Using Flickr to improve your photography

If you are looking for a way to see what other photographers are doing or are looking for feedback on your photos, I would suggest using a service called Flickr (flickr.com). Flickr is a great place to show off your photos for friends to see, get feedback and find other great photographers.

You can find the type of photographers that may be of interest to you. This includes style, subjects or location. I have a particular area of the country I like to visit and follow photographers from there. You can “follow” particular photographers but they do not have to “follow” you back to be able to see their work. The more people you follow, the more people that will follow you and see your work.

People that follow you will be able to rate your work by either clicking a favorite star or by commenting. Flickr is able to rate your photos by numerous methods including “interestingness.” This is a combination of views, favorites and comments received by your photo over a period of time.

Minocqua Boathouses-30

According to Flickr, the above photo is my most interesting photo. To find this little house on the lake, I used Flickr to show me photos taken in Star Lake, Wisconsin. Others had visited this location and taken this photo so I was able to find it on a map so I could find this hidden treasure. An overcast Fall day made for an interesting scene.

Click here to see my Flickr site

Click here to find out more about this structure

Click “Photography Tips” above for more suggestions.

 

 

Little Church

Here is a scenic little church on top of a high hill in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. This is next to the haunted Crescent Hotel. Eureka Springs is an interesting little town near the Missouri border. Plan to spend the day exploring.

Eureka Springs Chapel

Chapel

This is the chapel on the grounds of the White House Retreat in South St. Louis County. Retreats last several days and are held in silence. This chapel overlooks the Mississippi River on this cold foggy morning.

Choir Loft

This is the opposite view from the previous post. St. Cecilia’s choir sits above the entrance to the church along with the organ and it’s pipes.

This photo was taken with my D7100 and a Sigma 17-50mm f2.8 lens. A tripod was used to take three photos and the settings were: 27mm, 100 ISO, f13 with an average exposure of 1 second. The photos were processed using Photomatix and Lightroom.

 

Here is the window from the outside of the building:

A set of photos was published on a Facebook page using notes: Click here to see all of the photos

Planetarium

Our local Planetarium in St. Louis. This is part of our science center and they do a good job of lighting the top. This is part of the Christmas theme and there is even a bow!

A walk in Queeny Park

This is a view of Queeny Park in St. Louis County. The park is a favorite place to take my dogs for a long walk. On this walk we socialized with ten or twenty other dogs on the trail and saw a few deer. This is a three shot HDR photo processed in Lightroom, Photomatix and Topaz Impression.

Kansas City Union Station

Here is another photo from Kansas City’s Crown Center Hotel (see previous post). I took this late enough that there were very few cars in the parking lot. Also, it was very nice of the Union Station people to use interesting red lights on the building. This is a three shot HDR photo using a side table as a tripod.

Downtown KC

On a recent trip to  Kansas City, my hotel unexpectedly gave me a suite on the top floor. The room had sliding window that allowed me to open it and take this photo. Using a table as a tripod, this is a three shot HDR photo shot at an ISO of 200, f7.1 and an average 6 second exposure time.