Music in 2025

I really like it when people post their end-of-year music round-up. Colly, Jon, and Naz have all posted about music they listened to in 2025. I recognise almost none of the albums that they’ve listed. That’s because my musical brain has been almost entirely conquered by Iri…

Books I read in 2025

I read 28 books in 2025. Looking back over that list, there are a few recurring themes… I read less of the Greek mythology retellings than last year but I seem to have developed a taste for medieval stories like Matrix, Nobber, and Haven. I finally got ‘round to reading so…

Anyone Else Here

What Happened to Zack Arias?

In the 2000s and 2010s, a few names in photography began to gain immense popularity. Photographers such as Eric Kim, Chase Jarvis, and Jasmine Starr have all earned a name for themselves. Like them, Zack Arias, the author of Photography Q&A: Real Questions. Real Answers als…

Kottke Wrapped 2025

Spotify really started something, didn’t they? Everyone has a “Wrapped” this year; I even got an email one from the cruise line on which I took a trip this summer. Like, “Congratulations! You went on {1} cruise for {7} days!” — and then nothing else. Two stats. So…

Nancy Friedman: 52 Things I Learned in 2025. Incl. “Seventy-one percent of...

Nancy Friedman: 52 Things I Learned in 2025. Incl. “Seventy-one percent of people in Iceland are Costco members” and “In Sweden, the largest size of Hellmann’s mayonnaise — 600 grams — is called “American size”. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.o…

The 3 Best Nikon Cameras for More Dynamic Range

The big three camera companies are Nikon, Canon, and Sony, each of which has had a great few years in the camera industry. Nikon pushed itself as the technology advanced. From DSLRs to mirrorless cameras, the company has introduced some exciting options, which include breakthrou…

Kent Hendricks: 52 Things I Learned in 2025. Incl. “Birders in the...

Kent Hendricks: 52 Things I Learned in 2025. Incl. “Birders in the United States spend $107 billion per year, including $93B on binoculars, feeders, cameras, and other equipment; and $14B on travel. That’s more than the GDP of New Hampshire.” 💬 Join the d…

Is SG Image Developing New Pancake Lens?

Third-party lenses have been the best options for many young photographers. They offer a bridge between cost-effectiveness and optics, something that first-party lenses often struggle with. SG-Image is one such third-party lens maker that continues to contribute to the industry.…

Station Identification: Lady Chatterley’s New Year Message

To be clear, I’ve never read the book, but came to this passage via a circuitous route. Probably my favourite podcast of the last few years is David Runciman’s “Past, Present Future”. It has a series of episodes on great legal trials – one of which featured the landmar…

On the Scariest Roller Coaster Ever Built

I just discovered that the original Cyclone roller coaster at Palisades Amusement Park has its own Wikipedia article, and that the two photos in it are ones I posted on Flickr in 2008 with a permissive license that encouraged re-use. Above is the first. Here is the second: Georg…

The Best Photography Podcasts To Tune in Today

Photography has been a visual medium, and photographers often interact with the work of others through their websites, articles, or social media. But what happens when one wants to learn and grow, but not just be dependent on reading material alone? Like videos on YouTube, podca…