Jim, congratulations to you, Donna, and all of the moderators & participants over the years on making or traveling along the "internet" road to this milestone here at NPN. An accomplishment not many sites have seen during the same period. In reading your comments or "reflections", I would think the points you made about NPN being a photographers learning or training community is truly key. The list of folks who have benefited with the critique & reviews of their work over the 15 years is quite lengthy from the recall I have with knowing many of them at least by name......
btw: any thought on a 15 year gallery like the 10 year one?.......
I want to add my congratulations to you and Donna on the 15th anniversary of NPN. It was and remains the best place on the internet to learn the skills of nature photography. Hundreds of thousands of websites have come and gone across those years, but NPN has continued, improved and carried on its base mission. Well done.
And a 15th Anniversary gallery sounds like a great idea.
NPN is a great site and resources for nature photographers and thank you both for keeping it going!!!
As you have rightly said so, the sense of community is something which is uniquely NPN. I have learnt so much from friends on this site. I started as a complete amateur and within a few short years 'graduated' as a moderator. Although I have not been active lately, I still lurk behind the scene and soak in all the breath-taking images on this site.
15 years young and getting better every day. Congratulations Jim and Donna!
This is a wonderful community, I am not very active but I am very appreciative of all of the knowledge that is freely given and graciously received here.
I think a 15 year gallery would be a great idea, and hopefully I'll be around to see a 30 year too.
NPN was just over two years old when I wandered in. At that time, NPN was using v-Bulletin software for the galleries and forums. While it was nice, it was no comparison to the custom software that went live in 2003 that's still in use today with the wonderful updates that Jim and Dave the Programmer (DtP) are currently doing.
It's been a nice ride watching NPN grow as a venue, as well as observing the improvement in member's work (my own included) and seeing the friendships that have flourished due to the community spirit of NPN.
So, my hat is off to Jim and Donna, DtP, the NPN staff and all the members who make NPN the great place that is!
15 years young and getting better every day. Congratulations Jim and Donna!
This is a wonderful community, I am not very active but I am very appreciative of all of the knowledge that is freely given and graciously received here.
I think a 15 year gallery would be a great idea, and hopefully I'll be around to see a 30 year too.
Posted by Luke Ormand on April 13, 2015 at 5:47 PM
This is a great write-up.. all I can say is I'm glad I stuck around
Posted by Mark Seaver on April 13, 2015 at 6:09 PM
I guess that entering the 4th year of my NPN participation means that I'm a toddler...
Jim it's a great site, with lots of smart, knowledgeable, and sharing folks. It's certainly helped my photography get much better. I'm planning to be around for the 20th. Many thanks for all of the work that you and Donna put in and especially for the recent major update.
Posted by Jim Erhardt on April 13, 2015 at 6:24 PM
Our thanks to all for your comments in this thread, and more importantly, for your contributions to NPN's success. While we can build a site and set the tone, it's truly all of YOU who make it what it is!
I like the idea of a "15 Years of NPN" gallery. What I'm thinking is that it should be the "how-to" gallery that has been discussed recently, each post providing instruction describing a technique (in-camera or post-shutter), gear, etc. This IMO would be an excellent tribute to what we've collectively accomplished over the last 15 years and to set the tone for moving forward.
As always, your feedback on this idea is appreciated!
I like the idea of a "15 Years of NPN" gallery. What I'm thinking is that it should be the "how-to" gallery that has been discussed recently, each post providing instruction describing a technique (in-camera or post-shutter), gear, etc. This IMO would be an excellent tribute to what we've collectively accomplished over the last 15 years and to set the tone for moving forward.
Jim, I think this theme might work as long as it is a bit "loose" with the interpretation of what may have been done. Nothing like not wanting share the ideas, as much as many of us do not "store" the information or recall what exactly was done overall per image. Of course there are folks that do keep their files intact with the history too.
But, in the end things like TK's masks utilized in end processing, or certain filters used in the field, or number of images stitched to make a pano.....etc. are easy enough to mention for the most part.
Posted by Igor Doncov on April 14, 2015 at 12:45 PM
I am still finding my way around this website and don't know how to quote a post.
I just wanted to add to my "how to do it" suggestion back in December. And that is "why to do it". An explanation of why a certain crop was done in that way, the changes in color that were done. Even why the image was taken. What was the goal.
I actually believe that if you know why you did it, you will do it better next time. Verbalizing the thought process (or feel process).
I am still finding my way around this website and don't know how to quote a post.
Igor, here is a link to the text menu in the forums. It is now different over in the galleries that were all updated recently. But the BBCode still works there too.
The code in the Text Style page is called BBCode and is not the same as HTML. The current discussion forums use BBCode, while the Rich Text editor in the recently updated 'Galleries' uses HTML markup.
In the near future, Jim will install the Rich Text Editor in the discussion forums to make text entry consistent across the site.
--P
Posted by Jim Erhardt on April 14, 2015 at 7:39 PM
^^^What Preston said!^^^
We hope to have the forum updates completed in about 30 days.
Hi thank you for letting me contribute here and for creating a great place to share photos and get feedback. I have learned a lot and I hope to keep using NPN more and more. From, Ashleigh
Posted by Jim Erhardt on April 18, 2015 at 10:18 AM
Ashleigh, thanks for being a part of our community!
Discussion
19 repliesSome reflections on how it started, the road traveled and where we go from here!
btw: any thought on a 15 year gallery like the 10 year one?.......
And a 15th Anniversary gallery sounds like a great idea.
NPN is a great site and resources for nature photographers and thank you both for keeping it going!!!
As you have rightly said so, the sense of community is something which is uniquely NPN. I have learnt so much from friends on this site. I started as a complete amateur and within a few short years 'graduated' as a moderator. Although I have not been active lately, I still lurk behind the scene and soak in all the breath-taking images on this site.
This is a wonderful community, I am not very active but I am very appreciative of all of the knowledge that is freely given and graciously received here.
I think a 15 year gallery would be a great idea, and hopefully I'll be around to see a 30 year too.
It's been a nice ride watching NPN grow as a venue, as well as observing the improvement in member's work (my own included) and seeing the friendships that have flourished due to the community spirit of NPN.
So, my hat is off to Jim and Donna, DtP, the NPN staff and all the members who make NPN the great place that is!
Happy 15, NPN!
--P
ps: I think a 15 year gallery would be nice, too.
-p
Jim & Donna great job!
Jagdeep Rajput
This is a wonderful community, I am not very active but I am very appreciative of all of the knowledge that is freely given and graciously received here.
I think a 15 year gallery would be a great idea, and hopefully I'll be around to see a 30 year too.
Jim it's a great site, with lots of smart, knowledgeable, and sharing folks. It's certainly helped my photography get much better. I'm planning to be around for the 20th. Many thanks for all of the work that you and Donna put in and especially for the recent major update.
I like the idea of a "15 Years of NPN" gallery. What I'm thinking is that it should be the "how-to" gallery that has been discussed recently, each post providing instruction describing a technique (in-camera or post-shutter), gear, etc. This IMO would be an excellent tribute to what we've collectively accomplished over the last 15 years and to set the tone for moving forward.
As always, your feedback on this idea is appreciated!
Jim, I think this theme might work as long as it is a bit "loose" with the interpretation of what may have been done. Nothing like not wanting share the ideas, as much as many of us do not "store" the information or recall what exactly was done overall per image. Of course there are folks that do keep their files intact with the history too.
But, in the end things like TK's masks utilized in end processing, or certain filters used in the field, or number of images stitched to make a pano.....etc. are easy enough to mention for the most part.
I just wanted to add to my "how to do it" suggestion back in December. And that is "why to do it". An explanation of why a certain crop was done in that way, the changes in color that were done. Even why the image was taken. What was the goal.
I actually believe that if you know why you did it, you will do it better next time. Verbalizing the thought process (or feel process).
Igor, here is a link to the text menu in the forums. It is now different over in the galleries that were all updated recently. But the BBCode still works there too.
BBCode & Text Style Menu
The code in the Text Style page is called BBCode and is not the same as HTML. The current discussion forums use BBCode, while the Rich Text editor in the recently updated 'Galleries' uses HTML markup.
In the near future, Jim will install the Rich Text Editor in the discussion forums to make text entry consistent across the site.
--P
We hope to have the forum updates completed in about 30 days.