For those that may not know, I volunteered to take over (or more accurately, moderate) this group after the founder, Ruth Carll decided that it was getting too much for her.
Within this group I have come across many like-minded photographers who like myself enjoy the sense of community, and engagement this group has to offer.
I have really appreciated the fact that members of this group continue to support and help lift their contemporaries. Whether beginner or seasoned veteran, all work and comments have been respected equally throughout the group, with egos left at the door.
However, I have felt for some time now that although the group remains one of the most active on FS it is only a few that engage on a regular basis. This leads me to wonder whether the confines of the Minimalism, Abstract, and Experimental genres are too restrictive, and perhaps alienating some that have primary interests outside of that scope.
Options are limited within the group - as I am not the owner there is very little I am able to do to effect change.
Within the group itself we have often strayed outside of the key genres, and I actually think it unhealthy to limit the scope of our creativity in such a way. I would LOVE to hear what active members (including those that may view from afar without engaging) feel about the group in general, and what might be changed to raise community engagement.
One idea I have tossed around is to create a new, more inclusionary group and ask current members to migrate, perhaps one that would encompass and invite engagement on all photographic genres. This would simply be an extension of our current group.
What do others think - keep the group as-is, create a new group (called ?????) or perhaps create an additional group?
I am open to ideas - my goal is to get more photographers involved, seeing what you guys continue to offer and to get a greater depth of discussion.
Let me know - for those who may be reluctant to post publicly feel free to send me a DM - your voice is important and needs to be heard.
Hey Alan,
As someone who has been mostly absent from the group this year, I feel a little unqualified to say anything about the direction or scope of this group. But... as you well know Alan, I may be reserved but am not shy about expressing my opinion.
So, to my way of seeing things this group has been one of the best things about the Fstoppers site and certainly M, A, E has been so much better and stronger with you at the controls. I have loved to see what some of the newer members are doing, their creativity and fresh perspective have been very inspiring.
I know you have put in a ton of constant work to keep this group alive and active. Your encouraging tone, positive honest feedback, and fun creative work are possibly the biggest reasons this group is the most active on the site.
So to your question.
The name, Minimalism, Abstract, Experimental is not too limiting or confining. The name actually is so broad and inclusive that it makes room for almost anything. The true problem lies with the limitations of not being the group owner as that is the major impediment to being able to adapt and change things as needed.
So here are some ideas for moving this group forward.
First off perhaps contacting Ruth and the site admin to see if there is any way to migrate ownership to you. That way you can truly steer this group in any way that you think it needs to go.
If that fails then maybe starting a new group with the name of something like The New Minimalism, Abstract, Experimental or some variant and starting with a clean fresh slate wold be the way to go.
I would not try to broaden the scope as this group as it already has such a wide and open area of photography to explore, adding more scope may only serve to muddy things too much and possibly discourage new people from joining.
If you feel like having someone to help with the running of this or a new site would help you keep things going I would be happy to step up and do anything that is needed.
Regardless what direction you choose to go I will be more active and supportive in the new year as this group truly is a creative breath of fresh air.
I look forward to seeing what everyone else thinks about this topic.
Thank you Alan for all your creative hard work.
And to all the members, happy new year. May 2025 be the best one yet!
Thanks so much Julian. As one of the elder statesmen of the group I always appreciate your insight.
I have no concern with the scope of the group and how it impacts current members, but wonder if that (narrow) scope is preventing others from joining.
As you/others appear to be content with the group as-is, perhaps I can follow up on your suggestion and see if I can get greater admin control. I have tried in the past, and fear that Ruth is no longer involved in fstoppers (last update appears to be in 2023).
Thanks for your continued support and encouragement. It's really good to understand that even if members are not engaging, they may be still viewing and seeing value.
"...the group remains one of the most active on FS it is only a few that engage on a regular basis."
Well, you just contradicted yourself! hahaha
I did a little research. It's the group with the third most comments. Though if you look at other groups with more - the vast majority of the comments are "I like it" and "great shot!"
This is by far the most interactive, personable group by far.
Keep up the great work!
(Remember, this is Fstoppers. Most people here are here just to look at photographs! :-)
Thanks Charles. I feel the group remains one of the most active because of our core members that engage regularly. Many groups have more members but regular engagement in those groups seems to be low.
I actually connect to fstoppers more to engage with the community (like yourself) than to simply look at photos.
I'm really happy to hear how much you value the group. It is made so personal and interactive by great members like yourself!
First & foremost, appreciate you, Alan.
I view Fs as a commercial and not a developmental site which exists for us to:
- Browse, post, and enter contests
- Promote our work
Ultimately, there are fewer (truly altruistic) communities out there, so I do care that you are keeping this one alive. At the same time, nothing wrong with the site's objective as we all need to make a living.
If you're willing, please keep this thing going and I'll do my part to contribute more in 2025.
Thanks Robert. Feedback like yours and others really helps me understand that members are getting value from the group as-is, and I really appreciate the time that members like yourself spend supporting.
As our core members seem content with the way the group is functioning, perhaps we'll just continue as it is for now.
I wonder sometimes in a true sense...
Is this photo Minimalist? No.
Is this photo Abstract? No.
Is this photo Experimental? No.
There are many Styles of photography I like to try and see what I can accomplish and while it is "Experimental" to me because I've never tried it before, I wouldn't consider them Experimental in a true sense.
There are also many well established Styles of photography that don't fit within the Group Title: Timelapse, Multiple Exposure, Force Perspective, Prism, Kirlian, Surreal, Adamski, Orton, Out-of-Bounds, Little Planet, and many more.
Perhaps adding the word "Creative" or something similar would open the group up with the appeal of being "Creative"?
Thanks Dean, I'll take all that onboard. One of the issues I've had is that I am not able to change the title etc, but will see if I can gain greater control.
This is a tough question. I think even when we strayed from MAE, it would still have fallen under the E maybe? Maybe focusing more on experimentation since that kind of covers everything from abstract to minimalism to whatever else members are currently working on/learning about ... Thank you for all you do with this group, Alan. I always look forward to checking in daily to see what's going on - a welcome diversion to my day. I've learned so much from everyone.
Thanks Jenny. I think the 'E' does cover so much as you say. My main concern was that the scope of the group may be preventing potential newcomers.
As our core group of members seem content with how the group is running perhaps I should not try and 'fix it'.
Thanks so much for your continued support and engagement - I always look forward to your daily comments.