Do you post images here at RFF ... if not why not?

[Calzone]

I only do analog photography. The few images I had posted was asking friends to not only scan, but also post them for me.

Cal

 

[jesse1dog]

I have posted to Flikr but am unhappy about the photos general availability to the world in general. So I've tended now to post to the Gallery, although sometimes I wonder why. What I want and need is positive criticism of the photos I post: how others see them, what I might have missed, what I might have done to get a better picture, what might I do another time. I very rarely get this. Perhaps this isn't the purpose of the Gallery! If it isn't, what is its purpose? Other posters obviously have the same problem because I can see little reason for a large number of the photos uploaded. I don't want to stop this process but if a picture fails to receive any comment, within say two weeks, perhaps it should be removed automatically to free-up space.

Perhaps I should start a thread with two or three associated photographs and ask for criticism that way but I feel that is a very heavy-handed way of doing things - I know others do though.

I look at the Gallery photos on a very regular basis.
For me some photos always stand out with their thumb-nails.
I try then to add some acknowledgement to the photographer.
It might be that I wish I had taken the shot.
It might be that I 'see' something the taker has seen in colour, tone, or form.
It might be that I see something in the photo that makes me want to get out my camera and have a go at that subject.
It might be that I feel, and this is personal, that I want to crop their photo to concentrate the eye on what I see as the key elements. I'll make that observation though as a suggestion to preserve the integrity of the photographer.

I know RFF is not perfect and cannot satisfy everybody and RFF has to evolve or it will die on its feet. The Gallery is, to me, and for me, a gallery for photographs however taken. It provides space to display for discussion and positive criticism so let's use it for that. The uploading size of a picture is not an issue, uploading it might be.

Resizing of photos for Gallery is not a problem. If I in my impending dotage can do it, so can everybody else. But there does need to be a 'How to Post' tab and instructions inserted into the top strip menu at the top of the RFF page.
A section that is constantly reviewed and updated.
How about it?

jesse

 

[astro8]

I have posted to Flikr but am unhappy about the photos general availability to the world in general. So I've tended now to post to the Gallery, although sometimes I wonder why. What I want and need is positive criticism of the photos I post: how others see them, what I might have missed, what I might have done to get a better picture, what might I do another time. I very rarely get this. Perhaps this isn't the purpose of the Gallery! If it isn't, what is its purpose? Other posters obviously have the same problem because I can see little reason for a large number of the photos uploaded. I don't want to stop this process but if a picture fails to receive any comment, within say two weeks, perhaps it should be removed automatically to free-up space.

Perhaps I should start a thread with two or three associated photographs and ask for criticism that way but I feel that is a very heavy-handed way of doing things - I know others do though.

I look at the Gallery photos on a very regular basis.
For me some photos always stand out with their thumb-nails.
I try then to add some acknowledgement to the photographer.
It might be that I wish I had taken the shot.
It might be that I 'see' something the taker has seen in colour, tone, or form.
It might be that I see something in the photo that makes me want to get out my camera and have a go at that subject.
It might be that I feel, and this is personal, that I want to crop their photo to concentrate the eye on what I see as the key elements. I'll make that observation though as a suggestion to preserve the integrity of the photographer.

I know RFF is not perfect and cannot satisfy everybody and RFF has to evolve or it will die on its feet. The Gallery is, to me, and for me, a gallery for photographs however taken. It provides space to display for discussion and positive criticism so let's use it for that. The uploading size of a picture is not an issue, uploading it might be.

Resizing of photos for Gallery is not a problem. If I in my impending dotage can do it, so can everybody else. But there does need to be a 'How to Post' tab and instructions inserted into the top strip menu at the top of the RFF page.
A section that is constantly reviewed and updated.
How about it?

jesse

Perhaps those who seek it could start adding 'Critique Welcome' into the description area of their gallery posts....kind of like a green light, to show other members that they welcome criticism and not just compliments?

I receive my fair share of compliments, but there are only a few here that critique my pics. I welcome criticism, it helps me to improve.

 

[akitadog]

I shoot only film with my M4-P and Zeiss lenses. Scanning images is too expensive and I don't have a film scanner at home.

Regards,

Akitadog

 

[mdarnton]

I don't much care for the gallery here. The thumbs are small, you can't see them all at once if you want to cruise a member's work quickly, and the interface seems slow and clumsy.

So I put everything on Flickr.

 

[tomtofa]

About 95% of my posts to RFF are images in the W/NW threads. it feels good to be a part of a 'thematic community', seeing the various takes on a subject. I don't use the Gallery - Flickr is where I maintain a pretty unorganized jumble of pics.

I keep meaning to organize it better, to post more verbal posts here, to get my Lightroom library in better order, etc., etc. . .

 

[Steveh]

I used to post a lot to Pbase before Flickr really ramped up but now the RFF gallery is the main place I post my stuff - unlike other sites that become a bit of a "you scratch my back" exercise RFF is a pretty tough crowd in terms of getting comments on images so positive feedback on shots posted here means something I think. My guilt is about not doing more commenting on other peoples' images - must do better!

If I'm posting to threads I generally post the shot to Flickr and paste it from there to get round the 200k size restriction, which is a challenge as other people have said.

 

[Ron (Netherlands)]

flickr is for me the right option some years now, and it is easy to paste photo´s from flickr into the threads here
in the past I started with Pbase, but that wasn't particulary practical, and I find it easier to share flickr images with others outside RFF, that's why I don't use the gallery here anymore, which has an outdated workaround and is not flexible enough.

 

[Jockos]

I'd love to post to the gallery, but since the size limit is from the '90s I'd have to re-size my images first and I just don't find it worth the bother.

 

[Jobin]

Every photo I have posted has never gotten a response. Oh, one photo comment, "Clean your lens!"

 

[Thardy]

Every photo I have posted has never gotten a response. Oh, one photo comment, "Clean your lens!"

I thought that by clicking on your name I would be taken to your gallery to read that funny comment, but nothing happened.

The gallery needs to be easier to use.

 

[Richard G]

I started posting some pictures to the gallery recently. I don't consider it a storage repository. It is not always easy to know which are your good photographs and which are definitely not. The comments offered are insightful. The motivation to use the Gallery was clearly the wonderful weekly Gallery Picks thread. I don't think there could be a more concentrated sampling of truly great photogrpahy anywhere on the net. Looking at those pictures and considering the choices made by mostly the photogrpahers who regularly contribute is a marvellous photographic lesson. While possibly a little past my first 10,000 worst of my own photographs, looking at good photos is to me the next best thing in learning to see better and improve the pictures I take. Finally, my postings to the Gallery were a blatant attempt to see whether anything I did might get a comment and maybe, one day, be included in the weekly Gallery Picks. To my delight and astonishment I have more than once been included. This is without doubt my greatest achievement in photography so far. Hopefully it leads to me making more improvements in my photography.

 

[Richard G]

The gallery size limits are a minor challenge. The avatar can only be 10k and that didn't prove impossible. The limit on the number of images that can be posted to the Gallery is a good thing and the size limits do mean a custom export from your software, but that is all geared to tempering your posting enthusiasm.

Like others, for threads I post from Flickr where I routinely size at 1000 or 900 pixels width. I go to the share drop-down, select all and copy the BBEdit text for the large size and simply paste that straight into the post quick reply pane here.

 

[daveleo]

I've started posting pictures to the words/nowords subforum. I enjoy seeing the various interpretations of topics and putting my spin on them.

I post a full gallery of pictures on my personal web page, and that is shown in my "signature". I don't solicit comments, but my email address is on my gallery front page, so I get only serious comments (not "wow cool" or "that really s$%ks, dude")

Beware of opening that "honest criticism" door for posted pictures here. I have seen that idea tear a very good photo forum to shreds.

 

[Bob Michaels]

I know why I never comment on anyone's photos. I have no idea what they were trying to accomplish or what message they were attempting to convey. Therefore I have no idea how successful they were at meeting their objectives.

There is a big difference in creating a historical family record of little Debbie's 8th birthday party and showing the impact of the current economic situation on a young family member's special day. A photo can be a great success at one while a failure at the other.

 

[rhl-oregon]

I'm fairly new to posting here, though not new to following threads of discussion--and I taught in the university long enough to know that not all who are silent in class are merely lurking or malingering. Still waters run deep is proverbial for good reasons. Uncle Walt (Whitman) has further observations in "I have heard what the talkers are talking...." http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/W/WhitmanWalt/3Ihaveheardw.htm

Like some other commenters, I've found it appropriate to contribute images to W/NW in the spirit of this or that theme. I don't feel practiced enough in this skilled, articulate, well-established community to add another voice to the mix yet. This may change. As far as I'm concerned, I'm paying respectful attention to community elders.

As for the gallery, I am in/decision about how/where to display work I want to share, and having dribs and drabs on Flickr and Tumblr and Wordpress and RFF is no solution. In prepping for an upcoming (first, solo) exhibit this summer, I expect I will migrate the work that matters to a single website, and link it to my sig file here.

Good stuff in this thread, and I support the setting up of a sticky, at least, that takes RFF image-posters clearly through the steps so that members who would like to share are not inadvertently defeated.

 

[willie_901]

RFF is a wonderful resource. I have learned a lot by visiting here regularly... and I'm still learning.

RFF is free. Stephen does all of us a huge favor by sponsoring this community. I'm sure he spends a great deal of time and some of his hard-earned money so we can enjoy RFF. I know I'm grateful for his efforts and investment.

It seems to me the forum's platform is not designed nor intended to be an image centric tool. I say this because as others have noted, using the RFF gallery is sort of like traveling back in time to the mid-1990s. This situation has not changed for years and I don't see any reason for it to change now. I don't think it's Stephen's responsibility to provide an easy to use gallery. I don't think it's in his or any of his sponsers' interest. I think those who participate in the gallery find the experience rewarding. But I don't think lack of gallery participation means anything or says anything about people who don't use the resource. I think it just says something about the resource itself.

Charging the subject radically...

Flickr discusses posting content elsewhere:

Do link back to Flickr when you post your Flickr content elsewhere.
Flickr makes it possible to post content hosted on Flickr to other web sites. However, pages on other web sites that display content hosted on flickr.com must provide a link from each photo or video back to its page on Flickr. This provides a way to get more information about the content and the photographer

Does displaying Flickr content with the tools we have here comply with this request? I honestly don't know.

 

[Tom hicks]

I have been around awhile but don't really post that much. One reason I don't post much is I'm not into shooting street stuff or old buildings. With nearly 190 film cameras in my collection , and just started dev. my own about 8 months ago Most of what I post in of things I don't really like shooting and most are of mechanical objects or lawn mowers. Most all of these are test rolls for my cameras. I have made post with pics to share get a lot of looks and sometimes no replies. We all like replies or criticism at least I do be it good or bad . I got the Macro forum started on Fred Miranda .com and have moderated there for 9 years . So as you probable guess Macro is my thing, as well as wildlife, be it captive or wild . I would post more images Like the ones below if I really thought people were interested . I'm more of a big glass shooter.

Here are a few links to things I put together to make new photogs think about what they are doing.

http://www.shutterfreaks.com/Tips/tomhicksBasicComposition.html

http://www.shutterfreaks.com/Tips/tomhicksSeeingPhotographs.html

http://www.shutterfreaks.com/Tips/tomhicksmacros.html

 

[Tom hicks]

few more for interested parties

 

[Tom hicks]

Some more and my last for this post. all shots are film except the last two. I really learned a lot and enjoy this site and have made a few friends along the way . Been there done that in digital but not film, but I'm working on it .