Flickr

At first, I was skeptical about using Flickr. I decided to search for pictures detailing the annual music festival, Strange Creek, in Greenfield, MA. Having never been to the festival, I was curious to see what the atmosphere was like, especially since I plan to go in the future. I had only seen a few friends' pictures on Facebook that definitely did not do a good job of showing the multiple aspects of the festival. I was impressed by the number of photos that people posted, and soon realized that Flickr can be a very useful tool for portraying people and events. The many pictures (1,186 to be exact) captured the essence of the event and I was able to see both the day and night life, the music, the lights, the crowds, and the togetherness. There were many pictures of people's faces with their friends, which didn't specifically contribute to the story-telling aspect of the search results. I was, however, able to get a true feel for the environment and the surrounding nature through shots of the forestry and the campgrounds. A lot of candid pictures captured people's happiness and the general feel of the place itself. Many performers were displayed, and helped to stress the importance of music and its essential prominence at such a festival. Everybody appeared to be having a great time and it all made me more enthusiastic about attending. The festival is typically a three-day event where people bring their own tents and spend a long weekend camping. After viewing the pictures it definitely became more clear how the set-up looked and the showed the inevitable community-based aspect of the weekend. The sense of liberation felt by all was clear, and promoted an ultimately feel-good vibe from viewing the many snapshots.