of pleasure to our authors.

Would you like to join the team? To paraphrase Winston, we can offer nothing but blood, sweat and tears, although all are metaphorical. It’s actually a very congenial process with absolutely no tears, and we are here to help.

Our most prolific contributor, John Shington from New South Wales, pictured here on a recent visit to London. John has written no fewer than 119 articles for Macfilos, many of them featuring the Leica X1. As a result, he become known on these pages as Mr X1 (Image Mike Evans).

Getting started as a Macfilos author

There is no big trick to becoming a Macfilos author. All you need are a few ideas, a potential theme and a few photographs to illustrate what you have to say. The main requirement is that there should be a story — perhaps a review of a camera or lens, a travel memoir, or a photographic project. We are not looking for exhibition-type photography if that’s a worry. Our photographs are mainly illustrations for a story rather than exhibits in their own right. There are other photographic sites for showing off your pictures.

Nor do you need to be a good writer. Ideas, bullet points and opinions are the important criteria. Our team can assist with the writing (or rewriting if necessary) provided we have a good theme and some passable illustrations. Ideally, an article could be about 1,000 words in length and set out logically. We will help with the all-important introduction and conclusion; we’ll add subheadings and generally make things presentable.

Gear reviews

Opinion on cameras, lenses, and accessories is always a good theme for Macfilos. Gear reviews tend to be the most-read articles on the site, and always attract more and more readers over weeks and months after publication. We are interested in opinions on all Leica equipment, from 1920s models through to the latest digitals. Film-camera stories are always a hot topic. But we take an interest in other brands of equipment, including Panasonic, Sigma and OM Systems. Stories featuring fixed lens compact cameras such as the Ricoh GRIII or the Fujifilm X100 series are sure to get the readers rolling in. They are currently a hot property and there is great interest in selecting, buying and using any of these popular shooters.

Who are our Macfilos authors?

William Fagan is a world-renowned expert on old Leicas. He is one of our most frequent contributors

Believe it or not, we have over 100 authors on our books. Many no longer write, but a significant number are regulars and continue to keep our readers entertained. By far the most prolific contributor is John Shingleton who lives in Australia. John has written over 100 articles, and you can read them all here. William Fagan, a renowned expert on vintage Leica cameras and lenses, has written nearly sixty articles, and along the way has become an honorary Macfilos staff member. We turn to William whenever we need coverage of an auction or background information on vintage equipment. William was also responsible for the Swiss Roll series of articles, which brought in more readers than any other feature in the blog’s history.

Some contributors have websites of their own and allow us to adapt their articles to suit our audience. In so doing, they add readers to their site and enjoy greater exposure. Included in this category are Claus Sassenberg of Messsucherwelt in Germany and Erwin Hartenberg from the Netherlands.

If you run a successful photographic website, why not get in touch? We can adapt your articles and enjoy reciprocity.

Where in the world are you?

Macfilos has a world-wide readership. While most of our readers tend to come from English-speaking countries such as the USA, Canada, and Australasia, we have a keen following in Europe (especially Germany because of our Leica content and association with the German site, Messsucherwelt). But many readers come from the Far East, especially Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan.

We would love to have more contributors from the Far East, where interest in photography runs high, and from where many of our most popular products emanate. Perspectives on the photographic market from Japan, China, or Korea would be of great interest to other Macfilos readers. If you have something to say, but are not fluent in English, write in your language and, between us, we can translate and add an impressive touch of colloquial style.

Building up Macfilos author portfolio

Several of our regular contributors have been with us for up to ten years and have contributed many articles to build up a portfolio of reference material that is useful for both readers and the authors themselves. The first article is always the most difficult, but from then on (as our contributors will tell you) it becomes easier every time. You will also build up a reputation among readers and become a familiar voice on Macfilos. Above all, contributing to Macfilos will give you a new purpose, and an outlet for your photography and your ideas on photography, as well as the all-important gear that goes with it.

Macfilos contributor John Shingleton won a photo competition with this picture taken with his Leica X1. The proceeds enabled him to buy a Leica Q

How to contact us

The “Write for us” button below takes you to a detailed page of hints and tips for contributing. We will guide you through the process, and you will receive pre-publication proofs until you are entirely happy with the outcome.

What’s your view on becoming a photography journalist? Are you interested but have reservations about your writing or images, and what people might think? If so, contact us, and we will talk it through. The Macfilos crowd are very even-handed and we get no nasty comments. So the audience is receptive and will love your work.



6 COMMENTS

  1. Maybe I will try to do an article on OM Mark II photography of Peggy’s Cove in Nova Scotia if there is any interest.

    • Absolutely. We are keen on hearing about the OM-1 Mk II. A professional photographer of my acquaintance has just bought a full OM kit for its relative lightness, fast AF and overall appeal. And he has access to just about any Leica camera or lens. His decision has made me think…So yes, bring it on and let’s see something of Nova Scotia where everyone seems to be moving two (I know of two others who have just moved from the west coast). Must be something in it!

  2. I’ll see if I can come up with a couple of “hooks” and get a few things written for you again, Mike. I have an idea or two but I need to settle on the structure and see if it all ties together.

  3. Which reminds me I have two part written articles, and really need to find the time to nail them down and let others consider them, and give an opinion.

    Mike – you may well have encouraged me to blow the dust off my Mac keyboard and put words to screen. I also have a week off coming up in ten days.

    Let me see what I can come up with..

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