My little corner; the affinity space

I am sure we all want to escape from the reality from time to time. We would like to have some space to be on our own to calm down and relax. When I was young, I used to sit in a park and draw but now I would stay in my online affinity space.

Online photo sharing platforms are now my affinity space as photo taking has become my greatest interest in these two years. In these platforms, not only can I get inspirations from others’ work, but also learn useful photo taking and editing skills.  Flickr, which is my earliest affinity space, is the platform that I would like to share with you here.  

****************************************

Just in case you do not have any idea about what Flickr is – Flickr is a very famous photo-sharing platform before Tumblr and Pinterest. People simply upload their photos and share them with the world.

The home page of Flickr

Users of Flickr share the same interest in photography and passion in appreciating it. Users include photographers or photo processors – people who mainly create and upload photos as well as viewers – people who look at the photos without uploading their own. 

Participants in this platform come from all walks of life and all around the world as long as you like looking at beautiful pictures! There are no geographical or generational boundaries – even a 17 years old young photographer can teach! According to Flickr, there are currently 1.5 millions active groups and more than 70 million photographers using this platform.

There are many contributors in one group. Taken from About Love & Portraits / Amor & Retratos (`v´) (P.1/A.2)

Unlike Tumblr or Pinterest, the special thing about Flickr is that the person who upload the photos is also the one who create the photos. In other words, in Tumblr or Pinterest, you can share beautiful pictures which are work of others whereas in Flickr, you can only share your own photos. That is why there is a greater chance for you to find the photographer of a photo that you like. And I think this practice is maintained through the copyright and privacy policy of Flickr.

Photos in Flickr are also highly artistic and creative. It seems to me that people appreciate creativity a lot in Flickr. It may be because people who browse Flickr a lot already possess certain photo shooting skills. Originality and creativity are then the things they look for. You will notice that when you see more people would comment on creative photos than less creative ones.

An example of a creative photo. Photo by Rosiehardy

One interesting thing about these creative photographers is that some of them would also post their ‘source of inspiration’ for the photo. It can be a quote, song lyrics or even an anecdote.  This really makes the pictures look poetic if not romantic, don't you agree?

Finally, in this photo loving and sharing community, my role is still a viewer and learner who gives comments occasionally. I am still working my way to take pictures as professional as those experts in Flickr. I hope one day I can be one of the regular contributors too!