Blog 1: British Photo History

It might seem odd to have a blog post about a blog. For anyone who doesn’t know, at the start of 2009 I set up a blog focused on British photographic history (BPH), which I continue to edit. At that time social media wasn’t as all-encompassing as it is today and although there was a fairly active photohst newsgroup it was very much focused on the United States. It seemed to me that there was a need for something that brought together news from the British photography sector with a focus on events, exhibitions, jobs and general news. Now, fifteen years later and with over 4000 members (and more readers beyond this) that view seems right.

BPH has a home on a blogging platform called Ning which was original free, but now costs me, and the platform was upgraded last year. It’s not ideal but with 15 years worth of posts it seems a shame to move off it. The blog was was intended to be collaborative with anyone able to post, subject to moderation, and add events and photos relevant to the subject. In reality there hasn’t been as much of that as I would have hoped. I wouldn’t claim to see everything around but I trawl the net and I get referrals from various people.

Over the years BPH has broken a number of stories and added context to changes within the sector and, I think, drawn attention to wider matters of concern. It has raised awareness of conferences, talks and events that might not have been seen, and it has highlighted jobs, exhibitions and online resources in the United Kingdom and internationally.

That need I identified back in 2009 still seems valid.

• British Photographic History blog can be viewed here. Those who join as members (which is free) received an email update every Monday with details of new posts.