A (Not So) Brief History of Farktography

[Kestrana]

They should promote Farktography more! But thanks for the info, it’s good to know your roots

[millera9]

Damn fine history, Elsinore! 🙂

[orionid]

Yay! Miller’s back!

[cameraflage]

Here’s why I like Farktography. (insert flashback wavyness here)

My father was an extremely advanced amateur photographer who never made a dime off his work. He would, however, submit his slides to salons affiliated with the Photographic Society of America, and over the course of many years, became one of the highest ranked amateur photographers in the country. He would get awards and medals and plaques and ribbons and pile them up on a shelf in the bedroom. He loved to shoot and just loved to get some trinket from Peoria or a ribbon from Hong Kong (his best award was a lantaka from a salon in Malaysia – a bronze cannon that had to be shipped through the US Embassy because it was considered a firearm.)

Dad also participated at the Cleveland Photographic Society, one of the oldest camera clubs in the US…I did for a while, as well, after Dad passed away. What a bunch of maroons. They would have 3 judges, usually picked at the last minute from the Cleveland Plain Dealer newsroom which was on the same block, and score the submissions on a point scale. Well, often the judges had absolutely NO clue as to what made a good photograph. It was very frustrating to see some poorly-sandwiched slide of a seagull and a sunset get rave reviews from some idiot copyeditor who was outside on a smoke break and got rustled into being a judge. I gave up with them after less than a year (IIRC, I used the shot of the large woman at the elephant compound at the zoo in a pictorial contest, and one of the judges almost had a cow right then and there, calling me a sick pervert and insensitive and a poor photographer…even though it was the only image shown that night that got a massive, sustained chuckle from the crowd. I really can’t argue with her first two points but the last one pissed me off).

And yes, I did once try to use one of Dad’s images in an early Farktography contest, claiming that I was not the original photographer but had the rights to the image. I was promptly smacked down by Elsinore (and rightly so), realized the error of my ways and have never done it again (even though there are many images where Dad and I stood side by side at the edge of some remote Utah canyon, taking exactly the same picture.)

So, to make a long story even longer, this is why I like Farktography. There are no prizes. The themes are interesting. The judges are the submitters. There is the occasional satisfaction of getting more votes than U-man, and the weekly satisfaction of seeing what amazing images he manages to come up with on a consistant basis. And there is the occasional headscratching of figuring out how a picture of a dinosaur with rockets glued to it wins a theme. Go figure.

Anyhoo, thanks Elsinore, thanks to the other mods, and thanks to Schnee for keeping the FSM up and running. Awesome jobs all around.

[schnee]

Nice little write up there, ya’ wenchy woman you.

[Elsinore]

Thanks 🙂 And huzzah for someone remembering!

[Lovesandwich]

That was an awesome history! Thanks for taking the time and making the effort!

[Curious]

since i know the history of both farktography on fark and this site i hadn’t read the thread until today.

1) it brings back lots of memories, mostly good. but also some sadness since so many fine folks are no longer participating. for me RL friends move on and you aren’t too aware of it nor reminded. with the FSM and PS contest stats any checking on old contests is always bitter sweet.

2) it’s always interesting to see how others in a shared experience view that experience. the “remember when, well you did, but you said, no it was ….” thing.

3) it’s been almost ten years since i joined fark and five since joining farktography.net. a lot has changed in RL but this has remained a constant. so thank you all for that.

[Elsinore]

The #2 piece played on my mind when I wrote it. I tried hard to find a happy medium in terms of perspective.

[Curious]

ya done good Elsinore

[Author]

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