History of PaD? "Oldies" tell all!

[prideofanglia]

Hi all - I've just stumbled to the end of my first month of PaD (good fun, very creatively stimulating but tough!), and I've been looking through some of the back posts on this forum to try and get a sense for how it all started, but I don't think the archive goes back that far.

I'm sensing that there are a few people who've been at this for a few years and that some of the original diehards probably form a bit of a sub-group (naturally enough), but when did all this madness kick off and who were the "originals"? Was there formerly a stronger sense of community that has disappeared now there are so many PaDing? Is there a full list of PaDers anywhere?

One of you veterans please spill the beans - I'm sure some of us newbies would love to know some of the history, voting wars and forum controversies included!

Cheers, Steve

[jeanb]

the history, voting wars and forum controversies included!

Sorry, no voting wars, and no forum controversies. It just happened and someone coined the phrase Photo a Day which lapsed into PAD. We mostly knew and visited each other daily and some of us became fast friends, meeting up locally and worldwide.

Now that it has become a FAD, I only have a few visitors each day..

[jypsee]

of this forum and you can read all about it yourself.
There's lists of "original" members and then there's a list of the "next 100" and, thankfully, the baloney and pad policing has subsided.. I hope.

As for PAD being a fad.... it was bound to become less personal and more crowded, especially given the explosion of digital cameras. What are people going to do with all those photos?

[prideofanglia]

Thanks guys - on my way to page 12!

BTW, I didn't mean "madness" in a pejorative sense, but rather that PaD has quite an addictive quality with the thinking about what to photograph, counting hits/comments, wondering why your favourite pics get ignored etc. - I love it

Cheers, Steve

http://www.pbase.com/prideofanglia/pad

[vid64]

It goes back way before 'forum page 12'. It goes back to before the META gallery and the forum. It goes back to late 2002 / early 2003 when a few individuals started taking and posting a photo a day. Somehow we found others doing the same thing and the community formed. Mostly people were shooting and posting every day, or were at least trying to.

Later, much later, Slug gave us the META and the forum. To many of the original PADers, the almost immediate abuse of the META gallery by non-PADers and the rise of the 'Photo A Day When I Can Be Bothered' crowd spoiled the whole thing, hence the row on page 12.


The first Photo A Day on PBase 31st Dec 2002. And yes, it's mine!

[prideofanglia]

Ooops - almost wish I hadn't asked now, as it appears I am not a PaDer at all, but an inadvertent meta gallery abuser . Maybe I should put the lid back firmly on the can of worms!

About half of the photos in my first month have been taken on the day I've posted them, the other half haven't but are normally processed immediately before I put them up, and I'm trying to stick firmly to a rule of putting pics up within a week or so of taking them. Those are the rules that work for me with a longish commute, a pressured job and three small children.

I think there's an interesting philosophical debate here - it seems to me that selecting, thinking about and processing a picture I've taken at the weekend (which is often the only time I have time to shoot anything than pics from my office window - I'm not going to get myself stopped and questioned by armed police for taking photos at the tube station every morning) and then seeing how people respond to it (or don't) is actually very much within the spirit of the original project, although obviously some will disagree strongly. From a personal point of view I'm now thinking about my photography on a daily basis, which I never did before, and I think improving very fast as a result of doing this. If that makes me a villain so be it.

I shall now take no further part in this thread

Cheers, Steve

[defytime]

I had no idea this place existed when I first thought about starting a photo-a-day for a year. I had heard of people doing a photo-a-day for a week and a month but had only knew of one person to do a year...obviously I did not search very well or even scratch the surface. When I thought I was doing something different I ended up doing what MANY others have already successfully done. I found pbase from another website cause they had stated it was a cheap place to post alot of photos and that it even looked professional...no ads popping up everywhere. So as I put up my first month that I had already shot on my page I found that there was already people doing the same thing I was doing. I in no way think that I came up with it cause I did here about it and chose to do it...what I had no idea about is how huge it already was. I'm at the moment 8 days out from finishing my year project...but will not stop. I also want to finish through the end of 2005 so I can have a full year that way too. After that I'll probably keep going also. So I do believe people do it not knowing it is a fad...and I'm one of them. I have learned sooo much from this year and have taken tons of photos that would have never existed if I hadn't had the reason to take my camera out every day and get one photo. I have also learned from looking at others works and see that I have sooooo much more to learn. Hopefully this time next year I will be 8 days from completing 2 years and be that much further in my learning.

[jypsee]

Ooops - almost wish I hadn't asked now, as it appears I am not a PaDer at all, but an inadvertent meta gallery abuser . Maybe I should put the lid back firmly on the can of worms!

....snippage.....

I shall now take no further part in this thread

Cheers, Steve

The so-called originals love to flaunt their supposed original status and superiority and enmity at people who, in their narrow view, are polluting the experience of a "real" PAD. I think they should buy some space on a server somewhere and move so they don't have to mingle with the great unwashed. This issue that you innocently brought up has, in my experience, been hashed out since I joined Pbase in Feb 2004 and then noticed that there was a feature called PAD. I made the HUGE mistake of assuming I was dealing with adults and not a playground clique.... your response is familiar. So is Mingay's...do what you want; he and his cohorts don't control PAD.

[clickaway]

Just to add a bit more history, I think it was Jeanne Hemhauser-Ricci who suggested to slug that something be done to accommodate the PaD group, and then the meta-gallery appeared in about January 2004 if I recall.

Her idea was to have a system where we could go to PaDers photos via a PBase tool to save us work - there were around 70 or 80 of us then if I recall. I should stress that Jeanne did not suggest the meta gallery, and she may not have known what one was! I certainly didn't!

I remember at the time that the meta-gallery idea was warmly welcomed by the PaDers, but I had my initial suspicions regarding some extreme abuse.

There is a difference between those who struggle to take a photo EVERY day for whatever reason and those that just use the meta gallery for yet another upload from their session with the model three weeks ago or their holiday in Mexico 2 years ago.

The former at least have a go, the latter are not even trying,

Regards,

Ray
(guilty of having sat around the same dinner table as 'Mingay')

[vid64]

The original poster asked, so I responded... sorry if I caused any offence.

But there never was any policing, there were no rules, no one tried to take control. Just a bunch of like minded people who set themselves a challenge to take a photograph every day, and post the results on PBase. That's it.

To mind there's a big difference between those that challenge themselves to shoot evey day, and those who don't. But having said that, if you don't want to do the daily thing, fine. It's your PBase account, your camera. Do what you like. I really don't care.

D

<a href="http://www.pbase.com/vid64/image/26884563"> </a>

[lindarocks]

I find the tone of this thread strangely aggressive for a subject which is supposed to be an enjoyable challenge. Of course, I have to declare an interest in as much as I am now the second longest PADer on the pbase site so to find myself (assuming that as second in the line then I am a 'so-called originals love to flaunt their supposed original status and superiority') reviled for being here before someone else seems rather petty.

In terms of the point of the challenge, I think (for what it's worth) that the act of forcing yourself to find a photo in an otherwise dull day is what creates a fertile environment for imaginative and interesting pictures of things that probably otherwise would never end up in front of your camera.

I came here to learn to be a better photographer and by forcing myself, even when I don't feel like it, or I've been hideously busy to find a photo each day has helped me to handle my camera better and to think more imaginatively about subjects and composition. The same is true, I know, for David who, if you look back at his 2002/3 gallery and then at his more recent pics you will see a huge change in their competence. I'm not sure the same can be said for doing 'batches' of good shots just because some days you will find getting good pics is easy - you know, you're on holiday or the weather is great or you're on a trip to the zoo - on those days it is easy. It's when you've got home from work late and the weather is awful or you're worrying about what to cook for supper that the real challenge kicks in in my view.

There are many, many people who have missed odd days for all sorts of reasons and no-one either notices or cares - it's the challenge within yourself that's the point.

As far as the meta gallery goes, I reckon it has ended up being counter-productive. This is possibly because of its functionality of showing the last pic to be loaded on the gallery so many people see it as a way of getting people to look at their stuff who might not otherwise click into a gallery to see what the photos are like. So, you end up with legions of galleries that have no pretence at pad.

Again, I must declare an interest in as much as David is my partner but I really can't understand why anyone would accuse him of being either childish or police-like (there are many other things that spring to mind before either of these). I know the man and he's so laid back he's almost horizontal. When he does get a bee in his bonnet it's because he feels something passionately and surely that is something to be applauded not ridiculed.

David has never made any pretence at inventing the PAD idea because he will willingly tell anyone who will listen that he saw the idea in a magazine, decided to do it and used pbase as a vehicle for doing it. What no-one can take away from him is that he was the first here on pbase and that is simple fact.

We have both found the pbase experience to be a fantastic one and we've made lots of good friends through doing it. I hope the original poster finds the same positive experience that we have both had and hope that he doesn't find himself at the end of abuse from a stranger in the forum one of these days.

Maybe I'm old-fashioned but I believe that we all have a right to be treated with dignity, whatever our views. I don't see how or why personal criticism of an individual because of his/her views is considered acceptable in a forum like this. The thread was started by someone with a genuine question and David answered it in good faith. The subsequent nasty turn of the thread is baffling and unpleasant.

I suppose this is a perfectly good illustration of why I keep out of forums all together.......

[prideofanglia]

Having said I wouldn't take any further part in this thread I am, because I feel (irrationally) responsible for the turn it has taken - the question really was asked innocently and in good faith, and I'm genuinely sorry if I've revived old quarrels .

For what it's worth, I can see both sides of the argument - I have a lot of sympathy with the purist view, and huge respect for those of you who have been managing to do this consistently for months and years - it's obvious from a few months looking at Pbase that the bonds within the community of "originals" are very strong, and I think that's a wonderful thing - creating real virtual communities out of groups of strangers is IMHO the thing the internet does best.

That said, I'm not actually sure that FOR ME, taking and posting a photo every day, regardless of quality, is what will help me develop the fastest as a photographer. Occasional grab shots aside (and there are actually a few of those in my first month's postings, mainly taken on the way back from work and which I would never otherwise have taken), I do tend to find that I do my best stuff when I go out really focussed on photography, and get "in the zone".

What doing PaD has meant to me is that I now carry a small digicam everywhere, I post a photo every day however late I get back from work (and sometimes that's really late), and I'm constantly thinking about photography wherever I go, which helps me see the world differently. My personal challenge is turning into keeping my pipeline healthy enough to post a decent quality shot (by my self imposed standards) every day while staying within my "seven day rule", referred to in my earlier post - to be honest, given the other demands on my time, that's enough pressure to make me feel like I'm putting myself through the mill! It would be nice to feel that I'm welcome here on those terms, and not an interloper, but if not I'm old and ugly enough to cope, and I respect the views of those who would see me as a cheat, even as I (respectfully) disagree.

Steve

[chawkins]

I am surprised by the hostility here, although I really shouldn't be. I've seen confrontations but haven't experienced any first-hand. No nasty GUEST comments on my photos, although I've read plenty of them on other poster's photos. I think this is because I'm still learning and my photos are nothing to be jealous of. JEALOUSY seems to be a key factor in PBase conflicts.

I found PBase through a Painter forum and immediately became hooked. This was in March of 2004 (what's Painter, LOL). It was Linda's PaD/PotD gallery I first came across. From there I spread my growing PaD addiction through the galleries of those who commented on her photos and then through the meta-gallery. (In order to save my business I've had to cut way back on commenting although I cruise PBase at least 10 times a day.)

<b>My</b> rules were: <b>take a photo a day</b> and <b>post it that day</b> if near a computer. If traveling, take a photo a day and post when near a computer. I have always had a problem with procrastination and completing projects. This seemed like a great way to learn to discipline myself and still do something I have really come to be passionate about: Photography.

I comment on anyone's photos I want to comment on. That has also been helpful to me as I tend to not want to talk, although I have a lot to say. I haven't experienced cliques but that is because I haven't been looking for any cliques. I have become friends with several PBasers and value the realationships I have made. I have sat at the same brunch and dinner table with several of the ORIGINALS even a Genuine DM! and would love to do it again. I'd like to meet up with any other PBasers, too, because we share something that has become very precious to me.

My photography skills have grown—although lately I seem to be taking worse pictures than when I started—through the discipline of taking a photo a day. I can't imagine going anywhere without my camera. I'd feel like part of me was missing.

My experience here has been positive because that is what I want it to be!!

Cheryl

[dazedgonebye]

I was among those asking Slug for the meta-gallery. When it first came on line, I thought it was the best thing since sliced bread.
Basically, when there were far fewer of us, we were more of a coherent community. We didn't all agree all of the time, but we all did our best to be honest to our commitment and support each other.
Now, it's a bit like being in a quaint little mountain town that gets discovered by the rich folk in the neighboring state. Small and quaint was great while it lasted, but more and more people have joined us and our little paridise is looking more like the big city all the time.
That's great. I'm glad so many people are benefiting and I'm very glad that Slug and Emily have a good thing going (in more ways than one).
For me though, I guess I'll become that old codger that mostly stays back on his own property and bemoans the way "all them newcomers done wrecked the place." Going in to town has mostly lost its charm.

[floradoragirl]

I've almost replied to this thread several times and I'm glad I haven't before because now I can say "what Linda said".

For me the challenge is taking a picture every day, not posting one every day (which I often don't). My PaD isn't called my Daily Discipline for nothing - I need to have the discipline of having to take a picture every day rather than when I have time for it, to keep me going. I know I've put up pictures which aren't up to the standards of better photographers but I also know I've improved a LOT over the last year and half or more and that the improvement isn't just down to better equipment (though it helps ). There are still grab shots but there are also pictures I'm really pleased with. Ones I took at the end of a really hard day, when I was knackered and didn't actually want to do it but then got into the zone when I got going. So, it's a curate's egg, good in parts.

Declaring my interests, I've never met Linda or David, but Linda's PaD is the reason I PaD.

Of all that I've said above probably the crucial thing is the phrase "for me". That's what works for me, it doesn't have to work for anyone else. We all have to find what works for us. And the main thing is to ENJOY what you do, whatever you do. As Linda said, it's the challenge "within" that matters and I don't think anyone with rules different to mine is a cheat, just as I'd hope they would't think I was a cheat because I don't post every day. I've found the PaD'ding community to be warm, welcoming and supportive.

As for the abuse of the meta gallery (which I think came along a little later than Jan 2004, Ray, possibly not until spring that year because it definitely didn't exist when I started PaD'ding) - if there was a similar gallery for recently uploaded pictures to *any* gallery, that showed rather than just the "recently updated galleries" list, I think we'd have far fewer obvious abuses of the PaD gallery. I don't know how feasible that would be but I think it would help.