Lentic - photography

I promised earlier to suggest a new idea, and I have actually briefly mentioned it in a post a couple of months ago. The idea might not be that new and novel, but at least I haven’t seen it mentioned before.

My idea was to create a picture discussion group, much like the the “Stills“, or “Pictures” group, but to expand it just a bit further. The main thing is to arrange a regular print swap where all the participants send at least one print to each of the other members. This will form the basis of discussions, tips and hints, and it will give the participants a welcome feedback on their printing technique in addition to the actual content.

Since I started to write this post (it has been brewing for a couple of months), I have been invited to join the “Pictures” group, and I really don’t know if this is something that fits into the scope of that group, or if it should be something of its own. That would be something for all the members to decide, but if it falls outside of that context, I will probably try to get it going as a project of its own.

Anyway, here is my first attempt at making the rules for this kind of discussion group.

The group will conduct print swaps on a regular basis.

In order to make the distribution manageable, the group should not be too large, I’m thinking not more than 5-6 persons. The print exchange should not happen too often, but not too seldom either. Maybe every third month, possibly every second. The prints should be rather small, not larger than A4/letter to keep the postage down.

What pictures to send? I would suggest that, unlike most other print swaps, the choice of image is up to the sender. Of course there may come requests, but the final words is up to the one printing and sending. At least one picture, the minimum amount in each swap, should be the same to all participants so everyone can take part of the discussion, but it is up to each and every one to send more prints. The extra prints may by work in progress that you want a second opinion on. Even if you receive more than one print from the other participants, you should not feel obliged to send more than one in return, it is only the one print to each participant that is obligatory.

To feed the discussion, I would suggest a collaborative blog.

This shouldn’t bee to expensive. My estimate is that if I should send prints to 5 people, it would cost me around USD 50 each time, including packing and stamps. Most of this is money I would spend anyway printing proofs and stuff.

Why do I want to do this?

• I love prints. I like to hold them in my own two hands and look at them. To feel the paper, and see how the image looks in different light.
• I would like to see other peoples prints. To see how their pictures really look (web display is rather limited), and to compare the technical quality in order to improve my own craft.
• Get feedback on my own photos and prints.
• Participate more in discussions about photography.

So to summarize my suggested rules (subject to change):

1. Closed group of photographers, no geographical restrictions, no restrictions on subject matter or interest, no restrictions on experience.
2. Max number of participants: 6
3. Print exchange at fixed dates, 4 times a year.
4. Each participants must send 1 print to each of the other participants on these dates. In order to participate, you must send prints at least 3 times out of the last 4 opportunities.
5. The one obligatory print, chosen by the sender, must be send to all participants.
6. The one obligatory print should be of photo quality, sized to A4/letter/8×10inch. By photo quality, I mean printed on some sort of photo paper using a fairly good printer, not on copy paper using a color laser printer.
7. Additional prints may be send, but the participants is not obliged to return an equal amount of pictures. Only one is obligatory for each exchange.
8. The participants should take part in discussions between the exchanges. The discussions should be held in a friendly positive manner where constructive critique is welcome.

So, any comments?? Does it sound like a good idea, or just a bunch of crapola.