188 ☼ For Anyone Tired of Performing Online
Why I’m Printing a Newspaper and Hosting a Comedy Show + photo book giveaway
Dear friends,
This week’s issue is about building real connection in a world that often tries to flatten us into "content".
It started with my early discomfort about how digital life shapes our attention and relationships, but it’s become something deeper: a philosophy of creating things you can hold, share in person, and remember not just with a screenshot, but with a feeling.
This idea is at the heart of The Best Medicine—a portrait project, a newspaper, and a live event all rolled into one, being released in a little over a month.
What’s inside:
A preview of my new limited-edition newsprint zine.
A reflection on documenting a community from the inside.
A May 17 zine release and comedy celebration you’re invited to.
Photo Book Giveaway: 57 by Francesco Gioia.
Let’s Build Something Real, For Us
When I started Process in 2019, it was a direct response to something I couldn’t ignore anymore: the creeping unease of living increasingly online. Algorithms were shaping what we saw, how we talked, even who we noticed. Our friendships and attention spans flattened into stats. It felt hollow. How could anyone connect with a photo if they flicked past it in under a second while double-tapping it?
I wanted something that felt real—and I wanted to build it with others. I wanted to meet people in real life, feel photography in my hands, like at the Process Photo Walks.
We’re now six years on from that moment and this need feels more urgent than ever.
This week, I’m thinking a lot about what it means to gather offline. To put something in someone’s hands. To celebrate a community not just with pixels and posts, but with a newspaper, a real room full of people, and a shared moment that can’t be recreated.
Here’s what I’m working on and why I think it matters.
The Best Medicine: A Celebration of Real People in a Real Place
We’re deep in the design process for The Best Medicine, a portrait project celebrating Amsterdam’s vibrant English-language comedy scene. It includes portraits of 101 funny people, and one dog, and they were all made over the course of two marathon days at Studio 13 with a dream team of collaborators*, all shot on a Fujifilm GFX 100S generously loaned to me for the project by MPB.com.
These pictures were just the beginning. On May 17, we’re bringing the community together for a one-night event at De Balie, one of Amsterdam’s most respected cultural institutions. It’s the kind of venue that usually hosts political debates or literary giants like Salman Rushdie, so to have this growing comedy community take the stage there feels like a big beautiful leap.
The show will feature a group of the city’s best comedic talents, and each €15 ticket includes a drink and a limited-edition newspaper-style art zine, designed by the wildly talented Maxwell George and printed with the support of the UK-based Newspaper Club. Below is a sneak peek of a full two-page spread from the zine, showcasing some of the portraits from the project.
In addition to all the portraits, the zine will also feature some gorgeous behind-the-scenes images by Simon Ducos and Arshya Rayhandra Ariebowo to give a peek into the collaborative, slightly chaotic, deeply joyful atmosphere we’ve been building.
Why does this matter?
Because this comedy community has been growing in size and impact for decades, and it deserves more recognition, especially here in Amsterdam. The world already knows. Seth Meyers, Jordan Peele, Jason Sudeikis, and the creative team behind Ted Lasso all spent time training, living, and performing here.
Today, a new generation is following suit: Lara Ricote won Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Fringe and is making waves on British TV. Derek Scott Mitchell (see above, yellow poster image) has built up an international following for his character work and is touring his show. And there are so. many. more! I mean, there are 101 people in this zine (and a dog) and that’s not even everyone!
These aren’t just funny people in a basement. This is a high-level, ambitious, diverse community making important work—and my hope is that The Best Medicine helps shine a light on it, especially here in Amsterdam and the Netherlands.
I was able to make this project because I’m part of this community too. I perform improv regularly, was on the house team at Boom Chicago for several season, have performed at festivals around Europe, and that insider access helped me photograph and collaborate with care.
But the bigger story is this: so many people share a scene, a city, a passion—but never meet in person. Our lives are tangled in digital threads that rarely turn into something real.
This event—and this newspaper—is about changing that.
It’s about saying: let’s meet. Let’s celebrate each other in person. Let’s create something physical, deliberate, and lasting. Something that resists the pace and placation of the algorithm.
Inspiration on the Streets
I’m not alone in this kind of thinking. Amsterdam-based artist Camille Bouyer love bombs the streets by spreading handmade zines and sticker packs in ziplocks around the city. She leaves them in nooks and corners for strangers to discover. It’s one of my favorite examples of creative resistance: honest, human, and totally offline. (See below.)
Let’s Talk
How are you navigating the tension between digital fatigue and physical connection?
Have you taken your work into the physical world by making a print or a zine? Have you gathered with your people outside of a comment thread, in a shared space?
Hit the comments. I’d love to hear from you. One of the comments will be randomly selected to win this week’s Giveaway. Scroll down for more info.
Join Us May 17!
And if you're near Amsterdam on May 17, I hope you’ll join us. Tickets are €15 and include a copy of The Best Medicine zine and a drink ticket. A steal!
🎟️ The Best Medicine: A Celebration at De Balie
Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this issue, share it with a friend.
Let’s keep shooting, learning, and sharing together—one messy, human step at a time.
Warmly,
Wesley
* the dream team will be properly credited and thanked soon, but in a nutshell, I was assisted by Taylor Foster and Lydia O’Donoghue, Niharika Iyengar interviewed everyone, bts images by Arshya and Simon, bts video by Alain Galje, catering by Nastya Klymenko. Maxwell George is hard at work designing. Studio 13 hosted us for the shoot and De Balie will host us for the presentation. Much more behind-the-scenes and making-of coming soon.
📷 What I Used This Week
People often ask what I’m using—here’s this week’s setup:
Camera: All images from The Best Medicine were shot on the Fujifilm GFX 100S with a Fujifilm GF 80mm f/1.7 R WR. Arshya shot BTS on a Nikon F2 + Nikkor 28mm & Nikkor 50mm AI lenses.
Film Stock: Double X.
This issue is supported by MPB.com — my go-to for buying, selling, or trading used photo and video gear. Everything comes with a 6-month warranty, and their support helps keep Process going.
Lab: My film is processed by Carmencita Film Lab. I trust them fully—for both their work and their humanity. Use code "PROCESS" for a free upgrade on your next order.
Process Giveaway
I like sending small thank-yous to people who read and support Process.
This month’s giveaway: a beautiful photo book. 57, the latest release from Francesco Gioia, published by Parallel Editions. They describe it as “a poetic street photography book capturing fleeting, dreamlike moments in everyday urban life.” [Check it out here.]
To enter, leave a comment answering this week’s question:
What is your favorite way to navigate the tension between digital fatigue and the need for real-life connection? (My answer: photo walks, sharing my work in print, co-working in person with fellow creatives.)
Next Week
A look into my archive to talk about one of my favorite images that hasn’t been seen before, and why it still matters to me. Or maybe something entirely different. Depends on what the week brings. Also, revealing the cover of The Best Medicine!
Support Process & Elevate Your Photography
If these Sunday issues give you something—energy, motivation, a new way of seeing—you can support Process by picking up a book or joining the Process Photo Club.
Process Workbook Volume One & Two: Creative prompts and assignments designed to get you out of your head and into action with your camera.
€8.99 each (free for Process Photo Club members)
NOTICE Journal, Volume One: A fresh perspective on beauty and rebirth, shot in Amsterdam.
€40 (or €20 for Process Photo Club members)
📚 Order here and you help keep Process accessible to all.
🗃️ Browse the Process Archives for back issues.
📜 Read the Process Manifesto.
I also agree that zines and photobooks are the most straightforward way to fight digital fatigue in photography. My teacher also gave me an idea for another one, when talking about Nan Goldin's life and explaining that she used to do these slideshows for friends and other people interested, to show her photographies in the moment. I feel like that could be a fun way to connect with people and give photos the importance they have, gathering a bunch of people and actually going through each of the pictures one by one projected on a screen in large size!
Awesome! Wish I could be there ❤️