For those who don’t know, Flickr is a free photo and video hosting service owned by Yahoo. With thousands of photos and videos uploaded every minute, there is a huge database of really great content from people literally all over the world. Initially I visited the site regularly just to view the amazing collection of work. Only recently have I learned the deeper benefits of Flickr.
As my interest in photography increased, I started learning from other photographers on Flickr. There are thousands of Flickr Groups for nearly any thinkable topic from “Photography Critique” to “Today I Ate” where users share photos, comments, stories, ect. There are also groups for nearly every geographical place on earth. So, if you planning a trip to Point Reyes, CA for example you can not only see photos from the area but also see where they were taken on a map as long as the photographer geotags their photos. Another feature I really like is the ability to see the technical settings used for each picture. So, if you see a photo you would like to emulate, you can see what camera was used, lens setting, aperature, ISO, white balance, editing software and so on.
Because Flickr allows for Creative Commons attribution, various media outlets peruse Flickr in search of photos to use for their projects. A recent Flickr blog post describes how one photographer’s random photo was selected out of the blue to be used on a stamp in New Zealand. The thought of this persons random picture reaching people across the Globe via a stamp is fascinating to me. A quick Google seach for my Flickr username (seantoyer) revealed several pages of various websites using my pictures as well.
As I continue to learn the ins and outs of Flickr, I have started a group photo challenge based on a bi-weekly theme. The goal is to practice the art of photography with some friends who share a common interest in photography. If your interested in photography, come join us.
Update 6/28/09: The photo I took of the last play in Superbowl XLIII and used for my Superbowl Post below has been selected for use in two Wikipedia articles about the Pittsburgh Steelers. Quite exciting for me being how much I love the Steelers. Here are the two entries: Superbowl XLIII and Pittsburgh Steelers 2008 Season. Creative Commons rocks!