Flickr Explore

"There Is A Crack In Everything" by dmcordell http://www.flickr.com/photos/dmcordell/9736748802/

One of the ways that I choose to connect with others, in a visible and (I hope) meaningful way is through photography.

For the past five years, I've been active in a few 365 challenge groups, posting a new photo on Flickr every day. Some of my images tell a story, others attempt to capture the beauty of nature or the uniqueness of the people with whom I interact in my daily life. These photosets serve as a visual diary as well as an impromptu "course" in the art of the photograph. Seeing the work of others, having them offer praise for my more successful efforts, helps me to grow as - yes - an artist.

In addition to uploading them to Flickr, I share the images on Twitter, Facebook, and Plurk, thus broadening the reach of my offerings. On a good day, my daily photo might get 50-100 views, with possibly a few comments and/or favorites. An exceptionally striking or timely shot might draw an even larger audience. Extensive use of tagging contributes to the number of hits recorded.

Last week, I posted the above photo. I had just finished reading Louise Penny's latest Inspector Gamache novel, How the Light Gets In, and was struck by the Leonard Cohen lyrics that inspired both the title and the plot:

"Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in."
                                            -Anthem

 As I tracked the history of my photo, I noticed first an upswell, then a tidal wave of interest. The numbers began to zoom: 500, 1,000 views...crazy numbers. I didn't understand some of the comments, until someone in my network asked if the image had been chosen for Flickr Explore. Therein lies the answer.


According to some information that I found on the site,

"Explore is Flickr's way of showcasing the most interesting photos within a given point in time -- usually over a 24 hour period. Flickr receives about 6,000 uploads every minute -- That's about 8.6 million photos a day! From this huge group of images, the Flickr Interestingness algorithm chooses only 500 images to showcase for each 24-hour period. That's only one image in every 17,000!"

And how does Flickr define "Interestingness"?

"There are lots of elements that make something 'interesting' (or not) on Flickr. Where the clickthroughs are coming from; who comments on it and when; who marks it as a favorite; its tags and many more things which are constantly changing. Interestingness changes over time, as more and more fantastic content and stories are added to Flickr."

My photo, There Is A Crack In Everything, was selected for Explore on September 13. So far, it has had 6,162 views and was favorited 169 times. Fourteen people, from countries around the world, have left comments. [I have seen some Explore images with over 25,000 views!]

While I am proud of this photograph, I don't consider it my "best" one. It was a combination of the Interestingness factors, mentioned previously, that brought it to Flickr's attention. For a few days, I tried to follow some of the tips that supposedly increase your chances of being selected for Explore. But I found that such mindfulness took the fun out of my daily shoots. So now I'm back to setting my own agenda. If lightning strikes again, I would be gratified, certainly, but I don't take photos to win recognition; I take them to satisfy my creative urges.

The most satisfying return for me is having others ask to use my images for various reasons of their own: to illustrate an article, to share in a family or genealogy newsletter, to clarify a point in a slideshow (I use a variety of CC licenses, but am quite willing to give permission for other uses, when contacted).

I would highly recommend that you visit Flickr Explore to enjoy the mix of quirky, innovative, and hauntingly beautiful photographs displayed there. 


“While there is perhaps a province in which the photograph can tell us nothing more than what we see with our own eyes, there is another in which it proves to us how little our eyes permit us to see.” -Dorothea Lange


“When people look at my pictures I want them to feel the way they do when they want to read a line of a poem twice.” -Robert Frank

Photo Editing/Picnik Update

I just got the following comment on a prior posting, Captured Forever:

Hi Diane,

My name's Jenn. I work with a team of former Picnikers. Thanks for spreading the Picnik love! I just wanted to give you a heads up about PicMonkey, it's an exciting new photo editor that's sure to fill the hole Picnik is leaving in your heart.We're taking what we learned by building Picnik and making PicMonkey even better!

Sign up at www.PicMonkey.com and we'll keep you posted on launching. And shoot me an email if you have questions!

Don't know about you, but I have my fingers crossed that PicMonkey can deliver!


Image captured from PicMonkey

Captured Forever

In about a month, my favorite editing site, Picnik, is shutting down operations. This has spurred me to action on two fronts.

Photo editing sites
According to Flickr,

"Picnik is closing on April 19, 2012. That means that after that date, you will no longer be able to edit your Flickr photos in Picnik. But don't worry! We already have plans in the works to make sure you're still able to edit your photos on Flickr. We'll post more about the new and exciting editing options on the blog when they are fully baked."

One of the benefits of Picnik, in addition to its array of tools and effects, is the fact that it links directly to Flickr, eliminating a few steps in the editing process. While the following sites don't have that option, they might match, or (in the case of Aviary, in particular) even exceed, Picnik's capabilities:

• FotoFlexer - touted as a Photoshop replacement. Export/Import your pitures from Flickr, MySpace, Picasa, and Facebook, and others. Save photos and create albums. An account registration is required. For a comparison with Picnik, read this review from PCMag.
• Pixlr - free online photo editor, no registration required. A key weakness seems to be its import and export options. TopTenReviews evaluates Pixlr's features.
• Aviary - offers a suite of tools, including image and effects editors, a music creator, and an audio editor. Free, registration required. One of the drawbacks mentioned by reviewers is the "fairly intense learning curve" for novices. Read more about Aviary in the Women in Business review. [one big plus for educators, as mentioned on Free Technology for Teachers: "If you are a Google Apps for Education school, Aviary can be added to your suite of services to allow students to save their works within their Google Apps accounts"]
• iPiccy - free, no registration required. This reviewer found iPiccy's options to be very similar to those on Picnik. The site is still in beta, so I would be sure to keep backup options in mind. More information, and a link to the iPiccy video tutorial, can be found on MustSeeOn.net.

Photo Archiving
With Picnik disappearing from my life, and mindful of horror stories about deleted Flickr accounts, I've also been considering digital curation options:

• One photographer suggested using "NAS (network attached storage) with RAID 1+0 or RAID 5 (redundant disks in case one fails)" and pointed to a wiki with vendor links. I need to do a bit more research about this, and consult with my in-house tech support (my very knowledgeable son-in-law).
• External hard drive. No, I don't have one yet, and yes, I need to buy one!
• CDs or DVDs. Storage, and longevity issues make these unsuitable for use as the sole backup for photos.
• Desktop apps. After reading a few reviews, including one from a member of my online network, Kevin Jarrett, I decided to purchase the Pro version of Bulkr. My initial backup took a few hours, since my Flickr account has over 16,000 photos, with more added each day. Now I update about once a week.
  

Photography is an integral part of my daily life, but it's not only my own photos that I wish to preserve. I've been photographing, scanning and uploading images of family artifacts, including my parents' World War II photos (my mother's snapshot of King George VI and the royal family has been viewed more than 2100 times!), my maternal ancestors, family gatherings, even heirloom jewelry. These are not just static images: these are the stories of our lives.

I hope that Flickr will continue to survive and thrive, and that there will eventually be another site that mirrors the ease and flexibility of Picnik. But I'm not willing to risk my photographs on wishes and desires.

“Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever... it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.” -Aaron Siskind

"She glances at the photo, and the pilot light of memory flickers in her eyes." -Frank Deford

"Remember" by dmcordell

365 Project: July

“Green how I want you green. Green wind. Green branches.” -Federico Garcia Lorca

Our summer came late this year. By July, I hungered for sunshine, flowers, and outdoor living. And the color green: many of my photos for this month contain a sprig, a splash, a dollop of green.

The most viewed photo was Crandall Park Pond, which showed the progress of a painting as it was created by my husband.



Surprise hits were Raindrops, which was favorited by 3 people



and Before and After, announcing the completion of my kitchen renovation.



Since I love the odd angle and unexpected capture, one of my own favorites this month would probably have to be Twist.


“If I keep a green bough in my heart, the singing bird will come.” -Chinese Proverb


You can see a slideshow of the 31 July photos here or view all of my 2009 photos to date here.

The two groups to which I contribute are 365/2009 and 2009/365.

365 Project: June

The month of June brought many changes, not the least of which was my retirement.

Knowing that my career as a teacher/librarian was drawing to a close, I decided to include more pictures of students and school life. Flowers and holidays also appeared in some of the daily photos.

By far the most viewed image was Good Bye! As buses pulled out of the parking lot on the last day of school, elementary teachers gathered to give their students a rousing send off


I decided to include two "bonus" photos, one from my college yearbook


the other from a staff picnic/retirement celebration


since both images are associated with major changes in my life.

My favorite photos this month were The Visitor, because it was totally unplanned and unexpected (I didn't even SEE the insect until I cropped the photo!)


and A Grand Old Flag. This little girl is the first member of our extended family born in the 21st Century


I hope her life is as interesting and full of adventures as mine has been... and I'm not done yet!




You can see a slideshow of the 30 June photos (plus 2 "bonus" pix) here or view all of my 2009 photos to date here.

The two groups to which I contribute are 365/2009 and 2009/365.

365 Project: May

With warmer weather comes more time spent out-of-doors, and my photos are starting to reflect that change of focus. Sometimes the "perfect shot" was no further than my own backyard.

Most viewed image was The View from Stark's Knob


The largest numbers of comments were generated by Lilies of the Valley


and Morels


A personal favorite has to be Sentimental Journey: Saint Brigid's School, since that building is where I received my (formal) education from Kindergarten through 8th grade.


It was the beginning of quite a Journey, one that won't end any time soon, I hope!


You can see a slideshow of the 31 May photos here or view all of my 2009 photos to date here.

The two groups to which I contribute are 365/2009 and 2009/365.

365 Project: April

It's been two weeks since I last posted here. Though I haven't been blogging, I have been walking, thinking, connecting (via Twitter and Plurk, as dmcordell) and, always, taking photographs.

Most viewed image was my husband's Steampunk Radio fantasy machine.



The largest number of comments were generated by Spiral.



Personal favorite? A collage, Blue, presenting some of nature's variations on my favorite color.


You can see a slideshow of the 30 April photos here or view all of my 2009 photos to date here.

The two groups to which I contribute are 365/2009 and 2009/365.

365 Project: March

Month three, ending with photo #90. I'm still trying to include a mix of personal and professional images, outdoor shots, and family moments.

Most viewed was The Mystery Tool, posted on March 29. Its solution, uploaded on March 31, will probably achieve similar numbers, as people continue to check for the name of this object.


My favorite was the Lamoka Point. Being able to hold a projectile point dating from 3500 - 2500 B.C. in my hand means touching history. I am in awe that such artifacts survive to tell their stories.



You can see a slideshow of the 31 March photos here or view all of my 2009 photos to date here.

The two groups to which I contribute are 365/2009 and 2009/365.

365 Project: February

Month two is complete; with March, comes photo #60. Rather than running out of subjects, I'm finding it difficult to select a single picture each day.

I continue to raise my eyes, examine more closely, choose different perspectives, consider parts as well as the whole. There are a lot of life lessons being learned via my little digital camera!

The photo that received the most views and comments in February was Digging Out:



My personal favorite was The Gallery, because it captures my two children as they examine their father's paintings in a local art exhibition (and the Alamo painting was created for me, as a memento of our trip to NECC in San Antonio):



You can see a slideshow of the 28 February photos here or view all of my 2009 photos to date here.

The two groups to which I contribute are 365/2009 and 2009/365.

365 Project: January

I've completed the first month of the 365 photo challenge. I find I'm looking at the world in a different way, searching for interesting angles and different perspectives, trying to balance images of both my personal and professional life.


The photo that received the most views and comments in January was Snowflakes and Shadows.


My personal favorite was Spirit of the Library. If the powers that be don't take care of my library and students after I retire, I WILL haunt them!


You can see a slideshow of all 31 photos here.

The two groups to which I contribute are 365/2009 and 2009/365.