East Village, New York
I renewed my Flickr account for another year. It’s been five years, which almost follows my photography path exactly. Is there a coincidence that I started to become more interested in photography around the same time Flickr and social networking were emerging? I think I would have gone down the photography path regardless, but I’m unequivocally, unapologetically, unashamed to say that Flickr has played an enormous role in my development as a photographer.
Perhaps I was lucky though. I found HCSP early on and without the guidance of Hin Chua, Raoul Gatepin, Ben Roberts, Michael Simon and the others I doubt I would have been pointed toward so many resources, and photographers that have been influential on my development. I got it with the right crowd as the saying goes. But beyond that, I’ve met and been exposed to so many interesting, intelligent and supremely creative that it would be worthwhile even if photography didn’t play that large a role.
And that truly is the reason I think Flickr is great, and why doubters should reconsider their negative thoughts about the community. It’s about the people you meet and network with more than the photography you’re looking at. But don’t get me wrong. There’s amazing work on Flickr. It’s hard to find sometimes. And it’s surrounded by mediocrity. But if you learn how to navigate the communties, you can find it. Welcome to the internet in 2010.
I haven’t exactly figured out why anyone would elect to not put their work in front such a high concentration of photography fans. Sure, for some viewing photography on Flickr sucks. It does. But it’s only one channel. It doesn’t take much time or effort, and the benefits are worth it. You can find new fans of your work. Probably even more so than if you’re featured on a prominent blog. The arguments that having work on Flickr make you look bad in the eyes of the industry are complete bullshit. If you disagree, go read this interview with Noah Kalina or Ben Roberts PDN 30 profile.
Over the five years I’ve had several somewhat heated and very public squabbles over the value of Flickr. But I’ve really given up trying to make the case or to persuade people. Now when I see people make snide remarks I just let it slide. No worries. I know what and who are there. And I’ve put in the time to establish a rather efficient and inspiring network. If it’s not your thing, that’s cool. But if you suddenly show up one day and expect to take a short cut in order simply to promote your work, don’t be under any illusion that the community won’t sniff out your self-serving behavior. I’ve seen it happen. There are no short cuts. If you participate, you’ll find the benefits. If you don’t, you’ll likely dismiss it. Or what you give is what you get…
