If you’ve been reading the site a lot in January, you probably noticed a pretty big change that came. Desktop and mobile website readers of the Phoblographer now have access to the website’s dark mode just by switching a little button on the bottom left of the site. This way, visitors to our desktop and mobile websites can easily switch between the two whenever they visit. Depending on how often you visit, your browser will also remember the settings you chose so that it doesn’t make it as annoying each and every time. There are other great reasons why we did this too!
Several of you know that I, the Editor in Chief and founder of this website, and legally blind. But I strongly believe that everyone should be able to have access to photography and understand it as an art form. That’s why we partnered with Sony last year to put the spotlight on various photographers who have low vision. I’m also aware of just how many people like viewing websites and the general web in dark mode instead of the standard black text on white. We experimented with this feature first in our app and found that so many people liked it. So we decided to do it for the dedicated website.
A fair amount of thought was put into this. You’ll realize that our dark mode background isn’t fully black. Instead, it’s a very dark gray. That’s because it makes the images pop even more and gives a clearer outline around black and white images. The text is also a mix between a brown and gray — which makes it a lot easier on the eyes. Plus, our lead images sometimes have a brown border around them to mimic the look of a framed photograph in a gallery.
All of this revolves around the idea of printed photography — which we strongly believe all serious and passionate photographers need to get into much more.
As you explore the website, you’ll see that everything looks really, really nice — even if we do say so ourselves. A lot of careful thought and customization was put into it to accommodate to most computer and phone screens. Personally speaking, I think our website is best viewed on a desktop where you can see the images really large and get a much more engrossing expeience. Plus, all those pesky notifications are gone that you’d otherwise get on your phone.
We’re open to your feedback about all this. It’s a big part to ensuring that our website says inclusive and caters to as many people as possible.
Thanks so much for being a reader!