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Nov 27, 2008 
I remember when I was new to Flickr, the first year I guess, a while back now. I was using a FujiFilm Finepix S7000, a great camera, I still have it and use it for video. What I remember as being really exciting back then, was the proposition of opinion, seeing what other humans, who I had never met before, from anywhere in the world would say about my pictures.
I would get up the day after uploading a photo, and when I got on the computer I would head straight to flickr, and see the ever pleasing, yellow, ‘New!’ recent activity, link, lit up! It was so exciting, and I would go in, and see someone, or maybe more than one person’s comments!
I would learn, and pick up tips and ideas, for example, I never understood what the exposure compensation was, or how to use my camera out of P, but I picked it up and moved on. I live in Aperture Priority now, although for certain things obviously you have to go into Manual, but just experimenting for the first time with shutter speeds where you could hear the opening, and the closing as completely separate things, it was a strange, but interesting time.
I was looking at this picture:
I still adore that photograph, it was and still is a stunner, if I say so myself, modestly. The comments, the comments! It had 4 comments and became my most ‘interesting’ picture according to Flickr!
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The point of this rambling post is mainly for my purposes, but maybe you will find it interesting to read too; reincarnating my excitement with Flickr. I moved away from all the groups which require forced commenting, 1-2-3 style groups and the like, and nowadays I have a very solid circle of friends on Flickr, a few who I have now met in real life now too, and that is great, but there was something oh so exciting about just having the comments pouring in and seeing what people were saying, different people every day.
I kind of want that back, kind of, but I also much prefer the more personal comments I get from friends, the comments will tend to be more detailed, etc, but I did love just seeing loads of people’s ideas for what would improve the image, or what would make the image more interesting to them.
I think hearing all those comments is what made me progress in my photography, not to where I am now, but it helped me appreciate different ideas, and therefore my tastes changed over time, I look back at some of the stuff I faved back in the day, and unfave them immediately, thinking ‘how did I ever like that!!’
I’m not sure where this thought rant is leading, but I know that I really brought back memories of what I loved Flickr for originally, by looking back through my first pictures, from Nov. 7th 2005, a long while back, and seeing my own excitement in replying to people’s comments etc. I think Flickr has changed an awful lot since then, and is indeed a very different place now, in good ways and bad ways, but I still really enjoy the site, and must visit every day, I’m sure.
Hope you’re well,
Charlie -
