By Ellen Bedrosian

One of the most enjoyable aspects of being a photographer is sharing our images; our creations. In addition to friends, family and competitions (which can sometimes be discouraging) Flickr is a great place to get feedback and encouragement. This image of mine scored a 6 in competition in 2011, but on a whim, I recently uploaded it to Flickr.

Ice on the branches

It caught the attention of the moderator of The Cadillacs of Photography group on Flicker who asked if I minded if he posted it in his group. How cool is that? Of course, I was honored.

One of the quickest way to gain new followers on Flickr is to “like” a photo that appears in the Explore section. Invariably, whenever I “like” a photo lucky enough to be chosen to appear there, the maker thanks me by following me.

How hard is it to get your photo chosen for Explore? Considering that only 500 images are chosen for Explore out of more than 8 million uploads a day, I would say: pretty darn hard. That’s why, I assume, the makers are grateful for acknowledgements. In fact, one TCC member, Sean Rhinehart had this photo featured in Explore. With almost 12,000 views, the image was also awarded a Nikon Flickr Award. It scored a 6 in competition.

The lesson here is that competitions are just one person’s opinion. If you want to broaden your outreach, Flickr is a great place to start. And don’t forget that TCC has its own group, so be sure to post your photos there when you post on Flickr.

Looking forward to viewing your images!

P.S. Many thanks to the late Bob Jagendof for his excellent presentation about all of the great features on Flickr. RIP Bob. Miss you.