Jump to content

Photo essay sub-forum


vdb

Recommended Posts

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Many of us enjoy the photo section here. But I wonder if it would be enhanced by the addition of a photo essay section. I certainly enjoy viewing singular images, but feel that an essay would add depth and stimulate more intense and meaningful discussions.

 

Always nice to see a wonderful image but to create and share an essay, a series of say 6-12 images that tells a story requires a higher skill level. And to view and discuss a photo story also is more satisfying to this forum member.

 

This might also raise the level of critique and focus on the artistic quality of story telling rather than the usual " great capture ".

 

Curious what others think....

  • Like 10
Link to post
Share on other sites

I enjoy photo essays, both looking at others and creating my own. I am, however, unsure as to why we need a sub-forum for the purpose. It is possible to post multiple images simultaneously now within the existing structure so that they can be considered as a whole, or so that they tell a story thus:

 

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/people/192587-nick-shots.html

 

and thus:

 

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/landscape-travel/173654-thursday-my-mind-snaps.html

 

I'd say if you have 'em, post 'em. We don't make full use of what we have. ;)

 

Edit: having read Virgil's first post again, I do agree that the current structure works against longer essays (6-12 images), but I am not sure whether that is a limitation of the forum software. I would certainly support any initiative that gets us away from anodyne, "great capture" commentary to something more fulfilling - it's the primary reason why I post so little in the photo fora these days.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

Edited by bill
Link to post
Share on other sites

I did post a short essay in People today. Current forum posting restricts us to 5 images per post. I suppose one can post 2 or more separate times...but for those interested in viewing I think a separate sub-forum titled Photo Essays might be worth a thought....

  • Like 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

One the one hand, I like the idea of a Photo Essay sub-forum ... on the other hand I feel there are way too many sub-forums on this site already. And it always is possible to post photo essays to the current photo section—simply post more than one picture!

 

What would really be useful is this—add a function to all photo sub-forums which gives the thread owner (i. e. the original poster) the option to create a new photo thread in locked state, so only the thread owner would be able to add posts to the thread but no-one else (well, with the exception of moderators). This way, one could post a sequence of pictures and possibly texts, over an arbitrary period of time (be it minutes or days), without interruptions through comments from others. Then, when it's finished, the thread owner may unlock the reply function. Maybe it's useful to consider the failure to unlock the thread eventually a misuse of the function, so a locked thread should become unlocked automatically, say, one week after the last contribution of the thread owner. And once unlocked, the thread owner should not be able to re-lock it.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I think a separate photo essay sub-forum is a good idea for three reasons: bandwidth; discussion quality; and categorizing.

 

A photo essay is tough on those without unlimited data plans. Labelling the posts would help, but gathering them together would set an expectation that any thread is likely to be a high-bandwidth view.

 

Secondly, in a photo essay section, perhaps discussions could develop about the audience, approach, genre and feedback could include how the whole hangs together, and whether the images forward the story, even discussions prompted by the story, etc... rather than "I like #3 better than #2".

 

Finally, it eases the minor issue of choosing a forum to start the thread in. I recently posted about a Thunderbird and a parking clerk. I put it in the "sports and leisure" section. It could also have been in "people". I wanted to tell more of the story, but it didn't feel "right" to do that anywhere. A photo essay thread would have resolved the question nicely.

 

Perhaps participation could be improved by a periodic "Best of..." Blurb book for the most effective essays submitted, with proceeds going to an agreed-upon charity.

 

-Dawn.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Dawn

I didn't consider bandwidth. But I wholly agree with all you say. I know that I for one would invest more time and care into creating an essay. And would do the same when viewing and commenting on others.

 

The idea that one image is better than another detracts from a true essay. In fact a single strong image may not even make the cut. It forces the photog as well as viewer to look deeper. To sort out within ourselves what the story means to us. And for me this is the ultimate power of still photography.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I think it would be a wonderful idea!! What would e cool is to have projects where multiple folks could collaborate on essays as well. We could try to find a way to have ongoing projects. Some of us have our own websites where we could co-host the projects and provide links to others that want to collaborate. It's very cool to collaborate the means to do so are relatively simple.

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...