After 15 years of publishing photography industry news, the Australian website Inside Imaging has announced that it is shutting down.
In an article published today, December 19, the website’s co-publishers, father-and-son duo Keith and Will Shipton, detail the website’s end.
“Keith and I would like to sincerely thank everyone who has come along with us for the ride. Especially the advertisers and donors, subscribers, readers, contributors and colleagues,” writes Will Shipton. “This has been on the cards for some time. Our satisfaction in the work, and affection for the photo industry, combined with our reluctance to shut down what we see as a valuable resource, has kept us at our desks for longer than anticipated. But the time has come.”
Inside Imaging was formed to serve the needs of professional photographers, camera dealers, and specialists alike, and the website has long boasted a rich variety of content and an engaged readership.
“Readers’ comments are a measure of engagement with the audience, and our websites always beat the competition on this measure. The civility, intelligence and insights of our readers was always a source of pride,” Inside Imaging explains.
There are numerous reasons for the website’s shutdown, not the least of which is that “Keith, the co-founder, and my old man, has had his eyes on the exit for some time,” per the younger Shipton.
There are also financial concerns. Operating a website in today’s challenging landscape is a challenging feat.
“Inside Imaging has always been what you might call marginal in terms of generating revenue… We are [a] small family partnership navigating an ever-changing digital environment, and operating within a rather turbulent contracting industry. Our biggest challenge (and I imagine some professional photographer and photo specialist readers will relate to this), is that at our core we are good at our jobs, but have to ‘fess up to falling short when it comes to other somewhat critical in-house roles, such as marketing and sales,” Shipton explains.
Nonetheless, Shipton says that Inside Imaging has “been blessed” over its lengthy journey with supportive advertisers and contributors, including Margaret Brown, whose camera and lens reviews were “invariably well supported by the readers.”
The loss of Inside Imaging will be acutely felt in the photo industry. The publication’s focus on solid journalism and its unwavering support of the Australian photography community is admirable.
The website will remain online for now, serving as a temporary archive of the last 15 years of the Australian photo industry and major photography stories. However, it cannot stay online forever, and the Shiptons are open to suggestions or handing the site over to someone new. Interested parties can learn more in Inside Imaging‘s farewell post.