Facebook Friendzy

Lately I've been thinking a lot about what makes someone a great photographer.  Is it enough to shoot well-composed photographs?  To carefully and thoughtfully edit your photographs?  What role does having an audience play in making/shaping the photographer?  Personally, I think that anyone who has the drive to get out there with the camera and work to improve his/her craft is a photographer.  But, a great photographer?  How do you hone your skills, master your craft, to the point that you become "great"? 

I would argue that audience has a lot to do with it.  Getting constructive feedback, thinking about the implications for your work, and refining your approach are all, I believe, important steps in the process of artistic growth.  So, I return to a question that has been plaguing me for awhile: how do you find an audience for your work?  It seems easy enough, right?  There's plenty of advice to be found online, of course.  In a previous post, for example, I talked about an article which suggested selling photographs on stock photography websites.  After about two months of that, I decided that it just isn't for me--I didn't sell any work, I wasn't getting any feedback, and I have my doubts that anyone bothers to read the credits on a stock photo.  In another post, I discussed the possibility of entering photography contests as a means of self-promotion.  While this strikes me as a more promising avenue than stock photography (I'm at least getting some ratings on my photographs, even though I haven't received any comments yet), getting your work out and getting feedback obviously involves a lot more than just entering a few photography contests and selling some stock photos (if you're lucky). 

So, with that in mind, I've decided to give Facebook a try.  My grandmother, who does macro floral photography, suggested that we start up a joint venture, and Fledderbug Photography was born.  So far we have 18 followers, and I'm hoping for more every day.  We've both been uploading photos to the site.  Please stop by and have a look!  Of course, if you're inclined to like the page, your support and feedback are greatly appreciated!

And, lest I be accused of writing a photography blog devoid of photographs, here's a small sampling of the photographs I've uploaded so far.  More to come!