Flickr: Groups

Alright, it is Sunday morning here in the middle of Missouri, not much going on; I've came off a fairly productive week here on LifeInDigitalFilm and my LifeInRealWorld has been going pretty good of late also. So I figured I would take it easy today and just point you toward some of the Flickr groups I frequent, even if I don't partake in the discussions much at most of them.

Okay, so I am a serial lurker. I like to read what others have to say, only interjecting my opinion when I feel it is absolutely needed. Before I got back into photography, I was solidly in the tech scene and spend hours a day scouring the thread over at Slashdot and Digg. As I slowly fell back into photography I migrated my daily thread searching from those two sites to a few photo-related forums. The best of which I have found is the discussions inside multiple groups in Flickr. So, I am going to list off a few here that I love, and read daily.

Presetting Lightroom :

Rightoff the bat I will get this group out of the way. It is one in which I admin and I have been pushing it pretty hard here on LIDF. I push it hard because it is a growing group, with a great vibe, focused on Lightroom and using presets to your advantage therein. There is a number of skilled preset designers in the group and an even larger number of people affluent in Lightroom. If you run into problems with presets, using or designing, come on over. I ask anyone who frequents LIDF to hop over and join up and join in.

While I have you on the subject of the Presetting Lightoom group, I wanted to push our photo-contest we have going on. Our contest is simple, process a photo in Lightroom using a preset...Name the preset and why you used it. You have until February 28 to enter, at that point entries cease and voting begins. Voting on the winners will be done by the group its self. Currently we have a few prizes up for grabs, and new ones will be posted in the group. As of now we have a copy of my Cold Storage collection for the top 3 photos and a copy of HDR Soft's Photomatix w/ Lightroom Plug-in for the overall winner. You have just under two weeks to get involved, the more entries the more prizes we might be able to line up for this and future photo competitions in the group.

Now back to my Flickr list....Next up


Adobe Lightroom:

A group devoted to Adobe Lightroom, obviously. Also one of the best resources to get a Lightroom problem resolved. Most problems you encounter can be solved simply by searching the group discussions. If it is not answered in the discussions or the groups FAQ pages, then feel free to post your question. With the size of the group and their general level of knowledge, you will not go long without an answer.

It is a very active group, and quite a few members names you will notice from across the rest of the Lightroom world on the internet.

This Week In Photography:

The official Flickr group of the TWIP podcast. A very diverse and knowledgable group, with many active members. Awesome group to go to for general phtography issues, and the grouop often has some very lively discussions. In all the group is not too connected to the TWIP show or blog and is very accessible even if you don't listen to TWIP.

TWIP Critique:


Another TWIP group, however do not go here asking general questions. Bring a photo you want critiqued, and the others will bring on the honesty. Be prepared for honest critiques, you will get multiple opinions and you will learn from your own work in a way that forces you to look at you own work critically.

Some really awsome people over there; bbusschots and kentgoldings are some names that really stand out as consistant participants with good advice. You will really know you are doing good when you get kind words from BruceHP!

Do It Yourself Black & White:

Although this may not interest you unless you are into film (I am obviously); this group is an exellent resource when you decide to step back into the darkroom. Alot of knowledge here, and I utilized this group a lot when I decided I was walking back into the darkroom after 10 years outside of it.


Well I hope this list gives you some places that you may desire to visit, albeit just a few. If you are on these groups, look for me by my Flickr ID of grayimaging. I will be through each group at least once a day to catch up, and I am on Presetting Lightroom quite a few times a day since I admin there. I will periodicall update the list, and once I get my Wordpress site up I will have a dedicated Fliker list up.


Please do consider entering in the Presetting Lightroom group photo contest. We have some gret entries already, but not many. Enter soon at the entries will be locked on Feb 28th and voting commences. Right now if you enter you will come off with a really good shot of winning a prize. I mean, there are 3 copies of my own preset collection up for grabs...but don't let that stop you from buying your own copy of Cold Storage! (((please...)))

Later,
Michael