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Inspiring and Supporting Photographers of Australian Birds

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Publishing bird photos 5 years 11 months ago #1678

  • Simon Pelling
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The Birdlife Photo website is a great place to publish images of birds, but of course is limited to Australian birds and has a particular set of aims and objectives.

I am thinking about other options for publishing photos (as well as Birdlife Photo - not thinking of leaving!) and am interested in any views members have about more general publishing of their bird (and other) images. For example:

. do members use social media sites such as Flickr, 500px, Facebook or Instagram for bird photography, and what are members' experiences with these sites in terms of getting interest in their photos, joining supporting communities etc;
. what are members' experiences in terms of building and maintaining their own websites and maximising the exposure of those sites;
. are there other sites specifically devoted to bird photos (or which include sections devoted to bird photos) that members have found useful in terms of exposure and critique of their images (both for Australian birds and other bird images).

I realise these are large topics and the answers may well be self evident to experienced social media operators (which I confess am not - but please bear with me!), but any suggestions/guidance from experienced image posters/publishers would help.

Cheers

Simon

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Publishing bird photos 5 years 11 months ago #1679

  • Sandy Castle
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I use Facebook, namely ABID for bird identification. You get a quick response and I find it helpful for the more difficult birds. Also subscribe to SA birding and Victoria birding facebook pages. These are helpful in providing location information. I expect each state has similar facebook sites. These sites are not bird photography sites and their aims are quite different to birdlife photography. In my opinion this is the best place for specific photography information.
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Publishing bird photos 5 years 11 months ago #1680

  • Glenn Pure
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Simon Pelling wrote: . do members use social media sites such as Flickr, 500px, Facebook or Instagram for bird photography, and what are members' experiences with these sites in terms of getting interest in their photos, joining supporting communities etc;


I personally don't but know some members do use social media. I think the investment in that is fairly small so it may be worth a try even if you don't persist with it.

Simon Pelling wrote: . what are members' experiences in terms of building and maintaining their own websites and maximising the exposure of those sites;


Again, I have not done this but have looked into it and decided against it because of the maintenance involved. Unless these sites are updated regularly and have some 'drawcard' like a blog or regular feed of news and information (which can be quite demanding), I don't think they will attract much interest.

Simon Pelling wrote: . are there other sites specifically devoted to bird photos (or which include sections devoted to bird photos) that members have found useful in terms of exposure and critique of their images (both for Australian birds and other bird images).


For exposure and critique, there are several sites. More Australian oriented is 'Feathers and Photos'. Some BLP members post there. I have heard some of the critiques can get a bit nasty at times. Internationally, I have not researched this thoroughly but the most prominent site is probably birdphotographers.net. It is a critique forum and has some very good photographers contributing. In addition to an Avian forum it also has others including wildlife, macro, landscape. I have found the critiques there formulaic sometimes but there is much useful feedback as well. The standard is quite high though and this is reflected in the images shown and the critiques provided.
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Publishing bird photos 5 years 11 months ago #1684

  • Michael Schmid
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Hi Simon,

I have used Flickr since 2011 and have uploaded about 1800 images to my account. All up I've had nearly 1.5 million views. On the whole this has worked well for me. https://www.flickr.com/photos/bushbirds/

For me Flickr does several jobs; it is a reserve of my images in case my other storage is lost or damaged. It is an excellent way to organise images. By putting them into 'collections' and 'albums' (you may have a wildlife collection with albums for birds, reptiles etc.) individual images are easy to locate. It is a great way to view your work and that of other photographers.

Through Flickr, several of my images have been requested for use in books and magazines etc, the highlights being a stamp and magazine cover.

With a couple of clicks of the mouse you can share your Flickr shots on Facebook etc. You can also link to other web sites e.g. your blog.

I have been lucky enough to meet a few of the bird photographers I follow on Flickr.

I am happy with the image quality on this platform with one exception. High contrast areas appear to show a sharpening line that is not present in the original. This is most obvious with dark birds against the sky.

In my experience there is generally no constructive criticism offered with users sticking to safe, positive comments. Despite this I believe I've learned heaps just by studying the work of better photographers.

It is possible to view images taken using specific cameras and lenses if you are in the market for some new gear.

I hope you find this helpful.
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Last edit: by Michael Schmid.

Publishing bird photos 5 years 11 months ago #1685

  • Simon Pelling
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Thanks Michael, that's very useful.

Some great pictures on your site!

I presume you find the modest investment in Pro worthwhile?

Do you upload full size JPEGs (noting your backup comment) or a smaller size that reflects the display size Flickr uses?

Simon

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Publishing bird photos 5 years 11 months ago #1686

  • Michael Schmid
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Thanks Simon,
It didn't take me long to exceed the free limit and I think it would be the same for any keen photographer. Once you pay for Pro there is no limit to uploads (or at least that's how it was when I signed up). I upload full size JPEGs reasoning that they are in the cloud if ever I need them. I like to be able to click on an image and see it full size to appreciate the detail. Of course, many photographers are worried that their images will be used illegally and this is probably more likely with large images. I am prepared to take the risk and hope for the best. I have been told by one bird photographer that if he uploads images downsized to fit Flickr, that the image quality was not as good.
Cheers
Mick

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