Flickr: What is Interestingness
What is interestingness?
The short answer is that it’s a way of measuring a photo’s popularity on Flickr.
The long ansser is that nobody knows the exact formula for computing a photo’s interestingness. It’s a combination of number of views, number of times that someone marks the photo as a favorite, and number of times the photo is blogged. But it’s not simply a matter of views or exposure. If a photo has been submitted to too many groups, it may affect the interestingness in a negative way. Similarly, it is thought that who views or favorites the photo may affect the interestingness rating. The number of views compared to other photos with the same tags is a factor. The quantity of comments is a factor (as well as who left those comments). All of this is time-related… a photo gathering 100 views in an hour is very different than a photo gathering 100 views in a month.
So… why does it matter? It really doesn’t. The primary use of interestingness is that Flickr features the 500 most interesting photos for a given day as part of the Explore section of their website. Post a good photo, get it noticed (so that it has a high interestingness factor) and you may find it featured in Flickr’s Explore section. Many folks (including myself) consider it a matter of pride to have a photo deemed interesting and featured in Explore.
If you want to see a bunch of photos featured in Explore, you can check out this Flickr group. If you’d like to see all of my photos which have ever been in Explore, follow this tag.
Photography as a Business: Shooting the NFL
Shooting a National Football League game would be a career highlight for many sports photographers. With the supply of photographers exceeding the demand of the NFL, the league is in a powerful position to dictate the behavior of those chosen to shoot the events.
Now, the NFL is flexing their muscle and requiring photographers to wear a vest bearing advertising. Not just any advertising however… one of the advertiser logos to be featured is none other than Canon. Regardless of whose gear you’re using, sideline photographers will be sporting Canon on their backs. Folks from the National Press Photographers Association are up in arms, but when it comes down to it, the logo on a vest will have zero impact on the quality of the photos produced.
Shooting the NFL is a business. The client has set their terms. Photographers can either work within those terms, or pass on the business and the market will determine if others will meet the demands of the client.
Don’t Ask if the Lord is a Canon Guy
This week I’ve spent about 9 hours shooting a Vacation Bible School program at our church. I have just shy of 500 photos and the next few days should be a good exercise in workflow as I sort, fix, and prepare images for a slideshow.
It’s been interesting, and has led to some odd thoughts. Like tonight, as I got ready to shoot the final gathering, and I thought to myself:
Which lens should I use for Jesus?
Luck: Duck, Duck, Duckbus!
Duck, Duck, Duckbus! - click to view larger on Flickr
Despite reading photography books, learning how to operate a camera, and spending many hours shooting photos to improve one’s technique, sometimes getting an interesting photo is simply a matter of being in the right place at the right time. This photo was one of those occasions where I caught a couple of ducky things both heading upriver on the Willamette on my lunch hour.
Digital Photo Printing: Home or Commercial?
One issue I often find myself discussing with folks new to photography (and particularly digital photography) is how to obtain prints. When the average “consumer” shot 35mm film, it was easy: drop the roll off at your local photo processing location and wait a week until the prints returned. If one was in a hurry, there was overnight or one-hour processing.
Regardless of whether one prints digital images at home or through a commercial outfit, one of the big changes in printing (vs. traditional rolls of 35mm film) is that printing is now selective. The whole roll doesn’t need to be developed/printed in order to see that one killer shot.
Many folks figure that the switch to digital photography means they need to get a photo-quality printer at their house and print their own images. That’s one option, but it’s not the option I typically recommend. Let’s look at some pros and cons of home printing:
Pros of Home Printing:
- printing can be done at any time
- results are (nearly) instant
- images can be quickly reprinted after adjustments have been made
Cons of Home Printing:
- requires purchasing a quality printer (you generally get what you pay for)
- requires regularly purchasing ink cartridges
- requires purchasing photo paper
- occasionally requires troubleshooting
The other option is to have your photos printed commercially. At first this service was only available at special locations, but now you can find digital photo printing at any of the major drugstore chains as well as retailers such as Costco and Walmart. They’re all using the same equipment, so you should get similar results regardless of your retailer choice. What are the pros and cons of commercial printing?
Pros of Retail Printing:
- no real technical skill needed
- no hardware or ink cartridge purchases
Cons of Retail Printing:
- must either drive to store or wait for shipped photos
- unable to quickly reprint after editing
- unable to control the technical aspects of printing
I find that I don’t print very many images, and the ones I do print are done commercially. I enjoy being able to submit the photos online and then pick them up a few hours or days later, knowing I’ll get a consistent result at an affordable price. Others who want to spend more time on the process may favor printing at home; for them the printing process is part of the hobby.
Either option can produce quality prints depending on how you go about it… and you never know what weird situations you might run into.
Photographing Fireworks: Lights, Motion, Science, and Art
In just a couple days, across the United States folks will turn out for huge public fireworks displays. My hometown of Vancouver, Washington boasts the largest fireworks display west of the Mississippi. Fireworks can make interesting photography subjects, and it is possible to take some great fireworks photos without too much difficulty if you spend a few minutes thinking about the elements involved.
First, you’ll need stability. Because you’ll be taking photos at night, using slow shutter speeds, the camera will need to be absolutely motionless. The only way to get the needed stability is a tripod or other fixed camera mount. Another piece of equipment which can contribute to the stability is a remote shutter release cable, so that the pressure of a finger on the shutter button won’t cause unwanted movement.
The key technical aspect to good fireworks photos is shutter speed. You’ll be using relatively slow shutter speeds in order to let in the light from the fireworks, and potentially to capture the motion of the fireworks as the lights move in the sky. Put your camera in shutter priority mode (often indicated as Tv) and choose a slow shutter speed to capture the light and motion. How long is the “right” length for the shutter? There is no single right answer. The photo shown here was captured with a 30 second exposure. Many fireworks photos are taken with shutter speeds in the 5-15 second range. The best thing to do is experiment. With a digital camera you can use the preview feature and histogram to check out your results and make adjustments in the field.
Use a low ISO to minimize noise and grain in the sky of your photos. Either use a low ISO film, or if you have a digital camera, set it to the lowest ISO possible.
Don’t forget about photography basics when you’re shooting fireworks. You’ll still want to think about composition. Choose a viewing location free of obstacles. Make sure the folks in front of you aren’t going to put up a big umbrella at the last minute. Sometimes you can use a landmark to provide some context for the fireworks. Make sure you have plenty of memory cards or film. It’s amazing how many photos you can snap in a fireworks display, and you don’t want to miss the grand finale because you ran out of storage.
Overall, have fun. Experiment with different shutter speeds and see the results. In the end, you should end up with some colorful photos of an American tradition.
*photo by bobtravis on Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license
Carry Some Prints in the Field
As you’re out in the field taking photographs, you’ll likely run into other photographers or just curious members of the public as you are shooting. One way to share your photography with them is to have a few prints on hand they can look at. It’s easy to carry a small flipbook of 4×6 prints, but several 8×10s would make a more lasting impression.
The cost for the prints and a small album will be small but the ability to show some of your best work in the field (to potential clients) is very valuable.
