No doubt that the ES&S Gallery is the most popular gallery on NPN, well, at least if you go by the numbers. And quite possibly the most popular nature related photography forum on the web. Many reasons of course, but when you combine great talent, incredible imagery and a wonderful sense of community here, you have the makings of a successful online site that so many photographers want to be a part of; including photographers ranging from the working pro to the beginner who's just picked up their first camera.
As a result of this popularity you may have noticed a steady increase in new members as well as the numbers of images posted in the ES&S Gallery. Often times an image will roll off the first page in a couple days without receiving many comments. Another effect of the galleries popularity is that it also has become the default gallery, leaving the other galleries with fewer postings and comments, etc. Many times folks will post a message indicating something like, "I'm not sure if this is the right gallery, but I know I'll get more comments here...." or something along those lines.
Very understandable, but we thought we would post a friendly reminder that it is up to the member to chose the "most appropriate" gallery to post his/her image. The difficulty we have as moderators of course is that so much of these definitions are subjective and how can one subjectively decide what is Photo Art or if an image of a dogwood bloom should go in Flora or if it's OK in ES&S. As most are probably aware, the definition for Man & Nature is probably the easiest to define and recognize; a red canoe next to a dock on a lake, with a young boy and a fishing pole.... will get moved to the Man & Nature Gallery. And in defining the "hand of man," there is NO INTENT by anyone to take these definition arguments to an extreme; ie. Carbon Dioxide is both a product of Man and nature, so therefore every image belongs in Man & Nature..... Just because the "atmosphere" contains "elements of man," that does not apply to the SPIRIT of what is meant by "no evidence of the hand of man." Just like one can argue what is "manipulation" of a photograph till the cows come home or pigs fly, so it would be pointless to start any lists that define each gallery definition. Again, the intent is for reasonable, common sense definitions that are again very subjective.
You are encouraged to pick the gallery you think most appropriate. If you say to yourself, "this should probably go in the Flora Gallery, then that's probably where you should post it. It is also possible that one of the moderators might feel it more appropriate and move the image to another gallery.
The moderating team thought it was time to have a refresher on the posting guidelines. In all honesty, this will effect very few images. The intentions of the moderators are still to remain flexible and we are not here to be forum police, that is not the intention.
Many might think that the guidelines are so vague, "how do I know which one is appropriate?" The definitions and guidelines are purposefully vague because the alternate choice of having some list that would read like a SW licensing agreement from Microsoft... would not be acceptable either. Please just use your reasoned and common sense judgment. We will attempt to do our best to explain the reasons and you are free to contact any of us if you have questions. If you are unsure where to post your image, please feel free to contact one of us.
We want to thank everyone who make this one of the best nature photography forums anywhere.
Thanks for this Lon. I should also point out that there are guidelines as to what is appropriate in the M&N gallery.
"Landscapes, seascapes, or rural scenes that contain evidence of hand-of-man (HOM) such as a path, crops and domesticated animals. People and/or man-made structures may be part of the scene but not exceed 25% of total area of the frame."
Often we get images that don't have enough nature content in them or are more travel related. Keep in mind that images that fall outside these guidelines are not eligible for weekly picks either.
Well spoken Lon. I also wanted to take the time to encourage everyone to contribute in comments to other galleries. Im speaking to myself here as well. I am starting to go to "all photos" instead of just rushing to ess.
I know it's easy to do whether it be M&N, Avian, etc, but I think we can contribute to the community as a whole. Most do contribute in a wide range so it's just an encouragement (to myself) to all. You just might find a topic or picture that catches your eye and have the opportunity to say something kind or helpful.
Thanks again Lon and to all here at this great community.
Keep up the great work
Well thought out and informative, ESS is definitely the most popular, but not all the best images are there. To get complimentary comments as well as constructive cristicism after all is what were all after. I find each community to be slightly different and a floral image like your post on the CANP will get different comments on the floral gallery than ESS. Both will be helpful I've learned allot more this spring postin in floral than I would have with the same inages in ESS if that makes any sense.
Timely and well stated Lon. I've often seen images in ESS I thought might belong in Flora. But it doesn't really bother me and it's not my call anyway. However the need to keep images catagorized is an important one. It seems most images posted in flora are closeups that could also be considered for the Macro Gallery. Many flora images that include any landscape are posted in ESS. These are lines that are impossible to specifically define and could be discussed without end. The moderators are doing a great job IMO.
As an aside, as you noted Lon, one positive thing ive seen change in ESS (partly due to its reputation) is an increasing number of non-U.S. photographers. I think this is terrific, gives us a real international flavor and the diversity just gets better and better. I almost wish we had some sort of translator built into the sites software to make it easier on non-English speakers.
Incidentally, i thik the quality is just as high if not higher on some of the other galleries (flora comes to mind as top-notch-almost-always-pro-quality) even if the numbers arent quite as high there.
There used to be an 'off-topic' gallery but it's no more, Wain. This is a "nature phtoography" site so use your best judgment. If the sports are nature related or in a natural setting, it could qualify (generally in Man & Nature), but if its an indoor basketball game or in a stadium or something--you're out of luck
Discussion
6 repliesNo doubt that the ES&S Gallery is the most popular gallery on NPN, well, at least if you go by the numbers. And quite possibly the most popular nature related photography forum on the web. Many reasons of course, but when you combine great talent, incredible imagery and a wonderful sense of community here, you have the makings of a successful online site that so many photographers want to be a part of; including photographers ranging from the working pro to the beginner who's just picked up their first camera.
As a result of this popularity you may have noticed a steady increase in new members as well as the numbers of images posted in the ES&S Gallery. Often times an image will roll off the first page in a couple days without receiving many comments. Another effect of the galleries popularity is that it also has become the default gallery, leaving the other galleries with fewer postings and comments, etc. Many times folks will post a message indicating something like, "I'm not sure if this is the right gallery, but I know I'll get more comments here...." or something along those lines.
Very understandable, but we thought we would post a friendly reminder that it is up to the member to chose the "most appropriate" gallery to post his/her image. The difficulty we have as moderators of course is that so much of these definitions are subjective and how can one subjectively decide what is Photo Art or if an image of a dogwood bloom should go in Flora or if it's OK in ES&S. As most are probably aware, the definition for Man & Nature is probably the easiest to define and recognize; a red canoe next to a dock on a lake, with a young boy and a fishing pole.... will get moved to the Man & Nature Gallery. And in defining the "hand of man," there is NO INTENT by anyone to take these definition arguments to an extreme; ie. Carbon Dioxide is both a product of Man and nature, so therefore every image belongs in Man & Nature..... Just because the "atmosphere" contains "elements of man," that does not apply to the SPIRIT of what is meant by "no evidence of the hand of man." Just like one can argue what is "manipulation" of a photograph till the cows come home or pigs fly, so it would be pointless to start any lists that define each gallery definition. Again, the intent is for reasonable, common sense definitions that are again very subjective.
You are encouraged to pick the gallery you think most appropriate. If you say to yourself, "this should probably go in the Flora Gallery, then that's probably where you should post it. It is also possible that one of the moderators might feel it more appropriate and move the image to another gallery.
The moderating team thought it was time to have a refresher on the posting guidelines. In all honesty, this will effect very few images. The intentions of the moderators are still to remain flexible and we are not here to be forum police, that is not the intention.
Many might think that the guidelines are so vague, "how do I know which one is appropriate?" The definitions and guidelines are purposefully vague because the alternate choice of having some list that would read like a SW licensing agreement from Microsoft... would not be acceptable either. Please just use your reasoned and common sense judgment. We will attempt to do our best to explain the reasons and you are free to contact any of us if you have questions. If you are unsure where to post your image, please feel free to contact one of us.
We want to thank everyone who make this one of the best nature photography forums anywhere.
Your moderating team,
Floris, Lon and Marc.
"Landscapes, seascapes, or rural scenes that contain evidence of hand-of-man (HOM) such as a path, crops and domesticated animals. People and/or man-made structures may be part of the scene but not exceed 25% of total area of the frame."
Often we get images that don't have enough nature content in them or are more travel related. Keep in mind that images that fall outside these guidelines are not eligible for weekly picks either.
I know it's easy to do whether it be M&N, Avian, etc, but I think we can contribute to the community as a whole. Most do contribute in a wide range so it's just an encouragement (to myself) to all. You just might find a topic or picture that catches your eye and have the opportunity to say something kind or helpful.
Thanks again Lon and to all here at this great community.
Keep up the great work
Paul
Incidentally, i thik the quality is just as high if not higher on some of the other galleries (flora comes to mind as top-notch-almost-always-pro-quality) even if the numbers arent quite as high there.