Some ramblings, and some photos!
Joining Hive was a happy accident, after having a twitter conversation with another photographer, who had written a blog, in which he had mentioned Hive. I ended up on the Hive website, randomly clicking links, and landed upon a page of mesmerizing colourful buttons, of which I had absolutely no idea what any of them represented. A few more tweets later I was on board, with no expectations and absolutely no idea how Hive worked.
Because the only social media I've ever known has been algorithm based, and much more populated, Hive felt very different. It's harder to find people to follow on Hive, one has to put in some effort. In contrast, I joined Twitter at the start of the year (not because I particularly wanted to be on twitter, I just didn't want another Cath Gothard to get the cathgothard twitter handle. :) After joining, I followed a few people that I already followed on Instagram, then the Twitter algorithm suggested I follow a load more photographers, most of whom I was already following on Instagram. Twitter knew what I liked.
The algorithms have made me very blinkered on social media. I ONLY follow photographers. The nice thing about Hive is that because I had to do my own searching, I've come across a broad range of people, all doing different cool stuff. By following a wider range of people I (attempt to) learn about Hive and about blockchains and finance, look at original artworks, listen to music, as well as all the photography stuff. I don't do all these things on Instagram or Twitter.
I work as a 3D character animator. Since I've joined Hive, I've started to think about maybe doing some 2D animation that I can do on my own, just for fun. Maybe I could start by making an animated banner that I could add to my posts, or an avatar...? These are ideas that have no doubt come from looking at some of the animations posted by creators on Hive. Using Instagram and Twitter has never expanded my thoughts like this. It will definitely have to wait until I'm in between jobs, but I really want to try some new things.
Writing about my recent camera outings has also made me realise I am in a bit of a creative rut. On Instagram, I post one image a week, and because my Instagram grid is curated VERY carefully, it doesn't look repetitive, and my limited subject matter isn't obvious. In fairness to myself, I am photographing about 1 square mile of parkland. But I could try and challenge myself - for example, go out with just my macro lens, or my wide angle lens, so that I can't default to my trusty 24-120mm lens, that I use for the majority of my images. I want to see the familiar, with different eyes. None of this would have occurred to me, if I hadn't blogged on Hive, about my mornings out with my camera.
I also need to get back into the city for some Londonscapes...
So to answer my question, I think that the algorithms on Instagram and Twitter, while useful, are also a hinderance. I now prefer Hive, and I intend to use the platform for a long time to come. :)
Here are a couple of images I took about 2 weeks ago, on a rather splendid morning before work:
ISO 100, 28mm, f/13, varying shutter speeds for exposure bracketing.
ISO 100, 38mm, f/13, varying shutter speeds for exposure bracketing.
I'm interested to hear if my experience on Hive resonates with anyone else.
Really insightful post - I'd not really latched onto the lack of algorithm here, and think you've made a good point about it stifling things.
Really hope you do find a spark here to get out of that rut you mentioned too.
Thanks Kieran. It was only when I started using Hive that I realised how much algorithms dictated for me on other social media platforms.
I'm sure I'll get out of my rut. I need to photograph somewhere other than the park!!! :)
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So beautiful!! I love your pics!!!!
Thank you Andrea! We've both been lucky with atmospheric conditions recently. :)
I am posting only once every few months on IG. It's dead to me (other than the 45k followers who wonder where I am). Decentralised social media is the future. Algorithms are not all together bad (and can be helpful) but you should be able to choose which ones you use (if any) and switch between them.
I am still a little sentimental about IG, as it was the place I first started sharing my photos. I met some nice people on there, some I've gone on to met in RL.
The things I hate most about IG are the adverts, and the closed system that makes it impossible to link to anything external.
I like the idea of choosing which algorithms are being used. That could be a powerful tool for the user...
I was forced onto a commercial creator account when I got to 50k followers and they cut my reach overnight by 2/3. They then just ask me to promote the posts to get it back. When that happened I realised you don't own your following on any Web 2 platform and committed to web 3. Imagine if you had a third party gatekeeper in between you and your relationships in real life. That could turn on and off your access at will.
Wow that's really shitty. Absolute control. I see why you're not a fan.
Strangely my current growth is slower than when I was a camera newbie. I post much better photos now, but get less follows. I spend a lot of time blocking bots and shadow accounts. Any account that follows me that has zero posts, a random number at the end of their handle, and a nonsensical bio, is an automatic block. I only have 5k followers, so most of the time it's a manageable task.
I just use it as a portfolio and not much else. It was more important to me when I did work for state tourism bodies etc ; but now with the pandemic all that has dried up so its irrelevant to me.
Hmmm, I don't that I would say other platforms stifle creativity, but I do think it's very possible to get pigeon-holed into one genre or medium by following and interacting with others who are into the same thing. This may hinder people to explore different creative outlets.
I like to think that HIVE isn't for lazy people, and it takes a bit more work than other platforms, and this can, in turn, foster creativity.
I think those are really good points Casey. Perhaps I was looking at things from the wrong direction when I titled the post... I could have called it something like - 'Does Hive Encourage Creativity More Than Traditional Social Media Platforms'. That would have sounded more positive and less click baity.
I quite often find it hard to articulate all the thoughts that buzz around in my head with words, and am hoping that writing about photography (and other things) on Hive, will help me learn to express my thoughts in a more orderly way. I could do with someone like yourself to proof read things for me before I hit publish. :)
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This are wonderful landscape photos.
Reveal spoiler
I love this one. The mood in the photo is calming but at the same time it gives some mysterious vibes.
Thank you, really glad that you like them. A bit of mist and atmosphere tends to add mystery to a photograph... :)
read your post with great pleasure.
definitely!
yes! you know, I am amateur photographer too, and it was Steemit that boosted greatly developing of my photo skills (and shooting in the .raw format, which I avoided before as much as I could).
btw my wife's occupation is exactly 2D animator (she is doing kid'z cartoons. sweet!).
Glad that you enjoyed the read @qwerrie :)
That's such a coincidence that your wife is also an animator!!!!! You make a creative couple. :) Now I know who to ask if I need any 2D animation advice....
I've met lots of different photographers on Hive that the Twitter algorithm would not have suggested. For example, the light painting scene on here is amazing! It's so refreshing isn't it?! :)
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well, she is not very good in English, and transcribing alll this special vocabulary can be a mess, so perhaps asking her would not be the best idea ;) she works in Adobe Animate and does have some knowledge, but it is not very 'transportable' , I should admit 😁
:) I understand. :)
I actually did a free trial of Adobe Animate a few weeks ago. I had learned a bit of Flash years back, but I couldn't remember any of it, and the program has no doubt changed as it evolved into Animate. Then a proper paid job came in, so I had to stop playing, and now the trial has expired. I am tempted to purchase the subscription, but not sure I can really justify the expense, as it wouldn't be a commercial thing for me.... Food for thought though!!! 😀