The End of Pressgram

Every beginning has an end. Those were the words on Pressgram’s website, summing up the end of the line for the IOS photo app. After two years of development , the impressive Pressgram app was taken off the app store and today the service will totally shut down. It’s the end of the journey. In a post entitled Goodbye Pressgram, the app’s developer John Saddington thanked investors, the community and his team, but provides little detail about the reason for the shut-down. Reading elsewhere on the web, it seems that, unsurprisingly, the decision to close was due to the costs of running and maintaining the Pressgram service.

It looked so promising. After a slightly disappointing app in 2013, version 2 of Pressgram really reached its promised potential this year. It was fast, great to use and looked fantastic –  it even ran well on my old iPhone 3G. So why did i need another app for posting images to WordPress? Well, the official WordPress app is a great way of adding posts to WordPress but Pressgram simplified the process and added photo filters. It was a blogger’s answer to Instagram. The extra benefits of using the app were also convincing. Why send people to some huge Facebook owned website, when you can send traffic to your own website and keep control your work. Personally i just liked the app for its ability to post to a blog quickly, but like many photographers, the aspects regarding controlling your own work were also appealing.

When the Pressgram concept first came to my attention last year, Instagram had been losing angry users due to a poorly worded update to their terms and conditions, that many took to mean a rights grab on images. Pressgram was an alternative, and i like having more than one option for posting my images. Pressgram appealed to those who wanted more control over their photography. Amazingly things worked in Instagram’s favour and annoyed users quietly returned when the dust settled. Trust may have been eroded but certainly no where near enough to start a haemorrhage of users seek out alternative options.

There were a few problems to start off with the first Pressgram; the inclusion of a social network in version one of the app was a big mistake, however, the project certainly had room to develop and grow. Getting things right first time is never easy, especially with a system as complex as this. Pressgram V2.0 corrected many of the problems and improved reliability. It finally became what it should have been from the start. After all that work, hopefully it can be made open source and given another chance… maybe. Maybe not. Who knows.

Currently there seem to few alternatives to the deceased Pressgram app, though the future does hold some hope with an app called Polarfox in development. The website states :-

‘Polarfox for iPhone and iPod is fast, beautiful, easy to use and lets you post to Facebook, Twitter, WordPress self-hosted, Tumblr, WordPress.com, Facebook Pages, Linkedin, Facebook Groups, App.net and Webhooks.’ 

It will be interesting to see what that app can do. The IOS 8 share options also provide good alternatives. Will any other apps try to fill the void? Possibly, but it’s tough being an app developer as the Pressgram story shows.

Rest in peace Pressgram. It was great while it lasted.

Seven days or so

Eilean Donan, Highlands of Scotland

It’s been just over seven days since I got back from Scotland, and it’s been quite a dramatic few days for the country with the referendum proving to be just as divisive for Scotland as previous important events in the country’s history. The referendum results certainly surprised me with the size of the no vote.

Another surprise was waiting when i arrived home. While away, I’d managed to miss the sad news of the demise of Pressgram, a rather handy iPhone photo app that I used quite to post images to this blog while in the Highlands. It was a fantastic app. The simplicity and ease of use was just right for posting to the blog while on the road.

I’ll be writing about the end of the app in a later post but needless to say I’m sad to see it go. Hopefully it can be made open source, or something along those lines, and given a new lease of life. Only time will tell. Until then it’s back to the WP app.

One thing I need to do is get some new camera straps. I finally realised whilst walking the mountains that a couple of the straps (at least) are well past their best. Thinking about it, those camera straps may date back to my student days. 🙂

Time to retire the veteran straps I think.

The Road Home

The bags are packed. It’s time to go home and say goodbye to Skye and the highlands. As always I’m sad to leave.

Probably my favourite moment of the last two weeks was reaching the Old Man of Storr after a tough climb. The grand view and the silence was quite breathtaking. No sound to spoil the moment. Very peaceful. Bliss.

The last three days have been frustrating and rather limiting mobility wise after my fall at the Quiraing, but it acts as an incentive to return again. Now… Homeward.

Published via Pressgram

One Wrong Step

After a great walk to the Quiraing on Skye, the route back to the car provided some excitement when I lost my footing, went down onto rocks and managed to sprain both ankles. I was very lucky I didn’t break anything, in fact my first thought was that I had!

I managed to slowly limp back to the car and get home. The bruising is starting to come out and walking is painful. I’ll see how things go over the next couple of days but I’ll probably be limited to short distances.

Quiraing 1 Richard 0

Published via Pressgram

Light Shafts over Skye

Probably one of my favourite shots so far that I came across walking back home after shooting video. Probably nowhere better for dramatic landscapes and skies.

Published via Pressgram

The Old Man of Storr

The old man of Storr. A tough climb, especially carrying camera gear but well worth the effort 🙂

Published via Pressgram

Cairns and Black Cuillins

Cairns and the black Cullins on Skye.

Published via Pressgram