In an effort to set NPN on a clearly defined path I will be making some changes on how non-nature photos are displayed on the site. The name of the site makes it abundantly clear what the focus of the site is, and obviously, that is Nature Photography. But, the way things were set up from the old site muddied the waters a bit when the People, Objects, and Places category was added. I carried over this category without much thought given to how the images from editors picks would be displayed and I apologize for that and the confusion that has ensued. Some things simply do not become clear until you try them out and see how it goes, this was one of those cases.
The changes are not because of any type of photo that was posted, or directed at any member, this is simply a change I feel needs to be made to give NPN a clear direction. Non-nature photos are still allowed, but since this is a site with a focus on nature photography they will only be allowed in the non-nature categories, and will not be prominently displayed on the site in the editors picks.
I feel these changes are imperative to the future growth and success of NPN, and this is to have a focus on our niche of nature photography. If we are giving non-nature photos an equal platform, then the site should be called ‘Photographers Network’, I don’t think anybody wants that. The non-nature category was never meant to be a major part of NPN. @Harley_Goldman originally proposed this to Jim as an additional fun area for members to post non-nature photos that did not fit into any other category.
Here are the changes:
-
People, Objects, and Places is being renamed to Non-Nature to avoid any confusion. This makes it clear to new members exactly what this category is for. The description of this category has always been very clear
...is intended for all non-nature photos. As long as it’s G-rated, non-offensive and suitable for all viewers, anything goes.this has not changed, but a new name makes it very clear. -
There will still be editors picks in the Non-Nature (formerly POP) category, but they will not be displayed prominently amongst the picks of nature photos. This category now has a tag ‘editors-pick-nn’ and you can find a link to these at the top of each Non-Nature gallery and critique forums. These will still be included in the yearly picks as well, but again not prominently displayed.
-
Non-Nature photos will no longer be allowed in the weekly challenge. I feel this category could be a great place for photographers to challenge themselves to get out of the comfort zone and try something new and grow as nature photographers. But again, our niche is lost when non-nature photos are mixed in with what is supposed to be a site dedicated to nature photography.
-
The weekly challenge category will be moved into the critique section to make it more prominent amongst the other critique categories and it will be fixed so images from this category show up in the ‘Latest’ feed.
In case you missed it, I also made a change from the old site which allows photos in the landscape category that contain human elements, the human element just cannot be the main subject. Paths, barns, buildings in the distance, bridges, mills, etc. are completely acceptable as long as they don’t dominate the scene.
If you disagree with these changes please send me a personal message to express your thoughts and I will consider them. We will not be having long drawn out arguments about this in the public forum. I have a vision of how to move the site forward and keep it alive for a very long time, I hope you will respect this and we can all move forward together. Making such a large change will surely upset some members that have been around for a long time, I understand this. Changes do have to be made to move the site into the future and having a focused niche is incredibly important to be successful on the internet this day and age. If I didn’t truly care about the future of this site I would remain complacent and leave everything as is, but I am extremely passionate about NPN and I’m willing to take the flack to do what I feel is right to attract new members and make NPN successful for many years to come.