Flickr - what is it exactly?

David H. Bebbington

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Prompted by another APUG thread, I took a brief look at flickr and am deeply confused! I wonder if anyone can tell me exactly what it is supposed to be, other than a forum where anyone and his grandmother can upload images by the ton without any consideration of quality, context, authorship or copyright. The first thing I saw was a claim that over 2,000 pictures had been uploaded in the previous MINUTE, which makes me think that any individual mage will simply drown without trace, the second thing I found was a member called paradise babe, who is apparently relatively young, female and living in Oman and UK and has cheerfully uploaded artless snaps of her dog knocking over a flowerpot next to press shots of the Sultan which I would think it 100% certain that she did not take, indeed were taken before she was born, and without any attempt at captioning or crediting the author. On this basis, flickr looks like a rock-bottom vanity publishing exercise which no pro or serious amateur could consider using.

And then the next thing I found was this:

http://interestingby.isaias.com.mx/pm.php?id=72245483@N00&theme=white

which could easily be pro photojournalism. Is it just a free-for-all, or have I missed something?

Regards,

David
 
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Paul.A

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On one level its a bit of harmless fun where you can share your photos with your mates. On another level its quite a useful tool for the working pro whereby you don't have to keep updating your main website if you want to keep clients informed of new projects or developments. I think if you ask 10 people what they use Flickr for you will get 10 different answers.
 

tim_walls

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I think you're making the age-old mistake of assuming that only professional photographers deserve to be allowed to show their photos to people.

Flickr is absolutely not designed for 'professionals'. It's a place for ordinary people - like me - to upload their photos and share them with friends. They may be existing friends (I have real, flesh and blood friends with whom I share holiday snaps etc. on Flickr,) or rather splendidly by browsing other peoples photos (and using the groups/keyword tagging) you can make new 'virtual' friends with people who share similar interests. Better still, I've made real flesh-and-blood friends with local people that I initially met 'virtually' through Flickr groups.

The groups are the heart of what makes Flickr tick. There are groups devoted to practically anything you like - including being a patronising 'pro shooter' if that's your bag. There are also groups devoted to photos of kittens, sunsets, and dogs knocking over flowerpots. My local Leeds group is excellent, with regular meets in the pub, photo challenges, and a genuine atmosphere of encouragement and help; it's just like a photography club, but without the patronising tits.

So yeah, I think you've missed something!


(Edit - oh yeah; http://www.flickr.com/photos/snowgoons/ - is my stream .)
 

Andy K

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I use Flickr, first registered about a year ago but pretty much left it laying dormant, then I discovered a few local groups, so have been uploading a lot of photographs relevant to those groups the past few days. It is quite a useful tool, providing online storage for images you wish to share with others.

My Flickr

The funniest group on there is 'delete me', never seen so many people in one place with their heads so firmly up their own..
 

unhinged

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A bit of an aside but there's some mighty clever stuff that uses these sorts of bulk photo archives floating about: e.g. labs.live.com/photosynth/
 

Stan160

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I've had an account for a couple of years now. After APUG, Flickr is probably my most visited web site.

The groups and metadata are what makes it so interesting and useful to me. Pictures can be tagged. Type "Kodak EIR" into the search box on the home page for example: 1,361 pictures returned, many with details of equipment, location etc. Some groups I belong to are "B&W film / developer combinations", "I Shoot Film", "Black and White Printing".

The good groups are actively administered and contain lively discussions and high quality pictures.

My Flickr

Ian
 

Andy K

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I also think it is a great way to get the word out that film is still here and being used to create great photographs.
 

jkiely

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I use Flickr a lot, in fact it was through Flickr that I heard of APUG. Have a look at

Dead Link Removed

Flickr is primarily for everyone to share their snaps, but there are many 'serious' photographers using it and sharing their latest images through contacts and groups.

Oh yeah, this is me

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jkiely/
 

titrisol

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Precisely
I use it to share pictures of my daughters (with private settings of course) and pictures of my cameras (public)

Akki14 said:
Yes it's a free for all. It's also not meant to be for pros, it's meant to show your granny your snaps. HTH.
Click to expand...
 

dpurdy

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That is a good point. You can keep flikr private if you want. I can get lost in flikr doing searches on tags and sets and groups. I have found a few very talented people who's flikr pages I have saved and check into to see what they are doing now and then. Never posted an image myself though.
Dennis
 

Michel Hardy-Vallée

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It's the biggest stock photo agency in the world....

Just kidding. But it's true in a way, there is a lot of photos there that you can use according to various licenses. I have been occasionally using them for work, when we needed a quick snap of something to illustrate a web page.
 

jslabovitz

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The trick is in the traveling

Think of Flickr like a room full of 1000 people with cameras. There's no official directory of the "best" photographers, so you just start with the people "near" you (randomly). If you like any of their photos, then ask them who they like, and continue on that way. If you don't see anything in someone's photos, just move on.

I rarely browse Flickr using a web browser, but instead subscribe to particular "feeds" of photos from individuals or groups, using an RSS newsreader (in my case, NetNewsWire on the Mac). That way I keep up with the current photos from the people whose work I enjoy the most.

Personally, I find Flickr to have an incredible depth of quality, often far better than edited pro/fine-art sites. There are really some amazing photogs out there, sometimes folks who are not at all professional.

Here are links to several photographers (and one group) that I especially enjoy:

Dead Link Removed
http://www.flickr.com/photos/richelle/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/quizz/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/serggavrilov/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aglimpseoftheworld/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/buca/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/garyisaacs/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/melow/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stoneth/

Hope this helps.

--John
 

Tim Gray

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John has the key point in my mind. Start finding photos that you find interesting. Then add the owner as a contact. See what he likes and if you like some of them, add them too. Slowly, your web of contacts grows. And every time you log in (or monitor with an RSS reader), you get updated on your contacts' new photos. Can be quite fun.
 
OP
OP

David H. Bebbington

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Thanks for your views. I really don't think I have a problem "getting" flickr, there's no reason not to have a platform which absolutely everyone can use to display images, but it was mostly the spectacular disregard for the principle of copyright and credit-giving that disturbed me! I think the site would be stronger if all the pictures shown were actually authored by the person posting them.

Regards,

David
 

copake_ham

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I wonder if it was my reference to Flickr in the now-dead "Mature Audience" thread that prompted your OP?

Regardless, I don't stay current with my account - although I probably should.

I've used it at the most basic level - an on-line photo albumn that I can "share" with others. I've never gotten into the group thing etc. but that is an interesting feature.

BTW, I first learned of Flickr when a friend posted her vacation shots and then e-mailed the link for viewing. I think that's a common way that folks learn about the site.

It certainly would be an "alternative Gallery".
 
OP
OP

David H. Bebbington

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The more I look at flickr, the more confused I get!

For example, there is something called a "pro" account (apparently this offers more facilities). On the other hand, there seems to be no facility on individuals' pages for interested parties to make contact, indeed the terms of use include the following:
<<Don’t use Flickr for commercial purposes.
Flickr is for personal use only. If we find you selling products, services, or yourself through your photostream, we will terminate your account. ...>>

To take an example - I find a lady using the name Zsaj, who has posted over 2,000 pictures. She says she is a librarian and former graphic designer, her work includes some so-so snapshots but I find it generally good, with several dozen superb and impeccable images. I ask myself - what is she getting out of flickr? Sure, a way of getting work seen, but ...

The purpose of APUG is not primarily commercial, but it does include a facility for buying/selling equipment and one for PMs if users want to do any other deals. I guess I am just surprised that someone should have the talent of the above-mentioned lady, and put the effort into creating a large body of work as she has done, and then essentially give it away!
 

copake_ham

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David,

I think they are using "pro" in the way one might say "expert" which is another way of saying "subscriber" which is a way of saying that if you pay some money you get more services.

The site is "for profit" - although I'm not sure it actually makes any money. It belongs to one of the "biggies" - be it MS, Yahoo or Google etc. I really don't remember.

Someone else here will have more info on that.
 

Tim Gray

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Yahoo.

As far as why give your work away... I'm not saying mine is of that quality, but I essentially give my work away on flickr and elsewhere just so *somebody* can see it. I've never made a penny on photography...
 
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