(Approx. 391 words)

Flickr: A look inside the photostream
By Larry Klees, member, Orange County PC Users’ Group, CA
October issue, nibbles & bits
www.orcopug.org
lklees (at) dslextreme.com

Once upon a time there were only a few photographers in an entire city. Today, thanks to advances in digital photography, there are only a few people in an entire city who are not photographers. When you factor in the internet; millions of photos fly around the world every second with the aid of numerous applications.

One of these applications that I personally like is called Flickr. Anyone with internet access can have a free Flickr account. A Flickr account is based on a thing called a “photostream.” Photographs and short videos can be uploaded to this photostream which can be used like a personal photo album. The photos can be left in the order they are uploaded or they can be organized into sets like “Christmas 2010,” “fireworks,” “black sheep of the family,” etc. These can be viewed and, if you like, downloaded or commented on by contacts, friends, and family members. Flickr allows you to place anybody in those categories and you can allow each category different access privileges to each individual photograph. 

You can join special interest groups like “Bugs” or “Macro Photography” or “San Francisco,” etc. If you don’t see a group you like, you can even start a group of your own. You can use all manner of search criteria to find photos in your photostream or elsewhere on Flickr.

When you log on to Flickr you are sent to a Home/ Welcome page. This page gives you a quick summary of what has happened since your last log on. From this page you can monitor views of or comments others have left on your own photos; or you can take a quick look at the new things from your contacts, friends, family members, or groups. You can also upload new photos to your own photostream or organize other aspects of your account.

Flickr can be a little overwhelming at first but you will soon learn your way around. Flickr honors copyrights, doesn’t sell your information, lets you control access to your photos, and offers many other security features. Many people like the free accounts. Many more like the extra benefits of the pro account for about $25 per year.