Explore

 As you can no doubt tell, I've been really into photography lately.  I've been keeping my photos online in a photo sharing site called Flickr.  I had to check just now and learned that I've been on that site since '05.

Right now I want to talk about the "Explore" feature in Flickr.  I'll let them explain what it is:

An "explored" photo on Flickr is an image file selected by Flickr's automated algorithm to be featured on the daily Flickr Explore page. 

It is not a special type of file or format; rather, it is a regular photo from a user's photostream that the platform highlights for its high engagement and "interestingness" 

How Flickr Explore Works 

1. Daily Selection:  The algorithm highlights roughly 500 photos each day out of millions uploaded.
2. Interestingness Score:  selection is based on a math formula that weighs user engagement—such as views, favorites (faves), and comments—usually gathered within a short 24-hour window.
3. Community Activity:  Meaningful interactions, tagging, and active participation in groups also influence whether a photo gets chosen.

I guess that the aesthetic values don't play a major role in selection.  It must have been my meaningful interaction.  That said, I just to announce that I've had my twentieth photo "Explored."  The Explored photos have most been for the last five years or so.  My picture originally appeared in the "Crazy Tuesday" group.  The theme was bottle stoppers (e.g., corks, caps, etc.).  Here's what I did:

Believe it or not, I shot this with my older Canon 77D with the cropped sensor with which

I've actually had a good number of my explored photos.    The lens was my EFS-17-55mm.  

The shot was in my light box that I had gotten for eBaying.  The aperture was set on f/16, the speed was 1/10 of a second, lens was set at 35mm, and the ISO was at 1600.  This was taken hand-held while I sat in a chair. I used a couple of my eBaying lights that came with the light box.  Little halogen lights were both on the left side.

As of this moment, this picture has had 2, 478 views and 90 faves.