Community in Photography. Why it’s Important and Why It Matters.

If you’ve been here before, you will know that I used to live in London. It was whilst living here that I found my love of photography, but after several, very busy years, I needed a change of scenery and a change of pace so I decided to pack up my things and my move my entire life 260 miles north, to the North West England and set up as a landscape photographer in The Lake District.

Now there isn’t much that I miss about London. I have made the right choice for me, but one of the things that I do miss very dearly is the community of photographers that I was a part of when I lived in the Capital. Not just the people in the communities, many of whom are incredibly talented photographers and videographers, but the sense of community and the sense of belonging to something which is much bigger.

I would regularly attend large group meet ups hosted by bigger organisations and this was a good way for me to do things which were outside of my norm, things such as shooting models or exploring new parts of the country with a bunch of new people. They were also great for networking, something which is missing (in my experience) in landscape photography and is something that I am seeking to address in the future.

These large organised meet-ups were great and were where I met some people who will be lifelong friends of mine. The only downside is that you would have anything up to 200-300 photographers, all shooting the same models/scenes at the same time and this made getting something which was truly original very difficult.

These meet ups and the networking they provided also led to me joining something called “Photobattle London” - a group of photographers who would meet once a month, have two hours to photograph a theme, about 72 hours to edit your best image, submit it for public vote and potentially win a print of it (I won this twice!). This lead to the creation of a WhatsApp group which is one of the most supportive places I have experienced in photography; they really are a great bunch of people, who I have seen properly in way too long!

TL;DR

I miss the sense of community I had as a photographer in London. Landscape photography can be very solitary, especially in places like the Lake District, and I’d like to explore creating a friendly, supportive community where photographers can meet, shoot together, and share the experience. This post is about seeing whether there’s interest in making that happen.

So what is missing?

Landscape photography is so very often a solitary pursuit, and there is a lot to be said for that. It is a great way to get out into nature, to explore and to see what you can create from the incredible places that you find yourself.

I think that added on to the solitary nature of what we do, there is the fact that people don’t want to divulge their best locations (and why should they, they worked hard to find them!), going out as a group and sharing these means that everyone knows where they are and can end up creating ‘honeypots’ of photographers. This isn’t a complaint or a whinge, social media has created a monster in terms of giving people an easy way to get to some of the best spots (not just for photography) and it can mean that if you wanted to get away from some of the crowds, you can inadvertently end up walking towards one!

I think one of the other things that causes the lack of community in landscape photography is the transient nature of the population in Cumbria, which is where you will find the Lake District. There a LOT of holidaymakers who may be here for a week or two, or a day or two and then they might not visit again. This is another barrier which is raised to building a lasting community of photographers.

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Online Communities

Online spaces play a huge role in modern photography, but they don’t always replace the value of meeting and shooting together in person.

I can almost hear people saying “but what about the online landscape photography community?” and they would be right to ask that question. There is HUGE online landscape photography community which spreads across YouTube, Instagram, Facebook… all of the socials. It’s an active community and one that is very knowledgeable

Some of the photographer with much larger reach than I can muster have their own online communities, which bring people together from all over the world. These are great places where people can ‘meet’ to discuss photography, do some online networking and share and critique each other’s work.

I do however, think that what these communities lack is the ability to pull people together, in real life and get out there to take part in some photographer.

So What Is Missing?

Despite the size of the landscape photography world, there’s often a lack of regular, in-person connection between photographers.

Exactly what I’ve been describing: a strong, supportive, and friendly community of photographers who meet regularly to get out into the landscape, take photos, talk, learn, and enjoy doing it together.

Landscape photography doesn’t need to lose its solitary nature — that’s part of its appeal — but it also doesn’t have to be lonely. There’s space for both quiet, individual practice and shared experiences with people who understand why standing in the rain at sunrise feels like a good idea.

Why Does It Matter?

For many photographers, community isn’t about validation — it’s about shared experience, learning, and enjoying photography together.

For some people, it won’t matter and you’ll be sat there thinking “what is this bloke on about”? Some of you will be completely apathetic, and some of you will be interested to find out some more. I am not ruling anyone out of this, I am talking all of you, even the sceptics.

Community matter because of everything I spoke about in the opening to this blog - it’s a great way to meet people who like what you like, who enjoy doing what you do and have fund doing it.

It’s not about thousands of people roaming about with cameras, it’s about being out in the landscape with the people, enjoying doing what you love, sharing tips talking about the nerdy stuff and learning.

What I Want To Do About It

Get Involved

I’d like to explore building a friendly, supportive photography community centred around the Lake District — a space where photographers can meet, get out into the landscape, share ideas, and enjoy shooting together. This isn’t about money, selling anything, or large organised events. It’s about people who enjoy being here and taking photographs.

You don’t need to live in the Lake District to be involved — you just need to enjoy spending time here with a camera. If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, please fill in the form below. That’s all you need to do.

Registering your interest doesn’t sign you up to marketing emails (unless you choose to), and there’s no obligation attached. It simply allows me to gauge interest and get in touch with updates as things develop. I’ll also share updates via Facebook and Instagram for those who prefer to follow along there, feel free too drop me a DM there if that’s more you thing.

Lake District Landscape Photography Community Interest - complete the form below!