Supporting Macfilos: How to keep our photography blog independent

Five keen photographers based in Europe and the USA run Macfilos as a private hobby blog. We all contribute our time, and cash, to keeping Macfilos completely independent, free of advertising and beholden to no one. Nevertheless, costs continue to rise, and the burden falls increasingly on our volunteers. In this article, Mike explains what we do and why we value support from our readers.

I started Macfilos in 2008, first as an Apple-centric blog (hence the name). For the past 13 years, however, Macfilos has focused almost exclusively on photography, though we occasionally stray into esoteric territory we hope readers will enjoy. For some reason, car tests are extremely popular….

Band of regulars

We are grateful to our small band of regular supporters who make regular monthly donations, but currently we are covering under half our actual costs of around £3,000/$4000. The need for additional security measures, expensive hosting costs (as a photographic site, our database is huge) and several vital annual subscriptions means that costs keep rising.

Over the past year, we have been fortunate to have the enthusiastic services of Richard Watts, based here in the UK, who looks after the website, deals with all the WordPress problems and generally keeps things running. He has helped enormously in seeking more efficient ways of running the site, thus helping keep down costs. All for the love of it.

In Europe and USA

I spend a chunk of every day writing and editing, although I do try to get out with a camera or lens to test. That’s the exciting bit of the job. In Germany, we have the services of Jörg-Peter Rau, a professional journalist who has contributed enormously to Macfilos, especially with his popular M Files series.

We are also fortunate to have the professional help of Keith James and Jon Cheffings who are both based in the USA, and coincidentally (although it is not a requirement) are both British-born. Happily, they can still remember enough of the old language to cope with our quirky British English.

Contributing authors

Macfilos is supported constantly by our vast band of authors, who allow us to reproduce their articles and photographs as a valuable contribution to the blog. Over 130 authors have contributed to your enjoyment over the past 17 years. We are grateful to them for their enthusiasm and abilities, which allow Macfilos to explore territory and ideas well beyond the experience of our home team.

Maintaining independence

We aim to make Macfilos even stronger and believe readers appreciate our non-commercial stance, knowing we have no axe to grind and report honestly on the products we review.

The last thing we want is the hassle of using advertising, although switching on Google Ads is the simplest of actions. They’d love us to switch on advertising and, no doubt, would push us up the rankings because it’s in their best interest. It offers an easy solution for our funding problems — on the face of things. Nevertheless, we just don’t think it suits our style, and we know readers would rather avoid intrusive ads.

Despite the regular donations, we are still nowhere near covering our running costs. Currently, we volunteers have to dig into our pockets at the end of the year to make sure we can continue for another twelve months.

Contributions

As I said, we are eternally grateful for our regular contributions, which range from the equivalent of a cup of coffee a month to a substantial amount that can pay for one of the expensive annual subscriptions. We note your support every month. We never forget you, and your continued support renews our enthusiasm each time.

A small monthly amount paid by standing order is particularly helpful

Would you like to help? Every little helps if we involve enough people. Better still, a small monthly amount paid by standing order is particularly helpful and allows us to plan our budget. If you are a PayPal account holder, we accept donations at support@macfilos.com. If not, the donation buttons below offer direct options, including Apple Pay and credit cards. I will write a personal note of thanks to all contributors, however small the amount.

Mike Evans | Editor

The featured image at the top of this article was taken by Mike with a Fujifilm X100VI in September 2025. The superstructure of the popular Hongya Cave (洪崖洞, Hóngyádòng) is in the foreground, in front of the Qiansimen Bridge which crosses the Jialing River in central Chongqing, China.

Here’s how you can help us balance the books

Use the button below to view all the options. Donate a one-off amount, or set up a small monthly payment, which helps us plan our budgets. Choose your currency. For a quick donation, when you’ve enjoyed one of our articles, just buy us a coffee.