8 Ways to Participate in the DC Area Photography Community
I was recently asked by a local photographer about our community and how he could become more involved. I was tongue-tied for a second before I answered. To me this has become habit and something I don’t really think about anymore. So I stopped and gathered my thoughts on the matter and sent him back a list of some low hanging fruit ways of getting involved in our community. I’ve taken that original email and expanded it below in the hope that it will offer some suggestions to you.
1. Blog
This is the no-brainer portion of the list. Create a blog or photoblog and get your photos out there. A quick search of Google will provide you with a plethora of resources on the how-to’s of blogging so I won’t cover that.
For your first blog, the technology behind it should not be the main factor. Whether its a hosted solution like Blogger, Wordpress.com, Posterous or your own self-hosted site using Joomla, Wordpress or a Flash solution doesn’t matter as long as its one you can work with. What matters is getting a site up and running so you have somewhere to refer people to view your work.
Once you have your blog/photoblog up and running send out requests for link exchanges with some local photographers that run their own sites. To get a jump on finding these people look to the right of this article to my Blogroll and you’ll find quite a few. You can also find more listed on the photo pages of my photoblog. Also consider submitting your site to a local blog directory such as DCBlogs.
2. Use a Photo Gallery Service
The most well known service of this type would be Flickr. While Flickr is a worldwide service it provides local community support as well. Search for Flickr groups using keywords that interest you or a local neighborhood to see whats available and then join a few. You can also search their photo pool by tags to find photographers in your area that you can add as contacts.
Other services include Picasa and SmugMug, both of which provide ways to both promote yourself to a community and find local photographers to interface with.
3. Use Twitter and Facebook
Quite a few local photographers are active on Twitter and use it as a platform to share not only their works but the efforts of other photographers that impress them. If you’re new to Twitter you can find many of DC’s photographers on my list of DC Area Photographers (if you don’t find yourself on my list let me know). The fun part about Twitter lists is that they are ever growing. Click a name from my list and chances are good they have a similar list with some different names on it.
Facebook is an awesome way to show off your photography. You can link your blog articles, Flickr uploads, or even upload a shot directly into Facebook to appear on your wall updates. If you pursuing commercial photography consider making a Facebook fan page and inviting your friends to join. There are also many local photography groups available (I’ll cover one of them in a few).
4. Contribute to Photoblogging DC
No, we’re not talking about contributing money but some photos instead. PhotoBlogging DC (PBDC) is a site focused on displaying the works of some of the Greater DC Area’s talented photographers. Their contributors include both professionals and enthusiasts. If you’d like to become one of PBDC’s contributors you can reach them on Twitter or email the editors with a link to your online portfolio.
5. DCist and WeLoveDC
DCist and WeLoveDC are local blogs that cover the various happenings around town including politics, art, food and whatever else tickles their fancy. Both blogs include user submitted photographs on many of their articles. DCist has a Photo of the Day article while WeLoveDC has a Weekend Flashback that displays photos from their readers. You can submit your photos to them by using their Flickr groups found at DCist Photos and We <3 DC. Of course you’ll need a Flick account to do this.
6. Take a Photowalk Around DC
One of the best ways to interact with fellow photographers is to go on a photowalk. Photowalk DC is a Facebook group with currently over 160 members. They hold events on a monthly basis during the good weather months with some ad hoc walks scheduled in between. Events are announced on Facebook and here on this blog.
Many local photographer’s like Rob Jones and Shawn Duffy organize their own photowalks as well so keep your eyes open on Twitter and Facebook for these opportunities.
7. Meetup
Meetup.com is a great place to find photography clubs and events. The Washington Photography Meetup Group has over 2,100 members and is extremely active with monthly meetups and more. Another interesting meetup group is the When Everyone Else is Working Photography Meetup Group. Their events occur Mon-Fri at different times of the day to try and accommodate as many people as possible.
8. Interact
No matter how many of the previous 7 items you choose to use, the most important step in becoming involved in DC photography is to interact with the rest of the community. Leave comments on blogs/photoblogs, Flickr, photowalk wrapups, Twitter and Facebook. Support the community and let them know you appreciate them and it will be returned.
This is the short list as there are many ways to interact with the DC photography community. What would you add to this list? I would greatly appreciate your comments.
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There are only a few of these cameras known to be in existence and all are stored in public museums…except one recent find. For the first time one of these cameras will be presented at auction, by the Viennese auction house 
