On 5/6/12 1:54 PM, Caroline Becker wrote:
Can we please focus on the idea and facts instead of
(in)appropriate tones ?
I think that trying a professional "Wiki Loves Women" before
even trying to do it as a crownfounded, volunteer project is, as
least, strange. It makes me sad, as a volunteer photographer, to
be "forgotten" or taken for nothing.
Hi Caroline. I apologize if the idea (which has barely been fleshed
out - it was just a bunch of folks tossing ideas around one day and
that one came out and hasn't been touched since, even the title
isn't anything official, I just was touching on the crowd sourced
idea of say WLM) sounded like we'd be paying people to take
photographs, that is not what I intended. I think having quality
equipment and being able to support people with what they need
financially to make these images happen would be great - whether
it's purchasing or renting props, renting a studio space, supporting
a chapter to acquire a camera or quality film equipment, etc.
I like to think that everyone, like Wiki Loves Monuments, who
participates would be volunteers. I am also a volunteer photographer
for Commons. I know what type of equipment (whether it's Photoshop
or open source applications, decent cameras, film equipment,
lighting, etc) that it takes to bring high quality content that is
desperately needed for Commons. I think having high quality images
taken by participants (whether professional or hobbyist) would make
a really impressive impact on article quality! I also think it'd be
able to serve as a cool way to encourage professional and hobbyist
photographers to participate who might be more interested in taking
images of people rather than things (not every photographer likes to
take pictures of buildings!). Many photographers have no clue
Commons exists, and this could be another interesting way of getting
folks involved.
Again, this is nothing that I have solidified or set in stone or
even thought about since it was discussed last year. I just think
it'd be cool to see something that involves community (and not
necessarily relies on WMF grants) within and outside Wikimedia to
help fix some of the visual problems we have.
Love that project idea you just shared!
-Sarah
Caroline
--
Sarah Stierch
Wikimedia Foundation Community Fellow
>>Mind the gap! Support Wikipedia women's outreach:
donate today<<