An app of their own: Why one photographer built a community for film photographers

The name Phaos comes from the ancient Greek word for light, and the logo is made to represent the interaction between a photon and a silver halide crystal. Logo and photo: Danielle Honan Ask a photographer how they feel about Instagram, and you're likely to get groans. Many of us, at best, have a love-hate relationship with the app, especially since the CEO announced in 2021 that the platform would focus on video going forward. Now, the photographs you're proud of may not even be shown to everyone who's chosen to follow you, thanks to the opaque and increasingly mutable algorithm. For film photographers, the frustration with social media platforms like Instagram is compounded by the challenges associated with the medium. Managing scans of rolls of film can be quite difficult and requires lots of organization or time, or you're left with camera rolls and hard drives filled with images without any clear information or context. While there have been social media apps meant for