Gallery posts

[cliveh]

I often see the same names of people who post images in the gallery (mine included). But if there are 59,174 members, why don't more people post?

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

I've often wondered the same, Clive. It would be wonderful to see more gallery posts from other subscribers. Not that I'm tired of 'the regulars', but a fresh stream of scanned prints is always something to look forward to.

 

[eddie]

There may be over 59,000 members, but you have to be a subscriber to post photos, right? I'd like to see more subscribers posting images (and supporting the site), too. It costs the equivalent of about 4 rolls of film per year, and is very much worth it.

 

[cliveh]

There may be over 59,000 members, but you have to be a subscriber to post photos, right? I'd like to see more subscribers posting images (and supporting the site), too. It costs the equivalent of about 4 rolls of film per year, and is very much worth it.

Do we know how many are subscribers?

 

[eddie]

I don't know how many there are, but there should be more. They're missing some superb, inspiring images.

I also think anyone who has hundreds, or thousands, of posts, but hasn't subscribed is a freeloader.

 

[removed account4]

hi eddie

i couldn't agree with you more !

- john

 

[eddie]

Hey John,
I'd like to see what some of the people posting about the Olympic paper negs would say about some of your stuff...

 

[cliveh]

I also think anyone who has hundreds, or thousands, of posts, but hasn't subscribed is a freeloader.

Then perhaps non subscibers should only be allowed a certain number of posts within a year?

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

Hey John,
I'd like to see what some of the people posting about the Olympic paper negs would say about some of your stuff...

Don't go there. Please. Why ruin a perfectly fine thread?

 

[eddie]

Sorry, Thomas...

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

Sorry, Thomas...

It would be nice with a little bit more support, for sure. Often I wonder what people's work looks like. Could be we're missing a lot of really delicious and inspiring work.

 

[Photo Engineer]

If you look hard, you will see the same names over and over as posters in threads and in the gallery!

I would also guess that 80% of the membership are not subscribers.

PE

 

[eddie]

Limiting the number of "free" posts is an idea, but it may turn some people off to the site. There seem to be people new to analog (or just returning to it) who won't justify subscribing, just yet.
I'd probably open the Gallery up to everyone, for a week (or a month), let them post, or comment, during the "intro" period. My guess is it would get a lot more subscribers. At the end of the "intro" period, it goes back to subscriber only. Rather than turn people off, it could turn them on...

 

[Sean]

Do we know how many are subscribers?

Total subscription figures hover around 2-3% of total registered user base. That's been consistent over the last 5yrs. With the global economy this has decreased. Also, not all subscriptions are created equal. Some do not take out 1yr subs even when they do subscribe. For a while we were only getting $12 a year student/financial hardship subs -but I had to cancel that option to try to get the financials improved as things were getting a bit scary. Luckily the one thing that does manage to save us are when occasionally members subscribe for more than the minimum amount asked for (however this too has dropped significantly with the economy). Not to mention a record strong NZ dollar no longer allows for a regular sub to provide more dollars here in NZ. So, all in all APUG isn't exactly a full time income. It takes many side projects and my wife being a piano teacher for us to get by. Also, keep in mind that 59k user number is over nearly 10yrs and many come and go. We do register 5-600 new members a month but as with most Internet sites people expect everything for free online, and we only get a fraction of subs in comparison to the large monthly registrations.. Should we open the gallery to non-subscribers? I fear if we did that we would lose our biggest draw for subscriptions..

 

[eddie]

Sean- Maybe there's a way for non-subscribers to preview what goes on in the Gallery? Maybe a free "image(s) of the day" from the Gallery, for all to see? Or, as I said above, a way to open it up for a limited time? If I had to name my top ten favorite contemporary photographers, I think half of them would be people posting in the Gallery.

 

[Sean]

Limiting the number of "free" posts is an idea, but it may turn some people off to the site. There seem to be people new to analog (or just returning to it) who won't justify subscribing, just yet.
I'd probably open the Gallery up to everyone, for a week (or a month), let them post, or comment, during the "intro" period. My guess is it would get a lot more subscribers. At the end of the "intro" period, it goes back to subscriber only. Rather than turn people off, it could turn them on...

Might be possible to have some sort of trial, but they can see the thumbnails and comment activity already. One issue is often a subscriber does not re-subscribe then requests removal of their images (because they can't access their images when the sub expires). That could get tedious if 100's of new gallery users appear for trial periods. Then there are those who will simply keep registering fake names to get their free trial access. It could be an interesting experiment though. I am also considering that every x amount of posts by a member they are presented with a subscription information page before they can continue using the site. I have seen this on other forums. It presents with the information then the member can click "subscribe" or "not right now".

 

[eddie]

Sean- I was thinking more in terms of, " for the month of September, Gallery access will be available to all members." I don't think you can reasonably do it for each individual member.

I just used another browser, without signing in. I didn't know members could see the thumbs, although the comments (or number of comments) don't show up.

 

[kbrede]

I often see the same names of people who post images in the gallery (mine included). But if there are 59,174 members, why don't more people post?

To be honest I was under the impression that unless you took a picture of a 100% analog print, then it wouldn't be found acceptable. Since I don't have a darkroom, I don't have any analog prints. I did look in the FAQ one day when I was considering a couple uploads, and didn't see anything about the Gallery, so I forgot about it.

Later I did see on the Gallery upload page that negative scans are excepted: "We still accept neg scans in the galleries. We accept that some adjustment of contrast, brightness and sharpness may be needed to match the physical print and, for negative scans, to approximate a straight print." But what is a "straight print?" And does, "We still accept neg scans" mean they won't be in the future? What about digital dodge and burn and dust removal?

Being new I really didn't want to ask those questions but since you asked......

 

[cliveh]

Thanks Sean, interesting info, but if people feel passionate about film, then perhaps a small prescription charge is not too much to ask. Would such a move provide an extra intake of cash/commitment or not? I don't know, but perhaps food for thought. It may be worth a trial run, but I'm sure others will have views about this.

 

[Sean]

Sean- I was thinking more in terms of, " for the month of September, Gallery access will be available to all members." I don't think you can reasonably do it for each individual member.

We could do an "open week" every couple months maybe. Might be an interesting experiment. The gallery could have a notice at the top stating it is open to all for the week and "click here to subscribe and continue your access"

 

[eddie]

I think it's worth a try, Sean. If each "open week" generates a hundred new subscribers, it would be worthwhile, I'd think.

Personally, I think my $25/year subscription is the best investment I make each year.

 

[Sean]

Thanks Sean, interesting info, but if people feel passionate about film, then perhaps a small prescription charge is not too much to ask. Would such a move provide an extra intake of cash/commitment or not? I don't know, but perhaps food for thought. It may be worth a trial run, but I'm sure others will have views about this.

I think locking the site down could potentially reduce traffic which could in turn reduce registrations and subscriptions. There's no way to know for sure but it seems a fragile balance between getting members, keeping members and eventually getting them to subscribe. If any firewalls go up it could turn many people off.

 

[Sean]

I think it's worth a try, Sean. If each "open week" generates a hundred new subscribers, it would be worthwhile, I'd think.

Personally, I think my $25/year subscription is the best investment I make each year.

Thanks Eddie, I'm going to look into this. It might even be better to find companies willing to sponsor open weeks. "This gallery open week is brought to you by "Company X".

 

[eddie]

I hope you give it a try. If everyone gets a chance to see the added value of subscribing, I'm sure more would put up the 25 bucks... It's the equivalent of 4-5 rolls of film. I've saved much more than that by heeding the advice I've asked for, with some "problem" images.

 

[MattKing]

To be honest I was under the impression that unless you took a picture of a 100% analog print, then it wouldn't be found acceptable. Since I don't have a darkroom, I don't have any analog prints. I did look in the FAQ one day when I was considering a couple uploads, and didn't see anything about the Gallery, so I forgot about it.

Later I did see on the Gallery upload page that negative scans are excepted: "We still accept neg scans in the galleries. We accept that some adjustment of contrast, brightness and sharpness may be needed to match the physical print and, for negative scans, to approximate a straight print." But what is a "straight print?" And does, "We still accept neg scans" mean they won't be in the future? What about digital dodge and burn and dust removal?

Being new I really didn't want to ask those questions but since you asked......

Being new, you should ask.

I'll defend to the death the right to digitally remove dust from a scan.

As for the rest, in the past I've used the phrase "you should only do the things with a scan that you have to do when you print in the darkroom". By that, I mean choose an appropriate crop, good exposure, useful contrast and, for colour, colour balance. You should also avoid the extremes that are available only in the digital world, if possible.

Dodging and burning is definitely on the edge, but I'll confess I've darkened a sky or two in my time.