Something about an instant in time, and the ability to freeze and capture it, that cannot be paralleled by any other form of art. Something about beauty in sophistication of an SLR, about that indescribable sound of the electro-mechanical components working in tandem to create something artistic.
It's been a little over two months since I bought my camera, and I have developed a healthy respect for Flickr, in particular and the concept of user generated content in general.
Many people have this misconception of Flickr as yet another online photo storage application, a la Picasa.
1. The subtle difference is that although you can upload your pictures to Flickr like with any other photo-sharing tool, Flickr mandates you to focus on the quality of your uploads by imposing limits on monthly uploads (atleast for non-Pro accounts).
In doing so, it indirectly prompts the user to pick only a subset of pictures that can narrate his story.
2. Flickr provides support for Creative Commons meaning that the user gets to choose the "Some Rights reserved" paradigm as opposed to the "All Rights Reserved".
This helps promote and realise the true power of user generated content, by encouraging users to build upon others content, and express it in a different way.
3. The other thing about Flickr is that it has taken off in a way that promotes learning.
One of the important features in this regard is Flickr's support of EXIF data. For the uninitiated, when you look at an photograph, and wonder what settings were used to achieve the effect in the picture, the EXIF can give you a few pointers in the right direction.
That is of course, assuming that the photograph was not retouched by a software application such as Photoshop or Picasa.
Communities are another of Flickr's greatest assets. The active reponses to queries, and the eagerness with which people share their own secrets of photography are quite inspiring.
4. Lastly, as Flickr is positioned specifically to appeal to amateurs, hobbyists and photograph lovers in general, and does not have much of an appeal for people who just want to vent out their disgust, it has managed to somehow remain sublime, and has not attracted any of the distasteful comments that YouTube cannot seem to shake off.
Latest discovery on Flickr : The Bokeh sets. Have fallen in love with the beautiful Bokeh pictures out there, especially when colored serial lights make up the background, just cant seem to get enough of those. I feel the desire to learn how to shoot some, or maybe upgrade to some lenses that can help me achieve and experiment with that effect like for example this one
Hawaiian Rainy Bokeh by AppleJan .
It's been a little over two months since I bought my camera, and I have developed a healthy respect for Flickr, in particular and the concept of user generated content in general.
Many people have this misconception of Flickr as yet another online photo storage application, a la Picasa.
1. The subtle difference is that although you can upload your pictures to Flickr like with any other photo-sharing tool, Flickr mandates you to focus on the quality of your uploads by imposing limits on monthly uploads (atleast for non-Pro accounts).
In doing so, it indirectly prompts the user to pick only a subset of pictures that can narrate his story.
2. Flickr provides support for Creative Commons meaning that the user gets to choose the "Some Rights reserved" paradigm as opposed to the "All Rights Reserved".
This helps promote and realise the true power of user generated content, by encouraging users to build upon others content, and express it in a different way.
3. The other thing about Flickr is that it has taken off in a way that promotes learning.
One of the important features in this regard is Flickr's support of EXIF data. For the uninitiated, when you look at an photograph, and wonder what settings were used to achieve the effect in the picture, the EXIF can give you a few pointers in the right direction.
That is of course, assuming that the photograph was not retouched by a software application such as Photoshop or Picasa.
Communities are another of Flickr's greatest assets. The active reponses to queries, and the eagerness with which people share their own secrets of photography are quite inspiring.
4. Lastly, as Flickr is positioned specifically to appeal to amateurs, hobbyists and photograph lovers in general, and does not have much of an appeal for people who just want to vent out their disgust, it has managed to somehow remain sublime, and has not attracted any of the distasteful comments that YouTube cannot seem to shake off.
Latest discovery on Flickr : The Bokeh sets. Have fallen in love with the beautiful Bokeh pictures out there, especially when colored serial lights make up the background, just cant seem to get enough of those. I feel the desire to learn how to shoot some, or maybe upgrade to some lenses that can help me achieve and experiment with that effect like for example this one
Hawaiian Rainy Bokeh by AppleJan .
2 comments:
i think the hawaiian rainy bokeh link is incorrect
just corrected it, thanks dude
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