Weekly Flickr group highlights – Week 3

Growth Continues

Amazingly, the group continues to grow, and at an even faster rate! This could be due to the success of my recent DPS post, and the link to the group I posted in the comments. :) Whatever the case, LPNC continues to grow, and as we welcome new members, we get to enjoy their work and their opinions. Here are the numbers:

• Group Members: 164 (63 new, +62%)
• Photos: 2447 (186 new, +71%)
• Discussion topics: 31 (16 new, +107%)

Neil’s Favourite Photos

Interesting Discussion

 A question of lighting.

Chrissy asked for some help to photograph reflective metal objects, and the following discussion has so far proved quite interesting.

 Photography games!

Lets get some fun activities going in the group! Do you know of any cool photography-based games that we could participate in? Have a look at some of the cool suggestions already made.

 Post your tips to get motivated to exercise

Maybe it’s too late for New Years’ resolutions, but I’ve decided to try and clear the mind and fitten the body, both essential for a photographer! Check out members’ suggestions to help me get motivated.

Visit the discussions to read more.

Meet a Member

Dawn M. Armfield
Flagstaff, Arizona (soon – Roseville, Minnesota), USA
Flickr: girl-inchoate

What got you into photography?
My dad used to do a lot of photography and had great equipment. He would give me his Instamatic (because I couldn’t hurt it). I put the camera down for a few years, then came back to it, buying my own Pentax K1000 (plus great lenses). Then I put it down again. When I came back to it, digital cameras were just coming in. I jumped on board and haven’t looked back.

What do you think are you photographic strengths and weaknesses?
I’m not a street photographer. I have trouble taking good photographs of people I don’t know. In addition, I don’t know the technical aspects of cameras very well. However, I’m good at seeing composition and understanding lighting. It seems to come naturally to me and I view the world as if through a lens, every turn a new photograph.

What is your favourite piece of photographic equipment and why?
It has to be my D200. It is a wonderful tool that enables me to do more, stretch it further, and understand the technical aspects of photography better.

What is your favourite photographic subject and why?
Arizona. It’s an amazingly beautiful state that holds deep, wide canyons, tall mountains, and beautiful vistas. It is truly a magical place.

Tell us a story about a memorable photographic experience you’ve had.
My niece and I were at the Grand Canyon (for about the 50th time), and were on the rim photographing into the camera. It was a little pull-off, without much traffic. As we moved around, a man started playing his bagpipe. The music echoed into the Canyon, rippling back at us. It was incredibly moving. The clouds parted, the sun came out, and I got the photograph “Splendor” out of it.

What is the most valuable photographic advice you can give?
Get down in the dirt. Try different views of a subject. Not everything needs to be centered, sharp, or well-lit. Some things are often better seen through blades of grass, blurred slightly, or darkened. Don’t be afraid to use post-processing. It is your friend.

Comment Day

The whole point of starting the group is to learn with and teach each other. All of us have things we can improve, and most of us have things to teach that others would find useful. Apart from participating in the discussion, which I strenuously encourage you to do, is to comment on others’ photos. Every week, on the day that I post the flickr group update, is Comment Day.

I ask that everyone who reads this blog to please visit the group’s photo pool and leave a worthwhile comment on at least five photos that you find there.

By “worthwhile” I mean something that clearly expresses why you like or dislike a photo, and if possible, what you can suggest that might make it better. Constructive comments are essential, and carefully thought comments are far better than off-the-cuff ones. Absolutely no “Awesome!” or “I like this photo” comments please. I want you to actually say something. :)

Weekly Challenge

Each week I challenge group members to take photos to a particular theme or topic. Not every photo added to the pool must be to the theme, and you don’t have to participate, but it is encouraged. Try to be creative and imaginative with the theme, and use it as a chance to show off your skills.

Last week’s challenge was parallel lines. Here are some of my favourites from the photos submitted:

Please tag your challenge photos with the following tags:

• lpncchallenges
• lpncchallenge4
• selfportrait

You can see the photos submitted to the challenge so far here.

You can join in the discussion of the weekly challenge here.

Photo Critiques

I’m going to run an experiment and try doing some weekly critiques of some photos submitted to the group pool. You can read more about the idea in the group discussion, but essentially, members will tag their photos, and I’ll choose about five to give a deep and honest critique of the photos, which I will post to the blog, along with the photos. If you choose to participate in this, be prepared for me to rip your work to shreds! Just kidding ;) But I plan to be brutally honest, so make sure you’re okay with that.

You can only offer one photo for critique per week, and I’ll only be choosing about five. If you’d like to offer your photo for critique, add it to the LPNC group pool, and tag it: lpnccritiquew4

Lets see how this experiment goes!