I've been a member for around 5 yrs (going from memory). I was thrilled when I discovered LuLa because my passion in photography was landscape, and here was a site all about the adventure, the passion, the beauty and tranquility of nature, which activity (hiking and landscape photography) was my go-to when I wanted to escape from the pressures of life.... my zen. I also greatly enjoy discussions of equipment and software with focus on creating great landscape photography and prints. I didn't mind in the slightest when they started charging a nominal subscription fee because, if that's what it took to sustain a site I loved, then I'd gladly contribute. It was sad when Michael passed, but the site continued under Kevin, although with a slightly different personal style and an evolution in focus in the content and the business model.
I was a little shocked and definitely put off by the handling of the transition over the holidays. Coming from the corporate world and having seen many changes in leadership, this was handled very poorly. That's been discussed ad nauseum, so I won't dwell on it. My concern now is the new leadership seems to have little to no background in landscape photography nor in running a business, which - combined with the poor transition and what looks like may be a major shift editorially - doesn't bode well for the site relative to what I've enjoyed. It's only been a few weeks, but thus far I don't care for several of the articles or the editorial content dwelling on things like the philosophy of photography or wierd (IMO) people photos, for example. It may appeal to others, but it's too "artsy fartsy" for my taste and is a million miles from what originally attracted me to LuLa. (I don't say "artsy fartsy" to insult others who like that stuff... I just don't have another way of describing that type of writing/discussion.) So, with a bit of sadness, I wait to see how things evolve and hope they turn back to the passion and adventure for landscape photography. In case it doesn't, though, I too have put my subscription on hold so I don't accidentally renew in the future.