Flickr Taxonomy
As I spend more and more time on Flickr, I tend to notice a few characteristics of other photographers that use the site. From these characteristics, I’ve been mentally filing them away into different groups of photographers. Now that they’ve been in my head long enough, I'm creating a series of posts to classify the different user groups as I identify them.
The TiML
Up to bat today, is the group I'm going to call the This is my life users, or the TiML for short.
The motive for the TiML is simple. They take photos of everything they do, everyone they love, and everywhere they've been. All they need in an photograph to declare is a success, is for that photo to illustrate whatever is happing to them at any given moment. Rules of composition, and the exploration of angles, lighting, and other nuances that someone who fancies themselves an art photographer might be concerned about, have little to no value. As a result, the TiMLs will often have photo streams that consist of many thousands of photos since few will ever get edited out for not being considered good enough.
Best as I can tell, the TiMLs care little about the process of photography, and just focus on the content of their images. You'll never find them in group discussion boards debating over whether or not the latest Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens is infinitesimally sharper at f/8 than the Nikon lens with the same specifications. Nor will you ever find them hunting out for the best sharpening methods to make their images into 20x30 inch prints ready for a gallery exhibit. As long as the automatic modes and on-camera flash capture what they are looking at, they will need nothing more to be happier.
I also consider the TiMLs to be the group that is most free from pretension, and admire them for this. The TiMLs don't wander the world hoping that their next snapshot will turn them into the next Ansel Adams, Henri Cartier-Bresson or Walker Evans. They ask for nothing more than to archive their life, and share it with their friends & family. Friends and family who will never expect them to justify their images in terms such as "What emotions were you trying to express?" which an art photographer might get subjected to.
The work of the TiMLs can best be discovered by going to http://www.flickr.com/photos/ and repeatably hitting the refresh button. I'll admit that one of my favorite Flickr pastimes is sit on that page watching for best images uploaded by the TiML Flick user.
More Flickr Taxonomy
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February 17th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
I most certainly fall into this group as I do not consider myself a person who 'makes' photographer. I consider myself a person who 'takes' photographs. I am into capturing moments of my life rather than creating an artistic portrait in which the contents of the photo are no more important than the methodologies used to make the photo.
If you were to look through my Flickr photostream you will see I have thousands of photos in which the collections and sets are more important to me than the individual photos. Although I do edit, label and tag each photo, removing the poorest examples from each collection I do not upload only prime photos, but rather entire story lines relating to a particular event in my life.
I've been following Flickr for a few years now and have always grouped it's users into two categories. Photographers and what Kip are calling the TiML'ers. I like the further taxonomic breakdown Kip is going into because I feel these two 'kingdoms' could be broken down into 'orders', 'phylum', et al.
February 17th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
Interesting. I, too, respect and enjoy the TiML photographer. They are this generation's version of my Grandma, who left us rubbermaid bins full of 4x6s when she passed away. Instead of rubbermaid bins, it's the internet... and why not? The internet doesn't take up space under the bed.
My favorite thing about the TiML is the occasional accidental masterpiece that they capture. It reminds me that the most important thing about photography isn't having the best gear, isn't the capture media, and isn't technique or skill. It's having the magic box with you when you see something neat.
February 17th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
> It’s having the magic box with you when you see something neat.
And having that magic box wouldn't be complete w/o a custom 'Made in Minnesota' camera case. Alas, that's a topic for a later blog post from Mr. Praslowicz.
February 17th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
So what you're saying, is that I should stop saving up for that Ninoka, and just be happy with my Quickshot X3000?
February 17th, 2009 at 7:16 pm
Whoa, whoa. I didn't say that. The Ninoka is a piece of precision equipment!
Although you should probably save the extra cash for the Royal Bat Mitzvah 300th Anniversary Platinum Engraved edition. It intrinsically takes better pictures. In fact, you'll be a better photographer even if you just hold one for a while.