Orange

Also on 500px.

Orange

Also on 500px.

Tea

Also on 500px.

Editors' Choice: Snowbirds

See the image here. (Woohoo!).

Hold On

(From the 2012 archives)

Making Rain

It started around 9:30 AM as a trickle. By 10 AM a drizzle, by noon a shower. My inbox was filling up with emails. I thought at first they were for my most recent upload (here), but when I checked the latest emails, it was for a picture I posted when I first signed up with 500px.com: "Making Rain". What!? I sifted through my emails until I read the following:

"Your photo Making Rain has appeared in Editor's Choice. Our sincere congratulations to you!"

It made my day.

Unfortunately, I couldn't see the Editor's Choice page until I came home after work as 500px is blocked at our school (and rightly so, as there are some NSFW photos on the site). It was the same feeling as when my photo "Orange" was published, waiting anxiously for the magazine to arrive in the mail weeks after the magazine came out.

I am blessed to have beautiful kids to photograph. And who let me photograph them. Although the oldest Sprout is re-negotiating her contract.

500px

Recently I decided to join 500px, an online photography website dedicated to photographers and good photography.  My Flickr experience has been good, but there I upload not only my better captures but also "snapshots" so that family and friends can stay up to date with what our family is doing.  I want to improve my photography, so 500px seemed a good choice to upload those photos that are of better quality (IMHO), showcase them and have feedback given.

I'm still learning all the ins-and-outs of the 500px experience, but here are a few things I've gleaned:

1. Don't get all excited and upload pictures all at once.  I signed up for the free account and promptly put up ten images.  What I now know is that you should upload one at a time and let the community get to know you gradually, because...
2. ...there is a point system.  Not that I care (well, a little), but in the first day of an upload (12 midnight to 12 midnight EST) you are awarded the most points by people liking, faving and commenting on your images.  Then, by some kind of algorithm that at times vexes the site users (don't get them started on the "Dislike" system), your points drop off, which allow for new images to be seen and voted on.  So, if you upload all your photos at once, you lose the ability to become "Popular" if you so wish (and don't we all want to be part of the in crowd?).
3. You need to gain followers, for the more followers you have, the faster you gain points and the more people check out your images.  Those photographers with a lot of social media connections (Facebook, Twitter and the like) get lots of views, faves and comments very quickly.  My spouse is amused by this as I yet have to sign up for a Facebook account.  I may have to take the leap.
4. You need to post intelligent comments if you want people to check out your profile.  Often, people will just say, "Great" or ask you to check out their latest picture (known as spamming).  These are generally ignored, so you need to write thoughtful comments about an image.

Every time I visit 500px I am inspired by, and a little in awe of, the amazing photographic talent that is out there.  I'm looking at my photography in a different way than I have before. It's been pointed out to me that I have a particular style, especially with my post-processing, but that it is done well and consistent (consistent is good, right?).  Yet I have a lot of growing to do, photographically speaking, before I might have a chance at having an image on the first two or three "Popular" pages.  A goal for 2013 and beyond!

A shameless plug: Check out my 500px profile.