# I guess I don't "get" Flickr - in particular, the awards.



## PhotoXopher (Dec 21, 2009)

Let me preface this by saying I'm trying flickr and in doing so I've stumbled across something that bugs me.

Apparently one of the following is true:

I don't understand what makes a good photo.
Flickr awards are a huge joke.

Anyone else see what they believe are crap or just snapshot photos that are praised beyond ridiculous and even receive 'awards'?

Is it just a big joke or is there a higher scale of photography that I just can't grasp yet?

Here are a few examples:
Jardin ouvrier / Allotment on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
L'arbre penchÃ© / The bent tree on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Tas de pneus / Piles of tires on Flickr - Photo Sharing!


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## Goontz (Dec 21, 2009)

Yeah, those .gif "awards" are ridiculous and annoying. I have to agree with the examples posted, I guess ya just have to take comments for what they're worth. There's a lot of things I see on there with endless praises that I wouldn't give a second look to.


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## HikinMike (Dec 21, 2009)

When I signed up in 2007, the 'awards' weren't that bad and I liked it because most would comment too. Now its a joke. I let me subscription run out so I can't post anymore. 

When I used to post photos there, I quit joining any group that had an award....period. I also put "*Comments only. Please no invite "icons or awards". Thank you." *on each photo.That said, I'm still thinking about re-subscribing just so I can get more exposure.


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## PhotoXopher (Dec 21, 2009)

OK, so it's not just me then 

I think it's decent, and a nice quick method to share photos. I use SmugMug for my family stuff but wanted a place to keep my 'photography' related stuff separate.


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## itznfb (Dec 21, 2009)

flickr makes me want to throw away all my gear. Sorry, I just have to express my flickr hatred in every flickr thread...


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## bigtwinky (Dec 21, 2009)

I'm sure some people use flickr to give them a false sense of accomplishment.  Go there, post up the image in a place were people give you sparklies, get said sparklies and you thus feel better about your image.

You can chose to use flickr as you wish.  I don't update my website every week, so I use flickr as a place to store my most recent shots and will sometimes refer people to it.

I like posting in various groups that actually give some feedback on the image.  While I rarely get good feedback, I join groups that I like so I can scan through them to get an idea of what people are posting up.  A good source of inspiration.

I've also met up with a few fellow flickrers which was fun.

And thats the extent of my flickr usage


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## Overread (Dec 21, 2009)

meh most awards are not worth the binery they are made up of on flickr. However don't dispare some of the groups are well worth taking part in. The canon/nikon and other brand boards tend to get a good amount of attention and some good members making posts in their threads And if you search around there are other spcialist interest boards there which have been setup. Even many places such as zoos will have one (though most are made by photographers and have little to no input from the centre itself). 

As for the awards - just don't go for those sorts of group


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## Derrel (Dec 21, 2009)

itznfb said:


> flickr makes me want to throw away all my gear. Sorry, I just have to express my flickr hatred in every flickr thread...



Flickr is the modern urban telephone pole; loaded, simply loaded with old staples and remnants of fliers people have tacked up, tacked over, ripped off,taped up, double-stapled, push-pinned, you name it.


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## PhotoXopher (Dec 21, 2009)

Now there's a reference I can understand!


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## ANDS! (Dec 21, 2009)

I am not convinced those awards linked are not an actual joke.  The same awards are being handed out.  If its not a joke - cest la vie.  As the saying goes there is no accounting for taste - this works both ways, for good art and bad art.


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## Overread (Dec 21, 2009)

Oh its not a joke - you have ot remember that flickr (dispite the PRO lable on everyones profile who has paid for an account) is not exclusive to the photography pro or the keen amateur but to anyone. 
Thus you get all sorts as well as all levels of skill and of award. Not only that but there is a lot of backpatting and further groups which have rules on voting - you post a photo you must ward/nominate etc.. at least so many photos after that


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## Rekd (Dec 21, 2009)

I didn't even know there was such a thing as flickr awards. (Not sure how (or why) I would get into it, so nothing gained, nothing lost I suppose.) And yeah, those samples are slightly interesting, but nothing to get/give an award about.

On a lighter note:



itznfb said:


> flickr makes me want to throw away all my gear.



I here I thought it was this that made you want to throw away your gear...





> Nikon
> D300s | Nikon AF-S VR 70-200mm f/2.8G


  :lmao:

Just kidding. :greenpbl:

I've never used Nikon and the only reason I bought Canon was because I've got a couple of old school EF's for Canon and probably would have been just as happy if I had gone with Nikon.


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## itznfb (Dec 21, 2009)

Rekd said:


> I didn't even know there was such a thing as flickr awards. (Not sure how (or why) I would get into it, so nothing gained, nothing lost I suppose.) And yeah, those samples are slightly interesting, but nothing to get/give an award about.
> 
> On a lighter note:
> 
> ...



I love my gear...   Go away flickr!


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## KasparP (Dec 21, 2009)

I love Flikrs user interface and the whole concept of a nicely organized place to store all my photos. The fact that you can upload them to full resolution and then get seperate links to smallers sizes is also awesome!


Plus, you get to brag a little


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## thebeatles (Dec 21, 2009)

PhotoXopher said:


> Jardin ouvrier / Allotment on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
> L'arbre penchÃ© / The bent tree on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
> Tas de pneus / Piles of tires on Flickr - Photo Sharing!



:lmao::lmao::lmao:
I can't believe the number of ridiculous comments these photos get, (let alone the fact that these photos are "award winners".)
no offense if the award winners are on this forum, I'm sure it's not your fault, people just went crazy over the brilliance of your opus.


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## Gabriel (Dec 21, 2009)

I don't get flickr either, but I use it to show some photos that have either run their course on my site, or that I want to have them seen but don't think highly enough of them to add to my site. 

You have to remember that flickr is a storage site - you don't even have to take the picture to put it on there, apparently. I've seen "collections" of photos of girls that were obviously pulled from the Internet. You can also see the quality of some of the members themselves when you look at the obscene notes left on images of pretty girls. "I wanna lick this spot here," is not, in my book, to be considered constructive criticism. :lmao:

Oh, and I forgot about all the "admins" posting invitations for their groups. I want to form a group called "Total Garbage," so I too could post comments like, Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Total Garbage, and I think your photo would really fit in! :lmao::lmao:

Alright, I'm done ragging on flickr....


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## DScience (Dec 21, 2009)

The so called 'awards' are simply 'comments' with glittery colors. Anyone can 'award' another photo, and most are part of groups that REQUIRE you to reward others. Most people don't even care, they just post the award on a few so they can gain comments to their own.


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## Overread (Dec 21, 2009)

Gabriel said:


> You have to remember that flickr is a storage site - you don't even have to take the picture to put it on there, apparently. I've seen "collections" of photos of girls that were obviously pulled from the Internet. You can also see the quality of some of the members themselves when you look at the obscene notes left on images of pretty girls. "I wanna lick this spot here," is not, in my book, to be considered constructive criticism. :lmao:



actually it is a requirement that the account holder be the owner of the images posted onto the site. They allow a little leeway since people sometimes do just want to post a pic their brother/friend etc.... took but it must not be the majority of ones posts. 

Thus accounts such as the one you describe are illegal and  - if reported - will be deleted. 

I recall one person (who I only noticed as the posted a comment on one of my pics) who was using the windows background sample images in their profile (gosh when I saw the quality of them and then checked my own I was shocked - gods they give out some shoddy quality pics for backgrounds do windows *) 


* ps I'm refering to the images as the appear on file, I'm sure the originals look far better


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## Gabriel (Dec 21, 2009)

Overread said:


> Gabriel said:
> 
> 
> > You have to remember that flickr is a storage site - you don't even have to take the picture to put it on there, apparently. I've seen "collections" of photos of girls that were obviously pulled from the Internet. You can also see the quality of some of the members themselves when you look at the obscene notes left on images of pretty girls. "I wanna lick this spot here," is not, in my book, to be considered constructive criticism. :lmao:
> ...



Really? I should have looked into it. I've seen a few profiles like this already, with "borrowed" images. I'll report them next time.


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## Josh66 (Dec 21, 2009)

Those awards are awesome.  That's actually the only reason I got into photography...

I still haven't gotten one yet though, not sure what I'm doing wrong.


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## Goontz (Dec 21, 2009)

O|||||||O said:


> Those awards are awesome.  That's actually the only reason I got into photography...
> 
> I still haven't gotten one yet though, not sure what I'm doing wrong.


 <insert a "you're doing it wrong" picture here>


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## Joves (Dec 21, 2009)

O|||||||O said:


> Those awards are awesome. That's actually the only reason I got into photography...
> 
> I still haven't gotten one yet though, not sure what I'm doing wrong.


 
Maybe your photos arent crappy enough. So you can take that as a good thing.


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## DennyCrane (Dec 21, 2009)

Flickr is a haven for wannabe hipsters. I agree, it used to be much different. Now it seems the worst possible crappy snapshot with a Holga means you're somehow a modern day Ansel. I'll leave Flickr to the fine folks Twittering from their iPod at Starbucks about the latest Wired article.


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## Josh66 (Dec 21, 2009)

"Crappy" and "good" are subjective...  All that matters is "awarded" and "not awarded".


...One day.  :study:


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## DennyCrane (Dec 21, 2009)

The forcetiousness is strong in this one.


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## Josh66 (Dec 21, 2009)

OK, one serious post...

What I find most annoying about the awards is how much room they take up.
If I comment on someone's photo, and it gets an award later on, I have to look at an entire page of comments and stupid awards (talking about the "Recent Activity" page here - not the photo's page).  I guess there's probably a way to hide all that, but it annoys me that I even have to try to find a way to hide it.


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## Dominantly (Dec 21, 2009)

Most people in the world today aren't listening to what you have to say, they are only waiting for their turn to speak.

I believe with sites like Flickr, people post to draw in hits on their own stuff. Maybe something like "you are teh best photographer around, please comment on my stuff"...:er:


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## DScience (Dec 21, 2009)

DennyCrane said:


> Flickr is a haven for wannabe hipsters. I agree, it used to be much different. Now it seems the worst possible crappy snapshot with a Holga means you're somehow a modern day Ansel. I'll leave Flickr to the fine folks Twittering from their iPod at Starbucks about the latest Wired article.




Wannabe hipsters? Are they like wannabe gangsters? lol 


All social networking avenues these days are a haven for whatever is currently trendy...the 'hipster' style happens to be the latest trend, and thus is the reason why you see many 'wannabes' on Flickr. 

Yea there are TONS and TONS of crappy photos on Flickr that make explore, get 100+ comments, and whatever. But, there are just as many more that are simply amazing; some have 0 (zero) comments. NOYZE didn't know what the rewards were, now he does. I personally hate the glitter awards, and often times delete them. However I LOVE Flickr. And if this turns into a Flickr bashing thread, then I'll spend a lil energy defending it.

I first used Flickr back in April when I purchased my slr and joined this forum. I simply joined Flickr because I wanted to easily post pictures to these forums. However now Flickr is as much a part of my life as this forum. There is so much amazing work from a lot of people, it's like an *idea bomb*. When you look over peoples streams, ideas explode into your imagination.

Let me post a few GREAT ones, since only poopy ones have been added to this. These are examples of photos that I just randomly came across, but to me is the reason why I use Flickr.

The Leica M9, and the fastest lens in the world, the Noctilux 50mm f0.95 is something that I dram of having. This guy has some amazing shots with it!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2644/4143287035_579b3d94de.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2794/4144044924_5e15e8967f_b.jpg

and one artistic one from Dustin Diaz

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3512/3274000026_cb50914c14.jpg


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## Rekd (Dec 21, 2009)

DScience said:


> DennyCrane said:
> 
> 
> > Flickr is a haven for wannabe hipsters. I agree, it used to be much different. Now it seems the worst possible crappy snapshot with a Holga means you're somehow a modern day Ansel. I'll leave Flickr to the fine folks Twittering from their iPod at Starbucks about the latest Wired article.
> ...



There are some great shots on flickr. Those you posted are good but still kind of meh IMO. 

One that really caught my eye was this one:

Flickr Photo Download: .

:thumbup:


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## rocdoc (Dec 21, 2009)

I think a lot of folks take flickr a bit too seriously. As someone pointed out, it's a social networking site, not a pro photography site. The "Pro" thing you see in profiles means that person uses the paid service, with unlimited uploads, as opposed to the free basic package (although I have had a co-worker look at my thread and go "aaa, so you do this professionally, that's why you have that big camera" lol). That said, there are a few people there with admirable work, and also a few respectable pros. The vast majority however are folks like me, who dabble in this as a hobby purely for the fun of it, and use the site as a way to interact with other, peep at better work to learn from etc. Others use it to look at boobies. Much like anything else, it can be used for good or bad. The only time it can get really bad is when people take it too seriously, methinks.
The awards are silly, for sure. Most are things that anyone can give anyone else. It's a sparkly way of saying "I like". But as long as one understands and acknowledges that, the whole game can be fun - believe you me, when you have to spend 36 hours in the work place on call and you have several hours where you just sit by your phone or pager waiting, it's a lot better than solitaire...


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## Rekd (Dec 21, 2009)

rocdoc said:


> it's a social networking site



Um, no. It's a photo hosting site. At least for me.


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## rocdoc (Dec 21, 2009)

Rekd said:


> rocdoc said:
> 
> 
> > it's a social networking site
> ...



yes, I agree, it's also a photo hosting site  hey, I'm on your side, I was trying to defend it from the flickr-bashing  As I said, silly awards and all, I will keep using it intensely, enjoying stuff from the good photographers posting there, and shamelessly getting free lessons from that. Worry not, I am in no way a threat to any real artists or pros...


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## Rekd (Dec 21, 2009)

rocdoc said:


> Rekd said:
> 
> 
> > rocdoc said:
> ...



:thumbup:



> shamelessly getting free lessons from that



x2!


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## DScience (Dec 21, 2009)

Rekd said:


> rocdoc said:
> 
> 
> > it's a social networking site
> ...



Um obviously you don't use it much. Try looking up 'Flickr meet up group'.


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## Rekd (Dec 21, 2009)

DScience said:


> Rekd said:
> 
> 
> > rocdoc said:
> ...



Um, obviously you didn't read my entire reply... :lmao:


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## Garbz (Dec 22, 2009)

DScience said:


> Rekd said:
> 
> 
> > rocdoc said:
> ...



Until it's full of people who join and put no content on it with the sole purpose of becoming your friend, then post endless spam about the latest craptacular pop sensation that automatically fills up your front page when you log in (naturally assuming one of your friends don't bit you to join the latest zombie vs vampires application), and all that is left inbetween the meaningless drivel of other people's unwanted comments are emo status updates all saying how happy they are that they have found a new friend, or that they are depressed because the sun wasn't smiling and all their other friends are posting endless spam about the latest craptacular pop sensation............ Oh my god i'm getting dizzy. 

No it's a photo posting site with a minor side feature of offering a forum (nothing more). Or you may as well call Facebook a photo site since it allows you to upload photos. 


In any case most of those idiotic awards are from people who have started small groups and will give awards to anything and anyone with the soul purpose of directing more traffic at their small attention craving group.

Facebook would be a better place if you could automatically ban all these invitations from your account.


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## Sw1tchFX (Dec 22, 2009)

Derrel said:


> itznfb said:
> 
> 
> > flickr makes me want to throw away all my gear. Sorry, I just have to express my flickr hatred in every flickr thread...
> ...


that, is a GREAT analogy of flickr. 

alot of flickr for me, isn't the feedback, but a place where friends and family can see what i'm up to. 

Not to mention, flickr has a community aspect to it, for example the PDX strobist group that meets once or twice a month, to shoot together, coordinated through flickr.

The award system, yes, worthless and attention whoring. 


However, there are some phenomenal images on flickr, no doubt, and i don't think anyone would argue that.


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## thebeatles (Dec 22, 2009)

^You're flickr is great!^
I have looked through it before and was impressed with your photos. :thumbup:


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## Montana (Dec 22, 2009)

Derrel said:


> itznfb said:
> 
> 
> > flickr makes me want to throw away all my gear. Sorry, I just have to express my flickr hatred in every flickr thread...
> ...


 

I couldn't agree more with these two posts. I joined flickr for photohosting and perhaps a chance at some learning experiences 3 years ago. It lasted a week before I figured out what a joke that place was. And the only learning I got was from the photos that you had to agree that you were of over 18 years of age to view. LOL I forget which magazine subscription I have that showcases some great photographers from Flickr every now and then, but they are the exception and not the rule.


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## probe1957 (Dec 22, 2009)

Wow.  I have used Flickr for a couple of years and had no idea they had "awards," as I have never received one.  But I know my stuff is crap so I really don't expect one.


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## bhphotography (Dec 22, 2009)

I don't understand them at all. I post to flickr just to share my work and look at other people's work for inspiration. That's about it really.


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## epp_b (Dec 27, 2009)

The "awards" on Flickr are just worthless merit badges to congratulate mediocrity as an attempt to ensure the perpetual circle-jerk that is Flickr continues.



> Those awards are awesome.  That's actually the only reason I got into photography...
> 
> I still haven't gotten one yet though, not sure what I'm doing wrong.


You're probably making photos that are actually good.


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## ArtphotoasiA (Dec 29, 2009)

I wonder for what serious photographer like you... use flickr? 
Is really a good question... it is so good for sharing?   do you get many comments or visitors ?

I can manage a website and I have my own so actually I will not need flickr for that... for show my portfolios... my idea is mainly to use flickr as platform to get comments and visitors... do you think is a good idea?   a good strategy?


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## RockDawg (Dec 31, 2009)

ArtphotoasiA said:


> I wonder for what serious photographer like you... use flickr?
> Is really a good question... it is so good for sharing?   do you get many comments or visitors ?
> 
> I can manage a website and I have my own so actually I will not need flickr for that... for show my portfolios... my idea is mainly to use flickr as platform to get comments and visitors... do you think is a good idea?   a good strategy?



I'm wondering the same.  For those who have a pro subscription, why Flickr and not Smumug, Zenfolio or something?  I'm talking about simply sharing.  Wat's better about Flickr in that regard?


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## Josh66 (Dec 31, 2009)

RockDawg said:


> ArtphotoasiA said:
> 
> 
> > I wonder for what serious photographer like you... use flickr?
> ...



What's better about those other ones?

The only other photo hosting site I've ever used is photobucket.

I guess I use Flickr instead of any of the other ones because that's what I found first, and now it's too late to change.


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## PhotoXopher (Dec 31, 2009)

I'm a former SmugMug user and after 3 years I switched to flickr.

Why?

Cost.

For the same storage ability flickr is half the cost. The only 2 disadvantages I'm seeing so far is looks/customization and no domain support.


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## Rekd (Dec 31, 2009)

RockDawg said:


> ArtphotoasiA said:
> 
> 
> > I wonder for what serious photographer like you... use flickr?
> ...



I use it because it's easy, cheap, unlimited, there are apps that make it easy to upload and it's not photobucket!


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## ArtphotoasiA (Dec 31, 2009)

I will use probably flyrck because want to make new friends and new visitors for my web.... I hope will be easy to socialize there...  so is a social reason! not a photo reason..

For sure there are better service to show photos.....  I have my own web so I'm not looking that but if not technically speaking I will suggest smug mug... I'm not a member I just come across but the first look I had at the website  was impressive....  

Regards


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## Mulewings~ (Dec 31, 2009)

You can choose to upload to flickr and use their storage...and not join groups to get 'awards'.

I use Flickr mainly for storage and a convenient way to share photos.


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## King Riffle (Jan 1, 2010)

I think someone's just mad that they didn't get the golden sparkly award for their tire-in-a-field picture. 

I rather like flickr. The comments aren't usually worth reading, but it works well as a photo hosting website. Unlike something like photobucket, I can go on Flickr and almost instantly find photos of any particular thing. I can even find photos by the type of camera used, which is great since I'm looking for a new camera. It allows me a rough idea of what kind of results can be expected from the camera, and some of the people on there are great at documenting how they got their photo.


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## cliffy13 (Jan 1, 2010)

I have a free premium Flickr account through my ISP and I use it just to post shots that I can show to friends,if someone wants to comment thats great but I treat those awards as the joke that they are


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## ArtphotoasiA (Jan 1, 2010)

Please explain this story of the awards in Flyrk.
I guess are photo awards or something...
I was used years ago to websites awards that were definetely poor things just a way to spread their links around.... they claimed so many questionable things....  and at the end you must stay to their roules to get one....  it was years ago but still this trash is around.


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## Heretotherephoto (Jan 3, 2010)

We joined Flickr as a way to get exposure for our website.  Unfortunately that has not happened.  Very few folks go to our site from Flickr.  Pbase and this forum are another story.  it seems like our Flickr site gets little to no traffic.  At least photos don't appear to be viewed that often.  

I had dreamed of winning a sparkly award for a long time, or at least having a photo that deserved a great big hug but I guess that shall remain a dream.  Guess I'll have to go find some snow covered tires.


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## george elsasser (Jan 5, 2010)

I just started using Flickr a few months back as a way to maybe raise the profile of my work.  I do not know if I will always be there but for now I am trying it out.  I have similar feelings to most about the silly awards and ugly icons that seem to go with them.

On the other hand, it is a photo sharing community for all people which means it will will have mostly a ton of "snap it" type photos and a far smaller amount of ambitious photographs.  That being said I have found if I look hard enough for good groups the quality of the images posted goes up substantially.  

I have gotten to a place where I look at Flickr as democraticly as possible which for me means I am trying to just be there and except it for what it is.  I think it can be a very positive thing, in that less experienced and even far less ambtious photographers can come into contact with more serious work.  This might open their eyes to work they never would have run into if all of Flickr was just the "snap it stuff".  I have also had the good fortune to run into some very good photographers on Flickr who are good enough to be published but have never even dreamed of such.

my Flickr stream


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## ArtphotoasiA (Jan 9, 2010)

Thanks for the info....

It start to became more clear...

I do not like so much general community and also I do not like awards...  so... lets start to use flyrk as just a tool to find more potential visitors  :thumbup:  will see if happen.


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## gsgary (Jan 9, 2010)

PhotoXopher said:


> Let me preface this by saying I'm trying flickr and in doing so I've stumbled across something that bugs me.
> 
> Apparently one of the following is true:
> 
> ...



I like all 3 of those shots, i'm doing a big project on allotments going to be shootting it over the next year


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## inTempus (Jan 9, 2010)

KasparP said:


> I love Flikrs user interface and the whole concept of a nicely organized place to store all my photos. The fact that you can upload them to full resolution and then get seperate links to smallers sizes is also awesome!


That's my major gripe about Flickr, the user interface sucks.  It's horribly laid out, difficult for the novice to navigate and it's not customizable like SmugMug or similar services.  You get that hideous white no matter what.


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## ArtphotoasiA (Jan 9, 2010)

inTempus said:


> That's my major gripe about Flickr, the user interface sucks.  It's horribly laid out, difficult for the novice to navigate and it's not customizable like SmugMug or similar services.  You get that hideous white no matter what.




Agree on that but it seams to be the usual yahoo crazy policy... Google is destroing them in so many issues....  quite a pity


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## RawHope (Jan 9, 2010)

Interesting thread.  I just got into Flickr and am getting some weird awards.  Do most of you just click "No thanks" and delete the reward comment with the ugly icons?  I don't really want them in my comments...just wondering what you guys do once you get them.


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## jensgt (Jan 9, 2010)

Whats the deal with those awards...you join a group and whoever runs the group gives you an award?  Eh...it doesnt bother me.  I like it better than photobucket...so I keep all my favorite photography on flickr.  Its a free country and instead of getting annoyed at people who post crap and get complimented on it I just think...wow if somebody think that looks good, I must be amazing.  LOL.  I am sure compared to some peoples stuff on here my stuff is crappy too.


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## PatrickCheung (Jan 9, 2010)

haha this IS an interesting thread.  

iunno i use flickr 'cause i like the photostream layout better than most of the other photo hosting sites i used before.  

its been said before, flickr's a place for everyone, from serious photographers to kids with a camera who want praise.  i also find it appeals to those "kids with cameras" more than it appeals to serious photographers.  that said, theres bound to be crappy photos, decent ones, and amazing ones.  and of course, theres gonna be crappy photos that get lots of praise from uneducated people. there's also the issue of commenting to get noticed.  

iunno, i think i'm somewhere between "serious photographer" and "kid with a camera who wants praise"... more on the kid side.  i want an aesthetically pleasing (at least in my eyes) place to share my photos and get useful feedback on how to improve on them, and hopefully get noticed by a few people.  i can do without the praise and useless comments though.  maybe flickr's not the best place but i guess i'll use it since i bought a "pro" account.  

flickr kinda reminds me of highschool.  if you're popular and have friends, everything you do is worthy of praise :]


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## CW Jones (Jan 9, 2010)

Flickr is.... well special. Yes lots of people use it for their crappy snapshots, those would be the people with FREE accounts. I like to think that the work I put up there is better than a snapshot.... I pay for my account and COULD dump tons of images but I don't I use it for selected images. Now its not a portfolio in anyway haha but right now its a good choice for me not having a ton of money for something like SmugMug or ZenFolio or some of the others. 

Just my 2 cents! 
-Collin


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## Antithesis (Jan 9, 2010)

There is some quality work on flickr, but it's usually outnumbered 1000:1, crap:awesomeness. Sometimes you find some really inspiring work though, you just have to sift through all the crap. Some people will seriously post entire memory cards worth of crap up.


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## bhop (Jan 10, 2010)

The awards are just comments from regular people that like your pics.  They add the little gif themselves when they make a comment.  You don't have to be a member of any group to receive one.  You can turn off the comments option in your account, or delete the comments with the 'bling' if you want.  I don't see what the big deal is honestly.

Personally, I like flickr.  I like the interface.  I like the groups system they use.  It's easy to upload new pics and organize the ones you have.  I'm not looking to be "cool" or get heaps of praise.  I use it to share my pics with my friends, family, and anyone else that wants to see them.  I'm sure most people with flickr accounts have the same thing in mind.


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