17/05/2026
Today this arrived — the Silver Play Button from YouTube, awarded for passing 100,000 subscribers on my photography channel, Shayne Mostyn.
It is a milestone I am incredibly proud of, and one that is much rarer than most people probably realise.
YouTube is estimated to have around 115 million channels worldwide. More than 3 million are part of the YouTube Partner Program — the point where creators can monetise their work.
Current creator-industry estimates suggest only around 680,000 to 690,000 channels ever reach 100,000 subscribers. That puts this channel in roughly the top 0.6% globally.
I started one night about 5 years ago, with the iPhone 11 in the paddock with our dairy goats. Today I get to partner with some global leaders in the photography world and have made very good friends from all over the world.
But the part that means the most to me is where it has come from.
A great deal of this channel has been filmed right here in and around Cohuna under our incredible night skies. The whole premise is simple: what can the phone in your pocket photograph when you take it somewhere with a very dark sky? It turns out, quite a lot.
The channel has now had more than 10 million views. Because of it, millions of people around the world have seen this part of the country. They have seen Cohuna. They have seen the beauty of our river country, our bush, our stars, and our small rural town.
That is something I am very proud of.
Thank you to everyone who has watched, subscribed, shared, encouraged, or simply asked how it is going along the way. This award has my channel name on it — but it also feels like a small win for the place I call home.
