Slow going, but another landmark passed

With nearly 58,000 shots uploaded, I've just clocked up four million viewings on my Flickr site. 

Hurrah! 

But of course, this is four million since I began to upload photos to Flickr in February 2009. That rather cuts the achievement down to size. Even so, I anticipate my friends will be impressed, not realising perhaps that even four million viewings, spread over the years, is nothing compared to the astronomical statistics some people have generated in a much shorter time - not so much on Flickr, but on other picture-based websites like Instagram.  

Note especially that 'viewings' isn't the same as 'followers'. I think many people mix the two up, and might imagine, in relation to my case, that there are four million people out there who will scrutinise every shot I put online. Not so! 

Both 'viewings' and 'number of followers' are a measure of public attention and response, but they are not the same thing at all. 

A 'viewing' means somebody happened to see a picture - probably by scrolling rapidly through a batch, perhaps in some cases pausing to examine it more closely, and in rare instances troubling to make a comment. 

A 'follower' is somebody who likes what they see, and deliberately bookmarks the photographer, so that when they go into Flickr in the future the photographer's latest shots will be presented to them. It's very easy to become a follower, but the small effort involved is usually beyond the average person's capacity. Inertia is so hard to overcome! Still, a number of very popular photographers have each garnered a huge number of followers. I am definitely not one of them!

Even now I've got only 81 followers. That's not many, and some would say it's a pitifully small number after fourteen years of posting photographs on Flickr. 

So why do I do it? 

Well, I'm not after fame and fortune. Popularity is a two-edged sword. Along with the accolades might come some vicious swipes which would be hurtful. And I don't need another income. 

As a general proposition, I think it's good to share one's life through pictures. Certainly, I want people who used to know me to see that I'm doing fine, and have not fallen by the wayside. And I want those who currently know me to see where I go, and what I get up to. 

I don't show everything, not by any means. And some of it is very ordinary. But even that (a new device for my kitchen perhaps) seems to have some resonance for people who visit Flickr. 

I don't set out to wow other photographers with my technique or choice of subject-matter. Certainly not to confine my uploads to what is currently regarded as 'fine art photography'. I don't at all spurn the notion of artistic excellence, but it's hard to elevate everyday subjects into Art, or in any way make them sublime. Taking church interiors as an example - a very frequent subject for me - I want to capture the architecture, history, memorials, artworks, and social role of the building in clear detail, with a natural rendition. Light effects and mystical atmosphere come second, as does showing off the capabilities of my Leica camera. 

Getting back to the viewing statistics, what is the record so far? 

I got to the first million viewings in January 2016 (this was a photo of the laptop screen):

So if I started uploading shot in February 2009, it took nearly seven years to get this far! Sloooow.

I got to two million viewings in January 2018 (this, and following images, are screenshots on my laptop):

That's better. Only two years to add another million viewings. 

Three million viewings were attained in August 2020:

Hmm. Two and a half years to add another million viewings. Clearly my pictures had lost some of their appeal. Or was it down to Covid-19?

And now four million viewings in August 2023:

Oh dear! Three years to add another million viewings. I'm slowly becoming a faded has-been! An irrelevance!

Yes, Flickr as a platform for hosting pictures has been somewhat pushed aside by the faster rise of Instagram. Yes, the current craze to make video content for TikTok and the rest has dampened general enthusiasm for still photography. But I think the trend is unmistakable. I've lost my grip - such as it ever was - on the public. Shall I pack it up? 

No, of course not. I like posting things to Flickr, and although Flickr isn't a social media platform, it's a useful showcase. Perhaps it's a trifle egotistical to share 'my' pictures, when few of them are extra-special. But, like the Blog, it's a way of keeping in touch with the world, and demonstrating that I do venture beyond my local village.