# Flickr, 500px, Smugmug etc - What's your number 1 most viewed image



## Tropicalmemories

I don't normally look at data from my photo hosting site, as it's mainly used for backing up images, but Flickr introduced a new Stats feature on the Android App, and I was surprised to see that my most popular photo, by a huge margin, was a mobile phone holiday snap :-(

All that cash blown on bodies, lenses and lights, and a mobile phone snap gets 40,000 more views than my next most popular image!

It's not even a very good snap, as she looks to be wearing a tree as a hat. 

So what's your number 1 most viewed image, is it also a surprise to you?


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## Braineack

you do know why this is your most viewed image right?

This reminds me of something I saw a few weeks ago online, where an artist started posting her work with her included in the image in order to get more likes, and everyone called her out on it.

Made a watercolor painting of Geralt! :) Do you prefer it like this or with a background? : netflixwitcher

Made a watercolor painting of Geralt  (credit to aquarellinde) : TossACoin

Why I post paintings (and include myself sometimes) : aquarellinde




with that said, this is my most viewed image on Flickr:




Pookie by Braineack, on Flickr


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## Tropicalmemories

Braineack said:


> you do know why this is your most viewed image right?
> 
> This reminds me of something I saw a few weeks ago online, where an artist started posting her work with her included in the image in order to get more likes, and everyone called her out on it.
> 
> Made a watercolor painting of Geralt! :) Do you prefer it like this or with a background? : netflixwitcher
> 
> Made a watercolor painting of Geralt  (credit to aquarellinde) : TossACoin
> 
> Why I post paintings (and include myself sometimes) : aquarellinde
> 
> 
> 
> 
> with that said, this is my most viewed image on Flickr:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Pookie by Braineack, on Flickr




Awww.  Everybody likes a cat photo.


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## Tropicalmemories

Braineack said:


> you do know why this is your most viewed image right?
> 
> This reminds me of something I saw a few weeks ago online, where an artist started posting her work with her included in the image in order to get more likes, and everyone called her out on it.
> 
> Made a watercolor painting of Geralt! :) Do you prefer it like this or with a background? : netflixwitcher
> 
> Made a watercolor painting of Geralt  (credit to aquarellinde) : TossACoin
> 
> Why I post paintings (and include myself sometimes) : aquarellinde
> 
> 
> 
> 
> with that said, this is my most viewed image on Flickr:
> 
> Pookie by Braineack, on Flickr



My photostream is mostly images of my partner, as portrait photography is my main interest, so the mobile phone shot with the most views has similar content to many of my other images, but it has significantly more views at 53,000 than my second most popular image (taken with a 'proper' camera) with 13,000.

So I'm genuinely interested to see other people's most popular images.

A good photo of a cat makes sense to me.


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## Braineack

When I posted pictures of my face, I get negative views!

Really, when I look at Flickr, the images I've shared in various groups are the ones most viewed.


Oh shoot, I lied!  This is my most viewed image on my flickr at 6,713 views:





Heel by Braineack, on Flickr


Pookie above is only 1,710, but has the most stars.


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## SquarePeg

@Braineack just realized wasn’t following you on Flickr so I fixed that!


My most viewed on Flickr are the 3 that got “explored” - each having a little over 7k views and one that I posted to the macro Mondays group.  

On Instagram I’m not sure how to track that but I did have a photo reposted by Lensbaby recently that got a bunch of likes.  Way more than my usual 20-30 lol but still under 1k. 

 I don’t have a ton of followers on either site.  I don’t understand how some of these people have 20k followers when some of them, on Flickr in particular, don’t even have any content posted.  Definitely these systems can be gamed but not sure what the reward is for such efforts.


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## K9Kirk

Nice pic, I can see why the popularity, it's a visually pleasing picture. What I've come to realize is people aren't judging pictures by their quality so much as by their content. Try this little experiment and put up a picture of a piece of broccoli along with a picture of a slice of pizza of the same 'technical quality' and see which one gets the most likes. I guarantee you most peoples saliva glands will vote pizza. Now if a panel of photo judges viewed the two pictures the broccoli would stand a much, much better chance of winning.


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## Tropicalmemories

SquarePeg said:


> @Braineack just realized wasn’t following you on Flickr so I fixed that!
> 
> 
> My most viewed on Flickr are the 3 that got “explored” - each having a little over 7k views and one that I posted to the macro Mondays group.
> 
> On Instagram I’m not sure how to track that but I did have a photo reposted by Lensbaby recently that got a bunch of likes.  Way more than my usual 20-30 lol but still under 1k.
> 
> I don’t have a ton of followers on either site.  I don’t understand how some of these people have 20k followers when some of them, on Flickr in particular, don’t even have any content posted.  Definitely these systems can be gamed but not sure what the reward is for such efforts.



Following him too - those baby shots are gorgeous.


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## waday

This one was shared by Canon on their Instagram page making by far the most viewed and liked picture I will likely ever have:


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## adamhiram

For whatever reason, this is my highest viewed photo of all time on Flickr.  Maybe because of the keyword tags?




20180327-DSC_6778a by adamhiram, on Flickr


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## Braineack

what are the different colors?  to distinguish ones bought at the same time?


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## adamhiram

Braineack said:


> what are the different colors?  to distinguish ones bought at the same time?


Pretty much - since my speedlights all use batteries 4 at a time, this ensures that anything with the same color is the same age with the same number of cycles.


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## Derrel

Out of about 10,000 photos on my pBase pages, this one has been number one for quite a few years. It was made in the late 1980's and was shot at a makeover event that was held at a local high school gym using Speedotron flash and Kodacolor Gold 200 film.

I think that, maybe, this photo is clicked upon because people think she looks a lot like the old Madonna, the way Madonna used to look back in the 1980s. When seen as a thumbnail, this shot gets lots of clicks. A few years ago I moved it around, and it drew the most clicks on whatever page it was put in, so there is something inherently clickable about this photo.


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## crf8

Sete Harbor


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## limr

Somehow, this was my most viewed. 




Spinning by limrodrigues, on Flickr


This was apparently my most liked:




Tree in the field by limrodrigues, on Flickr


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## snowbear

I don't have pro so I have to go through the camera roll to get numbers.

Flickr #1 - 1,318 views.  



cmw3_d40_5314 by Charlie Wrenn, on Flickr

Flickr #2 - 160 views.  An old photo but not on Flickr  for that long.  It is also the most viewed and downloaded image of mine on morgueFile (a royalty-free reference photo/micro stock site) - 12,154 views, 4,241 downloads.


cmw3_d40_butterfly1 by Snowbear Photography, on Flickr


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## Tropicalmemories

adamhiram said:


> For whatever reason, this is my highest viewed photo of all time on Flickr.  Maybe because of the keyword tags?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 20180327-DSC_6778a by adamhiram, on Flickr



After just viewing your photostream it makes sense - but you have much better photos than this one.


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## Tropicalmemories

limr said:


> Somehow, this was my most viewed.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Spinning by limrodrigues, on Flickr
> 
> 
> This was apparently my most liked:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Tree in the field by limrodrigues, on Flickr



Yes, this illustrates my point about the random nature of most viewed.  This is certainly not your best image!

For me your misty yacht image is great, and the black and white bridges, but an instant speed blur got the most views.


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## Tropicalmemories

Derrel said:


> View attachment 187517 Out of about 10,000 photos on my pBase pages, this one has been number one for quite a few years. It was made in the late 1980's and was shot at a makeover event that was held at a local high school gym using Speedotron flash and Kodacolor Gold 200 film.
> 
> I think that, maybe, this photo is clicked upon because people think she looks a lot like the old Madonna, the way Madonna used to look back in the 1980s. When seen as a thumbnail, this shot gets lots of clicks. A few years ago I moved it around, and it drew the most clicks on whatever page it was put in, so there is something inherently clickable about this photo.



Interesting.  Perhaps the intense and engaging eye contact?


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## Jeff G

This one is my most viewed on Flickr.


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## Derrel

About 10 years ago I read something that a photographer wrote. He said "if I like the photo as a thumbnail, I pretty much always like it if I see it large. If I don't like a photo when seeing  it small as a thumbnail  I will usually not like it when seen large."

I think Leonore's  "speedblur " type image is one of those images which is quite compelling as a thumbnail. Seeing it small, I would imagine that most people want to see it larger, to see what its visual riddle might yield. My favorite photo of hers is actually a black and white made near some type of Waterfront in an urban setting.

Gestalt, etc..


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## Tropicalmemories

Jeff G said:


> This one is my most viewed on Flickr.
> View attachment 187547



That one makes sense to me - good, clear shot of the moon, looks like it was taken from Apollo 11.  Must have been clear skies that night.


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## SquarePeg

Strange coincidence that I read this thread yesterday.  Flickr explored one of my Boston skyline photos last might.  Over 10k views in just a few hours.


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## SquarePeg

Dilemma on this subject - The photo that got explored is one that I had added to Flickr and then realized afterwards that some of the selective exposure adjustments that I made were sloppy and gave a couple of the buildings a halo effect. I was planning on re-editing and fixing that and then going to remove and re-post the photo. But now that particular photo has over 20k views and 200+ faves so I guess I’m just stuck with it if I want to keep my big “win” on Flickr.


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## Tropicalmemories

SquarePeg said:


> Dilemma on this subject - The photo that got explored is one that I had added to Flickr and then realized afterwards that some of the selective exposure adjustments that I made were sloppy and gave a couple of the buildings a halo effect. I was planning on re-editing and fixing that and then going to remove and re-post the photo. But now that particular photo has over 20k views and 200+ faves so I guess I’m just stuck with it if I want to keep my big “win” on Flickr.



I thought there was a way to replace a photo in Flickr?  So could re-edit your image and use this to replace the original.


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## limr

Tropicalmemories said:


> SquarePeg said:
> 
> 
> 
> Dilemma on this subject - The photo that got explored is one that I had added to Flickr and then realized afterwards that some of the selective exposure adjustments that I made were sloppy and gave a couple of the buildings a halo effect. I was planning on re-editing and fixing that and then going to remove and re-post the photo. But now that particular photo has over 20k views and 200+ faves so I guess I’m just stuck with it if I want to keep my big “win” on Flickr.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I thought there was a way to replace a photo in Flickr?  So could re-edit your image and use this to replace the original.
Click to expand...


I was thinking the same thing. I think it's possible to replace the image without it affecting any of the views/likes or link.


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## CherylL

My all time views is a video of the pups in slo-mo



Slo Mo Schnauzers 2 by Cheryl, on Flickr

2nd place is a Christmas card of the pups from a few years ago.  Photo to watercolor.



Merry Christmas by Cheryl, on Flickr


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## waday

CherylL said:


> My all time views is a video of the pups in slo-mo
> 
> 
> 
> Slo Mo Schnauzers 2 by Cheryl, on Flickr
> 
> 2nd place is a Christmas card of the pups from a few years ago.  Photo to watercolor.
> 
> 
> 
> Merry Christmas by Cheryl, on Flickr


THAT VIDEO! I love it so much


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## CherylL

waday said:


> CherylL said:
> 
> 
> 
> My all time views is a video of the pups in slo-mo
> 
> 
> 
> Slo Mo Schnauzers 2 by Cheryl, on Flickr
> 
> 2nd place is a Christmas card of the pups from a few years ago.  Photo to watercolor.
> 
> 
> 
> Merry Christmas by Cheryl, on Flickr
> 
> 
> 
> THAT VIDEO! I love it so much
Click to expand...


Thanks Wade!  They can't catch a ball


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## waday

CherylL said:


> waday said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> CherylL said:
> 
> 
> 
> My all time views is a video of the pups in slo-mo
> 
> 
> 
> Slo Mo Schnauzers 2 by Cheryl, on Flickr
> 
> 2nd place is a Christmas card of the pups from a few years ago.  Photo to watercolor.
> 
> 
> 
> Merry Christmas by Cheryl, on Flickr
> 
> 
> 
> THAT VIDEO! I love it so much
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> Thanks Wade!  They can't catch a ball
Click to expand...

Roxy is the same way. When she was a pup, she was excellent and could catch balls, treats, toys, etc. Now, she pretty much pulls a George Michael from Arrested Development:


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## Tropicalmemories

CherylL said:


> waday said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> CherylL said:
> 
> 
> 
> My all time views is a video of the pups in slo-mo
> 
> 
> 
> Slo Mo Schnauzers 2 by Cheryl, on Flickr
> 
> 2nd place is a Christmas card of the pups from a few years ago.  Photo to watercolor.
> 
> 
> 
> Merry Christmas by Cheryl, on Flickr
> 
> 
> 
> THAT VIDEO! I love it so much
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> Thanks Wade!  They can't catch a ball
Click to expand...


But they can catch biscuits!


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## SquarePeg

Omg you guys 40k views in 1 day!  That’s nuts.  I’ve had other photos “explored” on Flickr and they’ve gotten maybe 5-6K views at the most over a week.  Were they under-performers? is this 40k views normal or a weird fluke?


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## mnhoj

dual by john matsu, on Flickr


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## NGH

My most viewed on Flickr...




CarrotRoom-6021091.jpg 
by Nigel, on Flickr


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## Tropicalmemories

NGH said:


> My most viewed on Flickr...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> CarrotRoom-6021091.jpg
> by Nigel, on Flickr



It's a nice abstract image, but your wildlife images are much, much better than this one in my view - so this is a viewing figures one  I don't understand, like my one in my OP.  You have other image I also think are better and they are in a similar number Groups too, but views are much lower.


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## NGH

Tropicalmemories said:


> It's a nice abstract image, but your wildlife images are much, much better than this one in my view - so this is a viewing figures one  I don't understand, like my one in my OP.  You have other image I also think are better and they are in a similar number Groups too, but views are much lower.



I do like abstracts but this one is a little bit of a mystery as to why it was so popular.  I took it whilst doing a photo workshop and it really had nothing to do with the subject matter but I took it anyway and thought little of it.  The photographer who was running the workshop pointed it out as a nice image and so I ended up putting it on Flickr not really expecting much from it.  Then it got Explore and went crazy.  That Flickr Explore algorithm is a weird one 

Thanks about my animal shots; to be honest I don't feel like a shoot a lot of wildlife; maybe I should do more but then I'd need another lens


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## CherylL

SquarePeg said:


> Omg you guys 40k views in 1 day!  That’s nuts.  I’ve had other photos “explored” on Flickr and they’ve gotten maybe 5-6K views at the most over a week.  Were they under-performers? is this 40k views normal or a weird fluke?



Congrats on Explore!  44k views is insane   but a good insane.  The photo must have a high rank.  You can check your rank at scout labs.


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## SquarePeg

CherylL said:


> SquarePeg said:
> 
> 
> 
> Omg you guys 40k views in 1 day!  That’s nuts.  I’ve had other photos “explored” on Flickr and they’ve gotten maybe 5-6K views at the most over a week.  Were they under-performers? is this 40k views normal or a weird fluke?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Congrats on Explore!  44k views is insane   but a good insane.  The photo must have a high rank.  You can check your rank at scout labs.
Click to expand...


Thanks Cheryl that’s a cool resource to have.  It says my photo is ranked 41.  It shows that previous photos of mine in explore were ranked high 200’s so that explains the huge difference in number of views.


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## zulu42

My most viewed has 4139 views and 44 favs


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## NGH

zulu42 said:


> My most viewed has 4139 views and 44 favs
> View attachment 187621



very nice... kinda dreamy


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## Derrel

Novelty/ uniqueness  plays a part in the high hit count of the abstract color block shot, I would guess.


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## shadowlands

Tropicalmemories said:


> I don't normally look at data from my photo hosting site, as it's mainly used for backing up images, but Flickr introduced a new Stats feature on the Android App, and I was surprised to see that my most popular photo, by a huge margin, was a mobile phone holiday snap :-(
> 
> All that cash blown on bodies, lenses and lights, and a mobile phone snap gets 40,000 more views than my next most popular image!
> 
> It's not even a very good snap, as she looks to be wearing a tree as a hat.
> 
> So what's your number 1 most viewed image, is it also a surprise to you?
> 
> View attachment 187476


 I approve of this message and image!!!


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## shadowlands

Mine... 16k+ views
Shot a long time ago. Wasn't even a great shot, photography wise, but I think the subject matter helped it along.


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## Derrel

Subject matter is about 80% of clickability. IMO.


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## SquarePeg

zulu42 said:


> My most viewed has 4139 views and 44 favs
> View attachment 187621



Beautiful


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## zulu42

NGH said:


> very nice... kinda dreamy



Thank you!



SquarePeg said:


> Beautiful



Thank you!  The one oh five...


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## SquarePeg

SquarePeg said:


> Beautiful



Thank you!  The one oh five...[/QUOTE]

I should never have sold that!  It’s the only thing I miss about Nikon.


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## Sharpshooterr

shadowlands said:


> Mine... 16k+ views
> Shot a long time ago. Wasn't even a great shot, photography wise, but I think the subject matter helped it along.
> 
> View attachment 187622



I think this pose is unorthodox, unusual and nicely done. It would make me stop and look. The smile is inviting so this has all the makings of a sleeper shot. Nice shot. 
Since this seems ok, I’ll post a couple!!!
SS


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## Sharpshooterr

_Removed as NSFW. _


 I’m not on any photo sharing sites but I am on Instagram and Model Mayhem si I’ll post 2 pics, one from each.
I think one of these pics is a mistake or a glitch it’s so out of character!
Both of these where shot about 5 years ago.
The first is Gamer Girl. At least she used to have a gamer blog and posted pics of herself to drive all the little gamer boys wild, which I’m sure she did!!! These sites get very little traffic, I’m FAR from an influencer! LoL
Just a quick shot for her blog but even though I had 1/2 as many followers a year ago it is still my most “liked” image on IG with about 100 likes!
The second is Girl With Little Black Purse, from Model Mayhem. I posted this shot and never really looked at it again. I was keeping an eye on an image, my most viewed pic, at about 1300 views. A couple years went by and I was looking back at past posts and was literally SHOCKED that this pic had 13,000+ views!!! That’s 10x more than my next most viewed pic!!!
Both are FAR from my best shots(I think), but whoever looks at my sites seem to like them the most!!!
SS


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## johngpt

I've had a few photos make it to Flickr's Explore, without any rhyme or reason for which that I can determine.

This is my most viewed so far with 102,773 views.



Rio Arriba county

This one is second most viewed with 92,405 views.



the old ford tractor 

This one has the most "faves" at 844, with 61,894 views.
It was posted for Flickr's "Sliders Sunday" group, the images are wildly over processed by taking sliders to the max.



lightning composite #02 30Jul18 slide

.


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## Tropicalmemories

johngpt said:


> I've had a few photos make it to Flickr's Explore, without any rhyme or reason for which that I can determine.
> 
> This is my most viewed so far with 102,773 views.
> 
> 
> 
> Rio Arriba county
> 
> This one is second most viewed with 92,405 views.
> 
> 
> 
> the old ford tractor
> 
> This one has the most "faves" at 844, with 61,894 views.
> It was posted for Flickr's "Sliders Sunday" group, the images are wildly over processed by taking sliders to the max.
> 
> 
> 
> lightning composite #02 30Jul18 slide
> 
> .



Interesting - your Rio Arriba scene is now overc102,000 views in 4 months, but again just my view, but the old farm machinery, fall trees, the bird, are all more appealing images to my eyes, all with a similar duration, but far fewer views.

Perhaps some of the people Liking these popular images are 'Super-spreaders' who have lots of followers?


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## Derrel

I like The View with that old tractor pull combine


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## Derrel

In terms of my most- hit gallery...without question , this gal's

 

 ...over 5,000 discrete visitors in the first  weekend, back in 2014. Most unusual for pBase. pBase has a front page where most recent Gallery uploads are featured. Typically you will only be on the front page for 2 days at the very most. If there have been lots of uploads you might be on page one for as little as 6 hours.


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## MSnowy




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## johngpt

Tropicalmemories said:


> Interesting - your Rio Arriba scene is now overc102,000 views in 4 months, but again just my view, but the old farm machinery, fall trees, the bird, are all more appealing images to my eyes, all with a similar duration, but far fewer views.
> 
> Perhaps some of the people Liking these popular images are 'Super-spreaders' who have lots of followers?


Frank, I've never been able to figure out Flickr's "algorithm" for "interestingness." Interestingness was what Flickr at one time used for deciding which images made it to their Explore. They said they used an algorithm.
If Flickr somehow chooses to place an image at the top of Explore, then that is what generates all the views and faves.
It doesn't seem to be the views and faves that cause an image to be placed in Explore.

I know superb photographers at Flickr who have never had an image in Explore.
And then there are mediocre photographers like me who have had over one hundred.
Go figure.


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## NGH

It's a mystery but I believe that once you get explore you are more likely to get repeats, I didn't get one for years and then got one followed by three more in just a few months.  Also there is one way to guarantee an explore and that is to take pictures of Lego people!


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## Tropicalmemories

Derrel said:


> In terms of my most- hit gallery...without question , this gal'sView attachment 187631 View attachment 187632 ...over 5,000 discrete visitors in the first  weekend, back in 2014. Most unusual for pBase. pBase has a front page where most recent Gallery uploads are featured. Typically you will only be on the front page for 2 days at the very most. If there have been lots of uploads you might be on page one for as little as 6 hours.



That is a very nice shot.  Background is interesting, just enough OOF, nice grass in foreground, attractive model, relaxed but confident pose.  I get why it was popular.


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## Tropicalmemories

NGH said:


> It's a mystery but I believe that once you get explore you are more likely to get repeats, I didn't get one for years and then got one followed by three more in just a few months.  Also there is one way to guarantee an explore and that is to take pictures of Lego people!



Thete's been a lot of discussion about the Flickr algorithm, but I think it's based on the rate that Likes, Views and Comments are added after posting.  So if you post in a million Groups and have a lot of Followers, you improve your chances.

Buses also seem to do well for some odd reason.

I've never had an Explore


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## Derrel

Tropicalmemories said:


> Derrel said:
> 
> 
> 
> In terms of my most- hit gallery...without question , this gal'sView attachment 187631 View attachment 187632 ...over 5,000 discrete visitors in the first  weekend, back in 2014. Most unusual for pBase. pBase has a front page where most recent Gallery uploads are featured. Typically you will only be on the front page for 2 days at the very most. If there have been lots of uploads you might be on page one for as little as 6 hours.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> That is a very nice shot.  Background is interesting, just enough OOF, nice grass in foreground, attractive model, relaxed but confident pose.  I get why it was popular.
Click to expand...


Thanks. I think that around the 2014 time frame, I shot some of my best people pictures. 2014 was my third year shooting the Nikon D3x, which I found to be perhaps the best camera I have ever used in the past 45 years. It was a great shooter for me. It had a fantastic viewfinder which was super-sharp and clear, on par with a Nikon F3-hp

This 35 year-old beauty, with red hair, blue eyes, and freckles, was photographed near a marina and park on the shores of the Columbia River in Saint Helens, Oregon.


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## Sharpshooterr

NGH said:


> It's a mystery but I believe that once you get explore you are more likely to get repeats, I didn't get one for years and then got one followed by three more in just a few months.  Also there is one way to guarantee an explore and that is to take pictures of Lego people!



Nigel, I looked at your Flickr and saw you had a Leafy Sea Dragon!
LoL, let me tell ya my Leafy Sea Dragon story!!
I spent 3 days Diving out of Melbourne off a boat. I knew there were leafy Sea Dragons(LSD) in the area and had always wanted to see one. After 3 days and 6 dives I had pretty much gotten skunked!
As I was turning in my gear someone at the dive shop asked if my dive had been a success. I said NO because I never got to see a danged LSD!!
They looked at me incredulously and said, "well go out and see one".
I'm sure I looked pretty darned perplexed, after all I was turning in my gear!
They said to just go out to the end of the dock and look for one.
So I strapped the tank back on, it still had about 15 minutes of air in it, and followed the pylons out to the end of the pier. I went down and  looked around and there, just floating around were THREE LSD's and I'm sure they were all just laughing at me!!! LoL
SS


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## SquarePeg

Tropicalmemories said:


> NGH said:
> 
> 
> 
> It's a mystery but I believe that once you get explore you are more likely to get repeats, I didn't get one for years and then got one followed by three more in just a few months.  Also there is one way to guarantee an explore and that is to take pictures of Lego people!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thete's been a lot of discussion about the Flickr algorithm, but I think it's based on the rate that Likes, Views and Comments are added after posting.  So if you post in a million Groups and have a lot of Followers, you improve your chances.
> 
> Buses also seem to do well for some odd reason.
> 
> I've never had an Explore
Click to expand...


The FAQ in the site Cheryl provided says the opposite of that.  The funny thing is I was just complaining to another photographer while taking thise skyline photos that the “explore” photos lately have really sucked lol.  Lots of LEGO stuff and what looks like screen grabs from video games involving unrealistically endowed  women.  

The main thing I’ve noticed is that when I’m active on Flickr, commenting on and faving other peoples stuff, following new people etc., that’s when I get a photo explored.  @johngpt and @CherylL are both active on Flickr, not just posting but commenting as well and they have many explores.  The other thing I noticed is that Flickr explore likes long titles.


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## SquarePeg

I did read in the explore group discussion recently that since being taken over by Smugmug they have been surveying people about what they want to see on explore.


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## NGH

Sharpshooterr said:


> NGH said:
> 
> 
> 
> It's a mystery but I believe that once you get explore you are more likely to get repeats, I didn't get one for years and then got one followed by three more in just a few months.  Also there is one way to guarantee an explore and that is to take pictures of Lego people!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Nigel, I looked at your Flickr and saw you had a Leafy Sea Dragon!
> LoL, let me tell ya my Leafy Sea Dragon story!!
> I spent 3 days Diving out of Melbourne off a boat. I knew there were leafy Sea Dragons(LSD) in the area and had always wanted to see one. After 3 days and 6 dives I had pretty much gotten skunked!
> As I was turning in my gear someone at the dive shop asked if my dive had been a success. I said NO because I never got to see a danged LSD!!
> They looked at me incredulously and said, "well go out and see one".
> I'm sure I looked pretty darned perplexed, after all I was turning in my gear!
> They said to just go out to the end of the dock and look for one.
> So I strapped the tank back on, it still had about 15 minutes of air in it, and followed the pylons out to the end of the pier. I went down and  looked around and there, just floating around were THREE LSD's and I'm sure they were all just laughing at me!!! LoL
> SS
Click to expand...

I guess that's the way of things; you can look and look and then just as you give up there they are  I can't claim to be as adventurous as you with my capture; mine were handily on display at my local aquarium


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## NGH

Tropicalmemories said:


> NGH said:
> 
> 
> 
> It's a mystery but I believe that once you get explore you are more likely to get repeats, I didn't get one for years and then got one followed by three more in just a few months.  Also there is one way to guarantee an explore and that is to take pictures of Lego people!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thete's been a lot of discussion about the Flickr algorithm, but I think it's based on the rate that Likes, Views and Comments are added after posting.  So if you post in a million Groups and have a lot of Followers, you improve your chances.
> 
> Buses also seem to do well for some odd reason.
> 
> I've never had an Explore
Click to expand...


I don't think it based upon likes or comments as mine got explored before comments even started; Apart from whatever makes a photo 'interesting' in their algorithm I think it has more to do with your general activity and as I said it was well over 10 years before I got my first explore then once I got one I got more.  Personally I never look anymore in Explore as there's too much in there that I don't find appealing; I follow groups and people and try to be active in those groups.


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## Sharpshooterr

What is, “explore”?
Who picks them?
What’s explored about them?
How does that give them more views?
SS


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## NGH

Sharpshooterr said:


> What is, “explore”?
> Who picks them?
> What’s explored about them?
> How does that give them more views?
> SS


Explore is a specific section of Flickr where you can see recent popular posts (a little like 'Active Posts' here) or browse photos that aren't part of your normal feed.
Explore is just a name for the 'page' people just just it as a verb; "I've been Explored!" meaning they have a photo that has been highlighted in this feature.
Having it highlighted means you are more likely to get seen by people who view the explore section of the website


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## CherylL

I've heard the algorithm to Flickr Explore includes how social, what groups you participate, time of day posting, day of the week.  I've had some photos Explored that I didn't think were all that special.   One I took of an old metal roof looking up.  Something out of the ordinary or colors were selected?


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## CherylL

Sharpshooterr said:


> What is, “explore”?
> Who picks them?
> What’s explored about them?
> How does that give them more views?
> SS



On your home page of Flickr click on the Explore tab.  A super secret algorithm picks interesting photos each day.  I'm not sure each day, maybe 500?  And depending on the views/likes the photos move up or down which is ranking.
Explore | Flickr


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## weepete

Not much liked or viewed on Flickr, but picked up by Fstoppers and got 2.5K likes on their instagram




The Lone Tree by wee_pete, on Flickr


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## AlanKlein

Portland Head Lighthouse on Cape Elizabeth, Portland, Maine, USA by Alan Klein, on Flickr


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## 480sparky

Can't post the image here, just a link to it.

I dunno why, but this is the most-viewed shot I have over at Pixels.com

Poppajohn Sculpture Park Sky Pano by Ken DePue


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## SquarePeg

AlanKlein said:


> Portland Head Lighthouse on Cape Elizabeth, Portland, Maine, USA by Alan Klein, on Flickr



That’s nice.


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## SquarePeg

weepete said:


> Not much liked or viewed on Flickr, but picked up by Fstoppers and got 2.5K likes on their instagram
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The Lone Tree by wee_pete, on Flickr



Definitely one of my favorites


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## BrentC

My most viewed




Goldfinch by Brent Cameron, on Flickr


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## thereyougo!

This is my most viewed and the one with the most faves also...




Hastings Point sunset by singingsnapper, on Flickr


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## SquarePeg

BrentC said:


> My most viewed
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Goldfinch by Brent Cameron, on Flickr



I can see why - really love everything about this one.


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## waday

BrentC said:


> My most viewed
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Goldfinch by Brent Cameron, on Flickr


Brent! Long time no see!

Great picture!


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## Tropicalmemories

BrentC said:


> My most viewed
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Goldfinch by Brent Cameron, on Flickr



Yes, that one makes complete sense, really nice image.


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## AlanKlein

Everyone's pictures are all very nice.


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## DanOstergren

This is my most viewed. I took it back in 2012 in the Marin Headlands. 

Just a heads up, it's NSFW.


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## Sharpshooterr

DanOstergren said:


> This is my most viewed. I took it back in 2012 in the Marin Headlands.
> 
> Just a heads up, it's NSFW.
> View attachment 187892



Dan this is an awesome image. It has uniqueness and edginess which almost everything lack!! I like how the bright background sets it of which is usually a no-no. 
I don’t see anything nsfw about it but hey, I had one removed and the girl was wearing a bodysuit, so go figure?! 
Nice job!!!
SS


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