flickr

flickr (http://www.flickr.com/) is a photo sharing website that has gained a lot of popularity over the last couple of years. There are others as well, but what is notable about flickr is the fact that they recently negotiated a contract with an agency to pay photographers' for their work for potential use in ad campaigns, publications, etc. What is somewhat baffling to me is the fact that something like 2,400 photos are uploaded to flickr each minute! How is it possible to wade through the volume of photographs submitted?

Photos can be viewed by "tags" which are key words the photographers submit along with their photographs (e.g. "lighthouse" to identify the subject matter). Another way to gain exposure is by joining various groups who are typically aligned by some common interest, such as photos taken with toy cameras or moose photographs or some equally obscure thread. (Have I taxed your patience with these details yet? Where, you ask, is the payoff? I worry that there is no payoff here, BUT) In the interest of self-promotion, my flickr site can be reached via http://www.flickr.com/photos/10639969@N05/.

AND, interestingly, I have been asked to join a small number of groups or to be counted as a contact to a few other photographers. When you are somebody's "contact" they will automatically be able to see any new photos you've submitted to flickr and you will be able to see theirs. The implication is that you jointly admire one another's work. For some reason, I seem to appeal to Russian or East European photographers. I'm not sure what elements of my work is culturally appealing, but I'm not one to question people who like my work. Perhaps if I were to move to Russia, I could garner the success as a photographer I have only heretofore dreamed of.