Confessions From a Digital Junkie

When I first bought my digital camera 6 years ago I had no idea how addicting photography could be. I discovered having a camera in my hands changed my perspective of the world around me..

I learned how to use my camera on a roadtrip through Yellowstone, Glacier, Mt Rainier, Grand Tetons, Montana, Idaho, and the Oregon/Washington coasts. I was blessed with so many beautiful scenes and landscapes, sunsets and wildlife.

My photo collection continues to grow, My hobby has turned into a full time project, leaving me little time to sleep, eat, or enjoy other aspects of life. Well, that is a bit of an exageration, but at times it feels that way.

Taking the photos and admiring the incredible technology of digital cameras is only half of the addiction. Sharing my images is the other half. What good is a beautiful sunset tucked away in an obscure file on my desktop?

Over the years I have created numerous websites to display my images. I have always felt the photos were a gift, and have gladly given them away to anyone who happened upon my website and enjoyed one of my photos.

Uploading your images to a website gallery however can be a very lonely existance. You are able to see from the website statistics that a number of people have come through and viewed your work, but rarely is there any communication. One site I was getting 30,000 new visitors every month, and nary a comment.

There are many photo sharing communities you can join to share your images. Webshots, Flickr, Deviantart, to name a few. The best part of joining a photo community is getting in touch with other Digital Junkies.

You can choose to upload your photos and let it end there, but then you would be missing the whole point of joining a community! When you get involved with whichever community you have chosen, you will be rewarded 3 ways. You will have an audience to critque your work, you will have access to viewing other photographer's images, and you will make friends with people from all around the globe.

I previously had joined several communities, but none seemed to click for me. Until I found Caedes. Caedes.net has turned out to be a very warm and friendly community with many fantastic artists. A group of digital addicts who freely share tips and tricks, suggestions, honest critiques, praise, and sometimes really funny stories.

The downside is the amount of time it can take. Once you get involved, it is hard to stop looking at other addict's photos, and leaving comments, which of course they return, and pretty soon you have a conversation going. And while you may try to keep your friends list to a managable size, someone else pops up on the horizon who impresses you. So of course you now have to add this person to your friends list so you won't miss any of their new uploads.

If you are like me, and have thousands of image files you have created over the years, or if you are newly bitten by the photo bug, I encourage you to consider joining a community. The rewards far outweigh the downside. But join with the knowledge that it will take time. Whether you set aside 15 minutes a day, or three hours a day, know you will get hooked. The same way you got hooked on photography in the first place! Happy shooting!