Thoughts on Flickr and Photography

Posted Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Prolific photographer and blogger Thomas Hawk has updated a post he wrote a couple of years ago called Top 10 Tips for Getting Attention on Flickr.

It's a must-read for Flickr aficionados, if only for the first paragraph, which is quote from Flickr cofounder Caterina Fake. I particularly love this: What, lastly, equals the enchantment sparked off by the delighted attention we receive from those who profoundly delight ourselves?

Reading that paragraph got to me thinking: Why do I spend so much time on Flickr? It isn't for the social networking connections (though I've met some lifelong friends through the site). It isn't for the accolades that photo-comments bring (though I appreciate every one of them). It isn't for the procrastination value (though, well, never mind).

One reason is to improve my photography. Practicing behind a closed door can indeed improve your musicianship, but it isn't a substitute for putting your stuff out there in public. The same applies to photography. That butterfly-in-stomach feeling that I get when I post a photo -- "Egads, I'm putting this out there for the world to see!" -- makes me take photography more seriously.


Another reason is to be inspired by the work of my fellow Flickrites. When you see images that move you -- whether through their subject or their process or some combination of both -- your visual sense becomes that much more attuned. As a visual thinker, you grow.

But another reason I contribute to Flickr is just that: to contribute. Flickr represents an astonishing ocean of images, a visual history of our present world and of the things that are important to us. I consider it an honor to be able to contribute in some small way to that record.

If you love images -- and you shouldn't pick up a camera if you don't -- then you owe it to yourself and to your love of photography to enjoy the work of others, to be inspired by it, and to attempt to engender that inspiration in others.

Otherwise you're just listening to the sound of your own voice.

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