Hello all!
I’m Rogério (@autorefractor on Instagram) and I’ve been active in the Widelux community for a few years now. Back in 2020, during the pandemic, I quietly created The Widelux Club on Instagram (@wideluxclub), a page dedicated to sharing the work of photographers who use (or used) the Widelux.
The page instantly attracted many people from around the world, and over time, it grew into a diverse community made up of both professionals and enthusiasts. Today, the Widelux Club has over 1200 followers, all of whom joined organically, since I’ve never promoted it anywhere.
That might not be much, but considering it revolves around a niche camera from the 1950s, it’s a great achievement for me and, in my opinion, for the community as a whole.
Many of these people have sent in pictures and have been featured on the page, which functions as a kind of virtual gallery for the community. I could sense that people were eager to see and share more, since the page gets new followers everyday and I’ve gathered thousands of photographs.
I’ve also received many messages from people who had published Widelux-related work in the past or were planning to in the near future. Now and then, I even get messages from old-school photographers telling amazing stories, sending pictures of well-loved Wideluxes, and even sharing useful information about the camera itself.
Out of all the material I’ve received over the years, I’ve managed to share some on IG, but as most of you probably know, that platform is becoming increasingly difficult for photographers. It’s leaning more and more into a TikTok-style influencer-driven app. Back in the day, I chose Instagram to create the Club since it had the 3 posts style feed, which was then perfect for panoramic photography and is now slowly dying.
With that in mind, I decided to take things a step further as a way to give back to the community. As of today, I’m launching The Widelux Club website. Here, the plan is to share things beyond the weekly posts I do on the page.
I believe the website offers us a more tailored and personal space to share our work. For now, I’ll continue posting on Instagram (keep sending pictures!), while reserving the website for more in-depth content, like interviews, features on photobooks and articles.
I’ve never earned a penny from this - it’s a personal project, driven by passion. That said, I don’t have much time to actively search for content, so I’m counting once again on the community!
Please don’t hesitate to send me a message (here, on IG, or through the website’s contact form) if you’d like to promote your Widelux-related work or write an article about it. I’m sure we can put together something worth sharing.
Also, if you have any suggestions for the website, feel free to let me know so I can continue improving it.
Let’s keep the community alive.