Articles from John Oram

Locate

nobody@ipernity.com (John Oram) — Fri, 26 Apr 2019 19:16:53 +0000

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For all the dedication and effort of a small band, it seems that the pressure on ipernity which dares to be (wonderfully) different, is never ending. The (possibly temporary) suspension of the map is a real setback. Specifics notwithstanding, an increase in the price of anything from <$100 pcm to $700 pcm is hard to explain.

Jusqu'à la fin ou l'avenir

nobody@ipernity.com (John Oram) — Sat, 10 Dec 2016 19:35:58 +0000

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After due consideration tinged with more than a little sadness, I have decided to stick with ipernity until the end - or its new future.

The small community on here has radiated a warmth which belies its size. It has always been difficult to inspire and maintain groups but perhaps this dark threat might presage a new dawn and rebirth for those who have worked so hard in France and for us all.

Bonjour Tristesse

nobody@ipernity.com (John Oram) — Sun, 04 Dec 2016 23:42:50 +0000

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Having arrived at ipernity as a potential refugee, I am greatly disturbed at the prospect of having to embark on another journey. I am sad for the employees of ipernity, for the small band of loyal contacts and for myself.

We need sites where photographs can be shared with acccompanying text and tags etc. rather than just dropped on to the internet as some sort of decoration without explanation. It is baffling that such sites are few and far between.

There is a little hope as many of the responses to the news indicate that people are prepared to pay more. I have a lingering hope that ipernity will survive.

Upload number 10000

nobody@ipernity.com (John Oram) — Mon, 26 Sep 2016 18:53:09 +0000

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The journey started in 2013 in reaction to an apparent crisis elsewhere. It has not been plain sailing with a small if appreciative audience. It remains a shame that there are so few vibrant groups. But today I uploaded image number 10000 to ipernity and the relationship lives on.

Group Limits

nobody@ipernity.com (John Oram) — Mon, 19 Sep 2016 20:34:05 +0000

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Limits on uploading to groups can be restrictive if understandable in terms of the potential workload for the admin(s).

They can, however, become somewhat annoying if they do not perform as expected. One group I belong to has a limit of three a day which is, indeed, restrictive in respect of what I could offer. What is really annoying though is that it does not seem automatically to reset after 'a day'. Reasonable exposure for ones pictures could more readily be achieved if one were able to actually upload three a day instead of being able to add only after some sort of trigger or action by the admin.

Groups on ipernity are not, generally, that vibrant so anything that can be done to improve them would be welcome.

How To Be Less Dull

nobody@ipernity.com (John Oram) — Wed, 02 Jul 2014 06:35:19 +0000

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Ipernity has proved to be a welcome safe haven in the face of what, at one stage, looked like the implosion of Flickr. However, it has remained impossibly dull. No-one, no refugee at least, wanted it to become what Flickr had but the migrants had at least the benefit of seeing what works and what does not - although opinions on which features fit those categories will vary.

For some reason, pictures on ipernity seem to get very little exposure even when added to the modest number of groups. I am grateful to my friend Rhisiart Hincks for doing as much as anyone to stimulate groups and their usage but I wonder if anyone else has any ideas.

I think there are small but important elements of usability that ipernity could improve such as batch organise and creating a memory in the map so it always goes back to where you last were. Any thoughts either of you?

The Backlog/The Archive

nobody@ipernity.com (John Oram) — Thu, 27 Mar 2014 22:18:18 +0000

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I have thousands of photographs on file. The ones I care to post are already on a competing but declining site. Today I have made a very small start on adding the older pictures to ipernity. It will be a long task but I hope that, in its small way, it will encourage greater interest in this site. I hope too that you enjoy the posts.

From 38 to 200

nobody@ipernity.com (John Oram) — Tue, 05 Nov 2013 18:02:36 +0000

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It is with real sadness that I prepare to retire my Panasonic FZ38. It was my first digital camera and has been wonderful. It has passed 19000 shutter activations and now has a sticky top dial. It has served me very well as have other Panasonic cameras which is why it was not difficult today to choose an FZ200 as a replacement. The current choice (for me) was between the FZ72 with an extraordinary 60x zoom and the FZ200 with an even more extraordinary fixed aperture of f2.8 (and a 24x zoom). My new camera joins a photographic armoury of eight others although I hope and expect to shed two of those. I shall not be taking it to America as I shall not be sufficiently used to it by then but I am sure it will bring me great pleasure as the year draws to a close.

A Caution for the Digital Age

nobody@ipernity.com (John Oram) — Sat, 19 Oct 2013 16:52:54 +0000

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I have a concern about the very technology which brought about our digital photography revolution and continues to drive it. In the days of film photography both negatives and prints, cared for properly, could last more or less for ever. Digital files might not last as long if we are not careful. In the very age when the number of images has increased perhaps exponentially, the means by which we store them have a sort of inevitable obsolescence. Millions of the images created today record that which deserves to be recorded to serve future generations but are we not at risk from the fact that the 'negatives' will no longer lie in some cultural attic but, if not transferred to upgraded media, will simply disappear or become inaccessible? A sort of collective oversight could lead to the loss of millions of important images so I do hope that online hosts and individuals alike take the trouble to preserve our digital work.

Railways in Europe

nobody@ipernity.com (John Oram) — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 17:36:28 +0000

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I am still a little disappointed with the relative lack of groups (partly in my own hands, I suppose) on ipernity and the smallish interactions compared to Flickr. Tonight, I am embarking on a fairly large exercise compared to what I have done so far and am upoading my recent railway photographs from Europe. It will take up to four hours to get to the standard of notes and keywords I try to achieve. I hope you enjoy them.

Driven to Distraction

nobody@ipernity.com (John Oram) — Fri, 23 Aug 2013 18:46:27 +0000

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It is, perhaps, not the ideal motivation to use a site because another is so awful. I have tried very hard to retain Flickr as my primary site for uploads although I am very comforted by the availability and relative simplicity of ipernity. Flickr has, of late, become beset by bugs which receive attention only slowly and then with partial effectiveness. Tonight then, when it became temporarily impossible to upload, I turned to this site as a first place to upload today's simple photographs of Southampton. This might signal a bigger change to my approach because, although ipernity is sometimes too simple, I want my pictures both seen and stored without delay.

A Progress Review

nobody@ipernity.com (John Oram) — Fri, 05 Jul 2013 06:26:09 +0000

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A couple of months have passed. I am happy enough with ipernity though mildly irritated by its minor quirks and, as it happens, still mostly happy with Flickr - until the next attack on its UI. Inevitably, ipernity has so far been used only for new uploads although the structure in place to add to albums from my massive library.

Why do I do it? Simply because it is my legacy. I shall leave little in this world when I die. I am no great artist but my chosen role is that of documentary photographer. I have experienced countless times the pleasure that the past in pictures brings to me and I want generations yet unborn to experience similar pleasure in their searches of the future. But I am not writing a book; only chapters of a much bigger book, one written by the photographers of the age. If there is to be a document of every present we can only contribute to it but, ultimately, not define the whole.

In that future, viewers will find my mistakes and laugh. They won't know how tired I was when I did some of this work, how I obsessed to try at least to be both comprehensive and accurate. I hope they will be more pleased with what they find than critical of the reflections of human frailty hidden in the content. For better or for worse, I offer you my work so that, when I am lost in the dust of the universe along with many of my subjects, you will be able to see what was.

Black & White it Isn't

nobody@ipernity.com (John Oram) — Wed, 26 Jun 2013 17:26:28 +0000

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Say 'Black & White" in the context of photography and you'll immediately be marshalling your views on the subject of endless debate. I used to be of the opinion that 'life is in colour, so why b&w?' I can say I have changed my view considerably to accommodate within my work a number of b&w shots with which I am very pleased. However, that it not why I am here today.

The photographs we produce today contain infinite variations of colour (or not) and composition and deserve to be viewed in optimum conditions. When Yahoo tried to murder Flickr, leaving the victim alive but permanently injured, it was wrong, very wrong, to impose upon users a black background. Although ideal for many images, it is equally wrong for at least as many others. Some simply have to be viewed on a light (white) background. That is one reason why ipernity is a haven. It takes only a glance to see the advantages of the white background. Other sites should clearly offer a choice and not impose a single solution.

It is also wrong to 'crowd' photographs on a page. Building on a post I read in French earlier today, I would liken this to a very poor hanging in a gallery. It is avoidable and intolerable. Pour deux raisons alors, vive ipernity!

Living in a Village

nobody@ipernity.com (John Oram) — Sun, 23 Jun 2013 06:54:37 +0000

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I am not sorry that I moved to ipernity although, for the time being, it is only my second home. A city boy will always be initially uncomfortable living in the country and Flickr's London still has an allure not matched in every way by the Cotswolds of ipernity. Although Flickr has its nosy neighbours and even, occasionally, burglars, it has community too in a way that large populations strangely do. Intuitively, the country should be the friendlier, safer place but, in the ipernity village, even if you leave your back door open, few people will look inside or even knock to see if you are home. I have found a safe home for my photographs, a haven against the developers demolishing more of Flickr City but, for now, the storage space is more isolated barn than open house welcoming a steady trickle of passers-by and weary travellers. Perhaps I should put up a bigger sign or decorate more vividly but I'll probably wait a while. These days, it's only a matter of time before the fringes of the city arrive at the bottom of your garden.

Familiarity Breeds Content

nobody@ipernity.com (John Oram) — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 06:58:49 +0000

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As I get used to ipernity, it becomes easier to add content at the same time as I am using other sites but still creates quite a workload. However, one begins to notice the little quirks, lack of refinement which I think ipernity could improve without spoiling the site. When I type in keywords, I want them to appear in a particular order because there is a logic in that order which takes the viewer through the elements of the photograph. When I type in several during the upload preparation, they end up in a different order. On the map, I was puzzled when one of my red dots stayed on the number 10 even after locating more than that number of pictures. Eventually it changed to 20 but still does not accurately reflect the number of images associated with a location. This crude counter is surely unnecessary. I would like ipernity to refine the upload and whole UI without going down the route of the crazy display changes imposed on us by Flickr.

Keeping My Nerve

nobody@ipernity.com (John Oram) — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 17:47:34 +0000

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A few days have passed since I started committing images to ipernity. It remains a haven from a Flickr which might not yet have stopped changing but those few days have been long enough to raise a few minor concerns. The lack of views is very tough after the breadth of the Flickr community. I find myself choosing - or not choosing - groups very carefully as I am not entirely happy with the content of some or the way some synopses are written. The mapping function is very odd too. The relative lack of sophistication of the address database means that it does not come up with ridiculous inaccuracies (like Flickr) but, on the other hand, there are many key place names it can not find even though they are prominently displayed on the map itself and and also correctly shown once the tag has been applied. That makes geotagging rather tedious. Teething problems and a matter of perspective, I suppose. There is a sort of charm to ipernity's low-key approach.

The Definite Article

nobody@ipernity.com (John Oram) — Tue, 28 May 2013 13:25:48 +0000

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When I saw this function in ipernity, I did not really know what to do with it as I already have a well-followed blog. I have now decided but reserve the right to change my mind. My 'articles' will be primarily about ipernity itself and my experiences there. Additionally, when an album deserves an accompanying article in addition to the album description, I shall write something which will be enthralling or a cure for insomnia, as you wish.

Sets, Bugs and Rock 'n' Roll

nobody@ipernity.com (John Oram) — Tue, 28 May 2013 13:19:51 +0000

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I arrived here in the migration of the disgruntled from Flickr in search of a place where I don't have to view my photographs on a black background. I am mostly content but still have to move from refugee status to citizen. The fact that the slower pace of life on ipernity reflects the better parts of old Flickr does not mean that it is perfect. For someone who produces a lot of images, something with the capabilities of Flickr's 'new' uploadr would be useful. Interaction with the map could also be improved but with the caution that ipernity's current inadequacies at least mean they do not have the ridiculously inaccurate database of their competitor. Shortcomings notwithstanding, I have found only one bug so far. Many of my file names contain an underscore which seems to get stripped on upload and has to be reinstated.

The relative simplicity of ipernity requires a measured approach to uploading. I intend to produce some new sets (albums) as well as some very similar to my Flickr posts. I shall concentrate on new images but gradually, very gradually, add appropriate content from my files and which has already been shared on the wounded Flickr. I am hoping that groups will flourish; I am missing the interaction. However, it is early days and I think I am just about ready to rock and roll.

Photography - Its Role in Life and History

nobody@ipernity.com (John Oram) — Fri, 24 May 2013 10:43:28 +0000

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As it says in my profile, I am primarily a documentary photographer. My interests range across most forms of transport, through architecture and urban life, art and culture to the entirely random and occasionally artistic. Away from the camera, I am gripped by history and, converging the two interests, I am acutely aware that photographs from only 30-40 years ago are already often of great interest. With that in mind, I hope that many of my photographs will be as much of interest to future generations as they might be to contemporary viewers. We live and always have lived in a changing world. The pace of change is, perhaps, greater than at any time in the past. I am struck by the changes in landscapes both urban and rural, by the coming and going of buildings and, in transport, by the many changes in the faces of operators, vehicle types etc.

I hope to bring you all this and much more in my photographs.