geezaweezer

Geraint Rowland Photography on Flickr

I have had a photography account with Flickr.com for almost ten years now and still use the website on a daily basis.  Although the photo sharing website has been overshadow in recent years by the likes of other photo sharing sites such as Facebook and more recently Instagram I still believe it to be of great use for a photographer.  Click through the slideshow below to view my most viewed photos on Flickr:

Benefits of Using Flickr as a Photographer

1.  Exposure & Reach

My photos on Flickr have been viewed almost 15 million times!  My Flickr stream is viewed between 5,000 - 10,000 times daily and I have had over 80,000 views on my highest viewed day.  My most viewed photo on Flickr, 'Time Alone, Meditation at Machu Picchu' has been viewed over 50,000 times.  I tend to upload one photo a day on average and the newly uploaded photo will be seen over 1000 times in the first 24 hours.  This is far higher than my pages on both Facebook and Instagram.  Obviously I have had my Flickr account for much longer and have built up a good following but that is not the only reason for the higher statistics: 

Flickr is also ranked very well by search engines in particular google.  Therefore photos on a Flickr stream can be found via searche engines and not just by looking on Flickr itself.  Just last week I had an enquiry which turned into the sale of two images from my Flickr account which were found via a google search.  To maximise the chance of your photos being ranked by search engines it is important to enter a description of the image and include relevant key word tags.  In addition it is a good idea to geo tag your images by adding a location as Flickr offers the ability to search via location.  

Finally you can publish your photo using a Creative Commons Licence on Flickr. There are various types of creative commons licence but it basically allows others to share your work so long as they credit you and link back to your Flickr photo.  I used this option a lot in the beginning as it was a good way to get exposure, Flickr allows users to search images only containing these licenses.

2.  Storage

If you use the paid for Pro subscription plan on Flickr you get unlimited storage space.  The cost is around $50 a year for this service which I believe is very good value for money.  As a regular traveller with no fixed residency it is reassuring to know that I have a back up online of my favourite images.  In fact I wish I had uploaded more in the past as have lost or misplaced external hard drives before resulting in losing some precious images and memories!  You can download the full size images from your account at any time so long as your subscription is running.

3.  Portfolio

For several years before I got round to setting up a photography website I used my Flickr account as an online portfolio.  After the redesign a couple of years ago the site now displays your images in an aesthetically pleasing way.  You can also organise your images into different albums which can be sent out as individual links.

4.  Inspiration

There are some amazing photographers using Flickr and it is a great place to look for inspiration and ideas.  A good place to start is the Explore section which features a selection of 500 photos daily.  You can also view images with the most popular tags of the day, week or all time.  The Flickr community is also very friendly and keen to advise.  In my early days I reached out to several photographers for help and advice with regards to photographic techniques and post production.

5.  Friendship

Through Flickr I have made several friendships around the World.  In Lima, Peru I met local photographer Mike Joints who taught me about flash photography and where to find the cheapest local beer.  In London I met the talented street photographer Linda Wisdom for some street shooting techniques.  As well as running fantastic street photography workshops in the city she also sells some of my travel prints via her Etsy shop.  Finally I found the extremely skilled anamorphic photographer Shuji Moriwaki who ended up selling me one of his anamorphic lenses and giving me countless advice on how to use it.

          ~                    ~                    ~                    ~                    ~                    ~                    ~

To conclude I highly recommend the use of Flickr as both a photography portfolio, a back up and a social platform.  I will continue to use it on a regular basis, and hopefully with their recent merger with SmugMug things will only continue to improve in the future.  

My Flickr Profile page can be found here, please take a look and feel free to leave some feedback.  More of my travel photography can be found on my website, Instagram and Facebook Page.  If you are interested in collaborating on future projects, or would like to purchase a print, please send me an email: geraintrowlandphotography@gmail.com.

Black and White Portraits in The Gambia

I recently spent two months in Senegal, during that time I travelled south to the Cassamance area staying in Ziguinchor.  From Ziguinchor I travelled north to spend a couple of weeks in The Gambia.  I spent a couple of weeks living in the Serekunda area some 11 km's west of Banjul, the capital of The Gambia.  This set of black and white photographs were taken outside a traditional Gambian home.  Click through the slideshow below for some black and white portraits I took of the local Gambian children there:

All of the above photos were taken with a Canon 5D2 and a 50mm 1.4 prime lens.  Some of the images were taken candidly whilst others were obviously posed.  I converted the images to black and white using Lightroom as I preferred the overall mood of the resulting series.  

The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa that is completely surrounded by Senegal except for it's coastline on the Atlantic Ocean.  Despite a third of Gambians living under the poverty line, the people there are extremely friendly and welcoming.  In fact The Gambia is often referred to as the 'Smiling Coast of West Africa'.  I hope to return soon to explore more of the country and take more photos.

More of my travel photography from West Africa can be found on my website, my Facebook and my Flickr account.  If you are interested in purchasing any prints, using an image online or would like further information please send me an email at: geraintrowlandphotography@gmail.com.  

Black and White Photography at Belen Village, Iquitos Peru

These photos were taken in the village of Belen in Iquitos, Peru.  Some of the photos formed part of an earlier blog and photo essay for Dezine Magazine.  Belen Village is part of Iquitos, the largest metropolis in the Peruvian amazon.  The entire village is flooded for several months each year by the nearby Amazon river.  The only way to get around is by boat so even the children learn to navigate and paddle in small canoes from an early age.  Click through the slideshow below for a selection of the Belen Village photos:

Belen Village in Iquitos is full of amazing photo opportunities: The local people use the river to work, travel and play.  Children sit overlooking the river selling food and produce to passing boats, Men offer taxi boat services or fish, and Women wash the family clothes in the river.  Some 65,000 people live in the Village of Belen on either moored floating houses or houses on stilts.  It is a very poor neighbourhood with many of the people living in impoverished conditions.  

More of my travel photography can be found on my website, my Instagram, and my Facebook page.  If you are interested in purchasing any prints, using an image online or would like further information please send me an email at: geraintrowlandphotography@gmail.com.