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I renewed my Flickr Pro subscription for the first time in a few years after SmugMug's acquisition, but I barely ended up using the site, and let it lapse a mon

I renewed my Flickr Pro subscription for the first time in a few years after SmugMug's acquisition, but I barely ended up using the site, and let it lapse a month or so ago. It bums me out to say it, but I think photography might have moved on from Flickr. I know mine has, at least.

rpastuszak 7y ago
But, where? I’m genuinely curious about alternatives. Insta is a like driven mess, with almost no possibility for constructive feedback, thoughtful discussions about photography, critique. 500px had a decent UX, incl. galleries, comments, but quickly became a formula-driven, Instagram-like monster. Reddit... has decent communities, but it’s features are limited, the right UX just isn’t there. Is this a niche that can be filled easily (community vs. black magic/algo-driven discovery, archiving and photo critique)? Or, is this just a really hard problem to solve in a sustainable (financially) way?
- aaronbrethorst 7y ago
  None of the above. I found a local darkroom and a group of likeminded photographers with whom I have regular critique sessions. I don’t find online critique to be useful for the directions in which I’ve been taking my work over the past couple years. More casual stuff gets posted on IG.
  - rpastuszak 7y ago
    Thanks, I'm wondering if online critique is just hard in general or if the issue stems mostly from poor UX and/or algo driven discovery promoting content that appeals to the majority whilst sacrificing more risky, unusual work. Also, care to share a portfolio/IG?
    - aaronbrethorst 7y ago
      My portfolio, sadly out of date, is here: http://www.aaronbrethorstphotography.com http://www.aaronbrethorstphotography.com My Flickr page is here: https://flickr.com/photos/aaronbrethorst https://flickr.com/photos/aaronbrethorst Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aaronbrethorst/ https://www.instagram.com/aaronbrethorst/

rpastuszak 7y ago

But, where? I’m genuinely curious about alternatives. Insta is a like driven mess, with almost no possibility for constructive feedback, thoughtful discussions about photography, critique. 500px had a decent UX, incl. galleries, comments, but quickly became a formula-driven, Instagram-like monster. Reddit... has decent communities, but it’s features are limited, the right UX just isn’t there. Is this a niche that can be filled easily (community vs. black magic/algo-driven discovery, archiving and photo critique)? Or, is this just a really hard problem to solve in a sustainable (financially) way?

aaronbrethorst 7y ago
None of the above. I found a local darkroom and a group of likeminded photographers with whom I have regular critique sessions. I don’t find online critique to be useful for the directions in which I’ve been taking my work over the past couple years. More casual stuff gets posted on IG.
- rpastuszak 7y ago
  Thanks, I'm wondering if online critique is just hard in general or if the issue stems mostly from poor UX and/or algo driven discovery promoting content that appeals to the majority whilst sacrificing more risky, unusual work. Also, care to share a portfolio/IG?
  - aaronbrethorst 7y ago
    My portfolio, sadly out of date, is here: http://www.aaronbrethorstphotography.com http://www.aaronbrethorstphotography.com My Flickr page is here: https://flickr.com/photos/aaronbrethorst https://flickr.com/photos/aaronbrethorst Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aaronbrethorst/ https://www.instagram.com/aaronbrethorst/