By Ian Hollidae, 2025/09/16

I've written before about why blogging on the web is still a great path. It seems I'm not the only one who thinks this. An interesting blog post, "No, RSS isn't dead", outlines a number of really good reasons why. One particular point caught my attention:

You're exposed to the remnants of the indie web. These are the people who are still creating cool stuff and sharing it because they want to, the people who don't know or don't care about SEO, the people you could have discovered in search results a decade ago but who have now been shunted down to page 25 by a massive fatberg of over-optimised content. They were probably on Twitter ten years ago but have now walked away in disgust. When you find someone like this today, you need to follow them because you won't find them again. RSS can help with that. In an age when search results have become polluted by SEO spam, think of RSS as an anti-SEO strategy.

I admit, I like the term "indie web". There's something underground-ish about it. It also reminds me of why I started Chromalucent in the first place, even though I'm not really a natural writer. Having a space where I can post all sorts of things without worrying about algorithms, likes, and memes seems like it should be the future. At least it did years ago when RSS was more widely in use. Sure, going it alone has downsides. You have to find ways to generate your own traffic. You have to manage site features on your own. And if you want to monetize your outlet, you'll have a harder road because there may not be as many available options.

On the other hand, I don't see these issues as downsides. Going your own way is just the flip side of the social media dynamic. Breaking through the endless noise, trying to differentiate yourself within popular memes, and dealing with the corporate limitations on the space allotted are all things that remain roadblocks with today's social media scene.

So will RSS-style content consumption make a comeback?

Maybe if a platform can capture more of the original web experience without the supposed handicaps. Maybe if readers and writters continue to get fed up with the current monotonous nature of social media. Maybe if everyone decides a more organic approach to online consumption is a better way forward. Sure, there's a chance. After all, the "indie web" never really went away and I don't think it'll be leaving us any time soon.

Tags: Blogging

By Ian Hollidae, 2025/09/06

I've been reevaluating everything related to my photography project for past couple of weeks. Mainly, I've been asking questions about the future direction I want the project to take, including the question of what have I learned from my experience. It's probably the type of evaluation one might expect from a relative beginner.

Thankfully, I've come up with a few answers.

What I primarily learned is that I don't have to be bad at photography. Constant practice makes a far bigger difference than simply soaking up YouTube tutorials. In the early days of the project, I took a lot of photos. Over time, I took fewer and fewer photos but not because I didn't find anything to shoot. I stopped filling up my allotted photography time taking random pictures with filling up the time trying to see shots. The spray and pray approach became inefficient.

Another thing I learned was that having your own space to post photos is a big benefit. I do have a Flickr account, and briefly had an Instagram account, but the social media aspect of photography hasn't been what I originally hoped for. One of the main goals of my project was to gain some real feedback on what I was doing. More often than not, what happens is a few "Nice shot" comments which are appreciated but aren't all that helpful. There might be some forum out there where deeper interaction happens, but so far, I haven't found it. So I decided if I'm not getting extended feedback, I might as well get rid of other things such as format and compression restrictions. Everything posted here is displayed exactly as I want it. No need to compromise.

In the end, the biggest lesson learned is that regardless of standard rules or conventions, the end result is all that matters. Obviously, the rules are time tested and exist for a reason. But after all the effort of taking and editing a photo, if you can view your work with some level of satisfaction, that might be the most important thing anyone can have.

For now, I'm still happy with the current project direction of learning photography.

Tags: Photography

By Ian Hollidae, 2025/08/28

A number of years ago, before I started a beginners photography project, I made a far less organized attempt at taking pictures. Shortly after Flickr became popular, I bought a FujiFilm S3000 (FinePix) point and shoot. I knew absolutely nothing about photography. And since there wasn't a wealth of photography information at the time, learning was slow. Although I enjoyed myself, the effort eventually fizzled.

Fast forward to 2025 and I'm buying a USB to USB-C converter for my MacBook to use some old thumb drives. It occurred to me that my old camera connector was USB. But where was the cable? Fortunately, it was neatly coiled up in storage.

Obviously, while going through the old photos, I found that most shots were useless. But there were a few close and could-have-been shots as well. I remember taking this one. It was a street side restaurant with a glass enclosed patio. I even remembered the original title, so I used it for this post.

In the end, it was good to look back and gain a new perspective on current photography efforts.

Photo Only

This post is a continuation of the Beginners Photography Project.

Tags: Feature Photos

By Ian Hollidae, 2025/08/20

Does anyone remember Digg? It was one of the first news aggregators on the web. For the most part, it followed the familiar dot.com overeach story: got popular, made changes no one liked, fizzled, then got bought out. Apparently, there's an attempt at a comback. The quote from their beta-test page:

Humanity at the core. Technology at the edges.
We're building a human-first community platform that places authentic community and connection at the forefront. From day one.

The obvious question is how will this new version be any better than the last. And will it be any better than what's available. If new Digg can't solve the major issues plaguing current social media sites, such as gaming the system which was a huge problem on early Digg, then this announcement might as well be some nameless company jumping into the fray.

Tags: Social Media

By Ian Hollidae, 2025/08/14

I'm not sure if this statement is any more true now than previous end-of-Kodak statements but here's what they're telling Wall Street (via DPReview):

In its earnings report, the company warned that it doesn't have "committed financing or available liquidity" to pay its roughly $500 million in upcoming debt obligations ... "These conditions raise substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern"

-- Kodak CEO Jim Continenza

Kodak is the one company that should have thrived in the era of digital photography. If they really do fold, I doubt it would have any effect on the photography industry. But could we say it doesn't matter?

UPDATE: Kodak has apparently responded to initial reports of its demise in a press release.

Tags: Photography

By Ian Hollidae, 2025/08/07

This is the entrance to the recreation center of a local park. It was closed down during COVID and remained closed for quite some time while undergoing renovation.

When I took this shot, I was conducting a photography project capturing windows and door knobs. The fact that the handle was broken was a bonus. Glad I caught it before work crews fixed it.

Photo Only

This post is a continuation of the Beginners Photography Project.

Tags: Feature Photos

By Ian Hollidae, 2025/07/30

I've been finding a lot of decorative rocks as of late. But unlike the last one i posted, which had a more chiseled surface, I found the random "veins" interesting. The cloudy conditions also muted the colors somewhat, eliminating all the bright spots and small shadows.

Select a thumbnail to see a preview.

Download the Drizzled texture set under Creative Commons (CC BY 4.0).

Tags: Textures

By Ian Hollidae, 2025/07/24

A recent Wall Street Journal article, How YouTube Won the Battle for TV, highlights how Hollywood is losing the battle against YouTube. The following sums things up:

For most of the past 20 years since it was founded, YouTube was an alternative to television, a home for cheap, low-quality ephemera like how-to videos and skateboard tricks that Hollywood worried was distracting people from real entertainment. YouTube started as a website to watch videos on PCs. It made its way onto televisions in 2010, but the interface was clunky. By the 2020s, a generation that grew up watching internet videos alone on their phones and tablets began watching YouTube together in their living rooms and with their own children.
...
In the process, [YouTube] became a media juggernaut. MoffettNathanson analysts estimate YouTube's revenue last year was $54.2 billion, which would make it No. 2 among entertainment companies, behind only Disney.

I could waste a lot of words on the disconnect between Hollywood and the so-called amateurs but what would be the point. Hollywood spent hundreds of millions of dollars (or more) trying to be the next Netflix. They spent practically nothing trying to meet the YouTube challenge. I'm guessing somewhere down the line, YouTube might just swallow Hollywood whole.

As for the average daily YouTube viewer, we just keep on watching.

Tags: Streaming

By Ian Hollidae, 2025/07/14

And just like that, I've been blogging on Chromalucent for a year. As someone who isn't a natural writer, this has to be viewed as an accomplishment. To be honest, I didn't think I'd get this far. Glad I was wrong.

I wrote a while back about my blogging efforts. I can't say that anything has changed. I do wonder if had chosen to blog on Twitter/X, as opposed to going my own way, would I have lasted this long. While Twitter/X has plenty of people, cutting through the noise requires a different set of posting tactics. I guess I could add Twitter/X as an outlet and find out but I think a traditional blog is enough.

And now, on to year two.

Tags: Blogging

By Ian Hollidae, 2025/07/07

Unlike a lot of my early cloud photos, lucking into the shot, I was ready for the possibility of this photo. Definitely a step forward in my photography.

Storm conditions of the previous two nights were more or less the same for this night as well. I knew exactly where to be, and when, so it was simply a matter of waiting (and staying dry). Once it was all over, editing wound up being straight forward. This version is one of the dramatic preset filters.

So chalk up another win for planning and organization. Don't let anyone tell you they're not important.

As a side note, this picture is part of the 3D photo presentation, "Between The Clouds".

Photo Only

This post is a continuation of the Beginners Photography Project.

Tags: Feature Photos