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Author Topic: 500px going downhill?  (Read 7006 times)

geotzo

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500px going downhill?
« on: June 06, 2013, 09:47:45 am »

Hi all,
I m not sure of how well I have searched the forum for a similar discussion, but I could not locate a similar one.
When I first joined 500px, I thought it was the right place to post some "higher quality" images ("quality" being a very subjective term in these places), instead of
the odd flickr where people upload pretty much anything that can be captured by any camera or mobile phone.
Don't get me wrong, I do like the interface, comparing to other social media photo sites, but lately there is clearly something wrong there.
You can easily see purely bad (and I mean BAD) pictures receiving congrats and highly positive comments, follows and votes... what is really
the point in this? I always wanted a more serious "flickr" where photographers could post their work and receive honest feedback that makes some sense.
Otherwise it becomes pretty much useless don't you think? Why admins on 500px let it turn that way I don't know. Is it really going down the odd flickr route or
am I not getting it? I would love to read some thoughts on this as well as any really good alternatives.
George
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Rob C

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Re: 500px going downhill?
« Reply #1 on: June 06, 2013, 11:38:43 am »

Popularity rules.

You don't get popular by telling people uncomfortable truths, especially when those people like to think of themselves as creatives.

That's another of the advantages of age... as Tony said on that dedicated thread; you stop giving a shit about external opinion, unless that of someone you really, really respect, and not a lot of people match that job description.

Rob C

RFPhotography

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Re: 500px going downhill?
« Reply #2 on: June 06, 2013, 07:43:32 pm »

Who really gives a flying fadoo about likes and follows and the rest of that nonsense?  If that's what you're looking for, just show your stuff to family and friends.  The only opinions that really matter are from people who are going to put money in your pocket; either by buying an image - print or license - or by hiring you for a job.  The rest is just noise.
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bill t.

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Re: 500px going downhill?
« Reply #3 on: June 06, 2013, 08:03:33 pm »

Amen Bob!  The only accolade worth pursuing is the coveted Swipe du Credit Card award.  The image that gets the most swipes is the most artistic one, who says art can't be quantified?

And BTW when opinion just doesn't matter any more, one is finally free to be creative.  Marley suffers from his chains as creativity suffers from opinions.  Or as I suffer from bad metaphors.
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BernardLanguillier

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Re: 500px going downhill?
« Reply #4 on: June 06, 2013, 11:07:13 pm »

The business model of those sites is based on the "social" dimension.

Everything else is a more or less direct logical consequence of this.

Cheers,
Bernard

geotzo

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Re: 500px going downhill?
« Reply #5 on: June 07, 2013, 02:56:51 am »

Indeed Bernard, I m just a bit surprised it went down that way so quickly for 500px.
They should rephrase that very last sentence: "The first version of 500px came to light in the early days of digital photography. At that time, everything was slightly different — the Internet was slower, 3.2 megapixel cameras were the latest buzz, digital photographers were just getting acquainted with their tools, and 500 pixels was a good size for photos displayed on CRT monitors. Over the years, the 500px platform went through a number of revisions and changes, growing together with technology and photographers, and keeping focus on the highest quality photos."
The platform is nice for keeping some photos online, for various of uses and I have found it good as a tool in some occasions, but that's about it. 
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texshooter

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Re: 500px going downhill?
« Reply #6 on: June 08, 2013, 02:30:26 am »

1x.com
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Gulag

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Re: 500px going downhill?
« Reply #7 on: June 08, 2013, 08:13:27 pm »

1x.com


You've got to be kidding me. Once your image has been "curated'' and accepted by 1x, you can't even remove it from their servers. In other words, photogs are contributing for free unless that's what you desire to do. On the other hand,  their curators "aesthetic" tastes are at mass market level to say the least. If Cindy Sherman decided to submit her work there,  she wouldn't be even accepted as so-called 1x.com artist.
« Last Edit: June 08, 2013, 08:32:45 pm by Gulag »
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"Photography is our exorcism. Primitive society had its masks, bourgeois society its mirrors. We have our images."

— Jean Baudrillard

Rob C

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Re: 500px going downhill?
« Reply #8 on: June 09, 2013, 04:24:44 am »

You've got to be kidding me. Once your image has been "curated'' and accepted by 1x, you can't even remove it from their servers. In other words, photogs are contributing for free unless that's what you desire to do. On the other hand,  their curators "aesthetic" tastes are at mass market level to say the least. If Cindy Sherman decided to submit her work there,  she wouldn't be even accepted as so-called 1x.com artist.


In that case, I must take a look; they might be on to something!

Rob C

-Tom-

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Re: 500px going downhill?
« Reply #9 on: July 25, 2013, 06:05:06 pm »

The new design is just....awful.

Flickr's new design ain't stellar either...but 500px just dropped the ball. I'm full back on Flickr now. It sucks they made it free for everyone...but then again...

Much better than 500px's "V+F please check out my work" bullshit.

markadams99

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Re: 500px going downhill?
« Reply #10 on: July 26, 2013, 12:50:48 am »

There's a gap in the market for an intelligently curated site. The curation should be opinionated, curmudgeonly and overtly subjective. Criticism need not be constructive or emollient, but must be interesting. Membership by application and rescindable, depending on quality of work or quality of comment. Lumlandx.com?
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