Here’s the windup
Here’s the windup
Welcome to Postseason, where photography is the pastime.
Today is the first day of Major League Baseball’s 2023 postseason, which makes it either a decent or dumb time to launch a newsletter called Postseason. I’m indecisive when it comes to sharing my own work—I created this account seven months ago—so I’m going to pretend like this was the plan all along.
Who… What?
You’re getting this because you subscribed to my previous newsletter for Useful Yard. If you were happy with my disappearing act, there’s an Unsubscribe link at the bottom. But I’m still André, an editorial designer in Seattle who likes being outside and documenting what I see. Postseason is my new publication, coming to you via Substack. It’s about the role photography plays in everyday life.
Photography as Pastime
There was a day last October when I felt most myself. I was documenting a restaurant’s first pop-up event, photographing the evening inside and outside, meeting people, and trying my best to capture the frenzy and joy of the event. I was, as they say, in the zone. It didn’t make me want to become an event photographer, but it sure helped me realize how much I like being around people and having a camera in my hand.
For the past year I’ve used photography as more than a way to capture memories. My camera—and new lenses—have motivated me to go outside and get more exercise; it’s led to meeting other photographers and joining them on photo walks; and I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the stylistic ways I’ve documented my life, and how we all participate in this act at some level.
I’ve come to terms with the fact that I love photography more than plants (my hobby) and publications (my career). In fact, so much of why I like those other things is because of photography. So I needed a place to share my work. Not individually in a feed, or grouped in an online gallery, but as stories. I wanted the space to add context, as well as interview people about why they make photos, and why they post them. After repeated trials of other platforms, I keep coming back to the potential of Substack, as it grows and supports the needs of storytellers. I also like the Substack app for reading and finding other writers.
I hope you’ll stay for at least a few posts, as I figure out the tone of photo essays, memoir, and interviews. Inevitably, there will be some gear talk but this isn’t geared for photographers. My goal is for Postseason to appeal to anyone who has tried captured a moment.
RIP Useful Yard?
Useful Yard isn’t dead, it’s just dormant. To revive it, I’m going to create print publications under the moniker. The logo above is new, made by the nice guys at Underware*—there’s a whole story behind it, which I’ll share with you. I think it’s going to look really good as a masthead… on a zine… when you pull it out of your mailbox.
* If you don’t know Underware’s work, or it’s been a while, go spend some time on their website. Their ability to mix creativity with utility always inspires me. (The Postseason logo was made with an Underware font.)
Why Substack?
You may be familiar with Substack as a place where some writers make a living with paid newsletters. That is true and very cool for those people. I chose it because I was tired of blogging with a CMS and then emailing you to say, I blogged. Plus, I like how Substack displays posts online. You can always visit Postseason in a browser and the photos will be bigger, like a normal webpage.
Postseason is free, and I don’t plan on sending anything exclusive to a paid tier. But down the road, if you like what I’m sending and want to support its growth, access archives, and get a discount on printed work, you can become a paid subscriber.
Okay, that’s it for now. Thanks for reading (and looking). Go Phillies.
i’m in!
As long as native plants get a postseason season of their own on occasion, I’m in, too!