I’m having a hard time finding a place in the Flickr-verse. On Twitter I feel comfortable. If I show up then I can chat comfortably with 500 of my closest friends. If I take a two month leave of absence, no one misses me. Facebook also feels like home. I know lots of people and it’s fun to check in on them at my convenience. It’s a great way to waste time when I should be folding laundry or doing the dishes. (Kind of like blogging ;o)
But Flickr, oh Flickr. I have a hard time there. My little networks have either fizzled out or grown ginormous. It’s not comfortable anymore. I don’t have a niche.
There’s also something about Flickr that brings out the insecure high school girl in me. “Oh that picture is breath-taking. I’ll never shoot anything as good as that. I should just take down my photography website. I stink.”
I’ve seen the camaraderie of the 365 group and it is alluring. It always amazes me when someone has 20 or more comments on a Flickr photo. But I struggle to make it through one run of 7days. How could I possibly take and edit a year’s worth of photos in addition to all that I’m already doing?
I’ve also seen people who add each and every photo that they take to twenty or so groups. I guess that does increase the number of comments that you’ll get but it seems a little strange to me. Like a combination of cheating and grandiose thinking.
I’d like to find a group where my pictures don’t seem to be swallowed up in a sea of gorgeous pictures. I want to find a small enough group where I can comment on everyone’s stuff without being swamped. I’d really like to find a group that challenges me without making me feel like a horrible photographer. Does that exist? Have you found something like that? Let me in on your secrets!
Filed under: in case you didn't realize that I'm crazy, more than you wanted to know, official photography business, whining
First and foremost, I like Flickr because it’s a good substitute for blogging (for me). That, combined with Twitter, pretty much cancels out the need for a composed rehash of my current thoughts.
Second, it’s cheap to get a pro account.
Third, it works well on my aging computer without crashing. A few other sites I’ve seen really want me to use the slideshow features and scrolly thumbnails, which are just other words for “crash inducers”.
I used to submit tons of crappy photos to all the groups I could find, but that was before Flickr became my blog. Now I’m happy with 7 Days, 52 Weeks (just started this month), and a couple of knitting groups, and I coast through my contacts’ photos every few days to see what’s up with them. I just haven’t gotten around to leaving all those groups I joined 2 yrs ago.
Does that help?
I think you should stick by Flickr… if nothing else, it keeps you in touch in a different way with the non-pro shutterbugs that are your friends. Part of the 7days and the 365 groups is the common-challenge element which both keeps you going and makes you resent the camera (on some days, anyway).
I’m not sure if my comments are helpful or not, but you should know that flickr and non-pro photoblogging is also a way for people to keep in contact with YOU, not just the other way around. Besides, it’s not always a competition!
Mike