CNP Meet 2016 - Notes from "What Next?" session

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CNP Meet 2016 - Notes from "What Next?" session

Postby Ganesh H Shankar » Tue Apr 19, 2016 7:44 pm

Dear Friends,

Thanks for the wonderful time we all had. Here is the summary of the suggestions/requests/views you made along with my comments on website related inputs among others. I think it helps to capture the inputs shared by you all (teams T1 to T5) in this thread by those who presented - please share here in this thread if possible. We will take ownership to implement some of the suggestions from CNP website perspective as and when time permits. (For those who could not make it to the meet, we made 5 sub-teams T1 to T5 to discuss various topics).

Here are the inputs (similar/related suggestions across teams are not duplicated)

Ideas/suggestions/requests by team T1
- A gallery for theme based submissions might help us think out of the box
- CNP needs larger visibility to bringin more people to the platform with fresh ideas
- We need to bringin young minds who are far more creative
- More CNP meets: regional short meets
- Short/free (non-commercial) workshops for members
- Assigning one of the member as a mentor to a new member for a month or two (to help with issues related to CNP website, what images to post where etc)

Ideas/suggestions/requests by team T2
- Emphasis on natural history
- Story telling creative images
- Emotional connect
- Place for personal project, uploading series of images as a post
- Can we showcase non-camera based imagery (X-ray/scan)?

Ideas/suggestions/requests by team T3
- Set of handy links to new joinees (for example, "what is creative?")
- The images we post need to be timeless
- Make website more interative/contemporary
- Expand the audience base, representation in platforms like Delhi Photo Festival etc
- Periodic CNP coffee table books/exhibitions

Ideas/suggestions/requests by team T4
- Relating to abstract images, people outside the forum being able relate to a posted abstract image?
- Expand the viewership
- Use social media increase the viewership
- Explore human-nature intersection further
- Creative conservation based imagery in a positive way
- Include video content
- Make provision for sharing photo stories/essays

Ideas/suggestions/requests by team T5
- Low interaction
- New member introductions
- Reach out to social media for interested readership
- Present CNP website in a more creative way
- Better layout
- Mobile friendly interfaces
- Make it more social media friendly
- Share an intro about each of the member to get to know them
- Bring out CNP year book
- 100 timeless images as a coffee table book
- Print on demand/"Camera Pixo" options can be explored
- "CNP so far" book

Please feel free to add/subtract/modify!

Thanks again for your active participation in the meet.
Ganesh H. Shankar
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Re: CNP Meet 2016 - Notes from "What Next?" session

Postby Ganesh H Shankar » Tue Apr 19, 2016 8:50 pm

Here are some of my thoughts/views related to suggestions made

Theme Based Gallery
Yes, we can do this. Please give us some time to implement
Owner: Ganesh/Shiv
By when: Mid May 2016

Larger Visibility/Making CNP more social media friendly
Currently we have Facebook "like" button for each posted image which is not being used effectively. When you like an image please don't shy away from "liking" it. This will help us bring more like minded people to the platform. We don't need massive hits to the site but we will need more like minded people joining the platform. Pushing the like on an image may bring in more folks who like similar images.

Increasing young members
Towards this we did create a gallery dedicated to young members. We have not enabled it yet. Hope to do so in the near future. Hopefully this will make our young CNP minds more comfortable and may help bring in more such minds.
Owner : Ganesh
By When: Mid May 2016.

Short/free non-commercial CNP inclined photo workshops
This can be done. We will need support from the current members to do the same.
Owner: All
By When: TBD

Assigning mentors to new members (if needed)
Owner: Ganesh/Shiv
By when: As and when a new member joins

Uploading series of images for critique

This can be done even today. Couple of solutions

- Create a gif file with multiple images
- Use img BB code to insert more images when we post an image. This will need a place on the web to post those additional images and link them using img BB code in gallery. Please read this link to know more about BB Codes and how to insert links to additional images.

Posting non-camera based images (X-ray/Scan)
- Probably they might fit our "Fine Art" gallery better. Please do post as long as some element of nature is part of the intent behind the image.
- Please write a few words about the image (how it was made, X-ray/Scan etc).

Handy set of links to new members
- We do this now when we create an account for new members. A private mail will be sent which contains many links needed to get started.

More friendly/interactive website
- We will not be able to change the skeleton of the website which is phpbb based. We have large collection of images (stored in MySQL DB). Migrating them to another platform will need extensive work and data migration. Only skin of the site can be changed/modified. Any new artistic front design will be welcome.
- Please set your bookmark to www.creativenaturephotography.net and not to any gallery link within. You will miss recent forum threads if you do so..

CNP Coffee Table Books
- We will constitute a team who can help drive this.
Owners : CNP Moderators to arrive at the process/team to drive this. Bringing out the actual book might take several months from now. Probably we may target 1 Jan 2017. We will not compromise on quality of the final deliverable.
By When: Mid May

Video Content
- Video based tutorial for improving our ability to make more creative images will be helpful. That said we will not broaden the scope for create creative nature video gallery. This may dilute to focus and intent of the forum (photography).

Intro of new members
- Can be done. We may ask new members to post their profile picture to CNP Photographers gallery and write a few words about them. For the benefit of others please do consider posting your own profile picture and write a few words about yourself if you have not done so.
Ganesh H. Shankar
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Re: CNP Meet 2016 - Notes from "What Next?" session

Postby Shivakumar L Narayan » Sat Apr 23, 2016 7:56 am

Team 2 - RD, Shiv, Madhav, Vinayak, Abhi, Yash

The main question that arises when we talk about Creativity is that - “Is Creativity a Burden ?” The reason for this being, we are trying to force ourself to see or work creatively in a un-natural way in an attempt to be different. This defeats the idea of creativity being a medium of expression to a medium where we are creating something for the sake of creation and keeping the style alive. How can we overcome this in CNP ?

a. Use the forum as a means to explore what has been done and use that as a yardstick to figure out what has not been done and what can be tought of as a unseen creation.

b. Use the forum as a means to get leads on what could potentially be a starting point for a personal project or a series of images. You could continue with your own vision of representing a particular theme or collaborate with fellow photographers to make a body of work on a specific concept.

c. Express story in aesthetics. Meaning - in CNP we are done and dusted with seeing and making creative and aesthetically pleasing image. Now its the time to take this to next level to use these aesthetic images to tell story and convey messages.

d. Explore different media of imaging to capture creative images. The media can be anything in form of scanners, X-ray machines, microscopes etc. Newer medium beyond the boundaries of conventional film/digital cameras needs to be explored to make nature images.

e. Go beyond emotional connect and try to transcend senses using images. Eg an image of a moth antenna can invoke the sense of touch / tenderness where as an image of a burning forest fire can invoke sense of heat. In this way creativity and creative thinking can be used as means to go beyond just 2 dimensional images to something which can transcend senses.
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Re: CNP Meet 2016 - Notes from "What Next?" session

Postby Prashanth Sampagar » Fri May 06, 2016 11:06 pm

Thanks for this post, Ganesh.

Ganesh, you had suggested one more gallery for unique images and interactive discussions on those images. You may want to elaborate that to other members, as this was somehow missed from sharing with the rest.

Regards,
Prashanth
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Re: CNP Meet 2016 - Notes from "What Next?" session

Postby Ganesh H Shankar » Sat May 07, 2016 5:58 am

My suggestion was to create a new gallery titled

Unseen Visuals

Where we challenge ourselves to post totally unseen (by the poster) anywhere, not even remotely derived from any work including her/his own other collections here at CNP or anywhere on the internet/art galleries. When such an image is posted the poster could be challenged (of course in a friendly way) by rest of the members!

Any takers?

The issue I see is will be get to see at least 1 image a month? May be still worth to challenge ourselves? Leave it to share your thoughts..
Ganesh H. Shankar
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Re: CNP Meet 2016 - Notes from "What Next?" session

Postby dinesh.ramarao » Sat May 07, 2016 10:17 am

"Challenge ourselves ?
the poster could be challenged by rest of the members! "


Can you elaborate?
-RD
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Re: CNP Meet 2016 - Notes from "What Next?" session

Postby Ganesh H Shankar » Sat May 07, 2016 11:44 am

It may be possible that the poster is unaware of such similar creations. Member/s of the forum might know and may challenge/debate.
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Re: CNP Meet 2016 - Notes from "What Next?" session

Postby Ashwini Kumar Bhat » Sun May 08, 2016 10:14 pm

Having a separate gallery for the 'Unseen Visuals' is an interesting idea.

The only aspect that I am slightly worried is the spirit in which the comments are taken when some image is challenged by the rest of the members. :)

Having said that no harm in trying it out for some time. I am game for it.
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Re: CNP Meet 2016 - Notes from "What Next?" session

Postby Ganesh H Shankar » Sun May 08, 2016 10:18 pm

Thanks Ashwin, I agree with your thoughts. I hope after 8 years we can take some of those friendly comments :)
Let us see hear more views..
Ganesh H. Shankar
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Re: CNP Meet 2016 - Notes from "What Next?" session

Postby Prashanth Sampagar » Thu May 19, 2016 9:28 pm

Its worth a try I believe.

Regards,
Prashanth
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