Why I started on Flickr - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, originally uploaded by Cybermyth13.

I was listening to the radio one evening in August 2009 and heard a bamd Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros playing some songs live in the studio. They mentioned that they would be playing in Victoria Park, London, on Friday afternoon. The park is not often used as a music venue, particularly on a Friday afternoon, so I checked online to find the details. It was to be an acoustic set at the bandstand starting at 2pm.

So I turned up at 2pm in Victoria Park and there were some people waiting around but not much sign of the band. Eventually some vehicles appeared with the band members (about 10 of them) and a piano emerged from a small van. By the time they had set up, a reasonable crowd had formed. I had my camera with me so while they played I took some pictures, as did several others.

A few days later I went online to see what pictures other people have posted online of the performance. The best selection was on Flickr so I decided to post some pictures on Flickr and see what happens.

Initially they did not seem to be much interest in my Edward Sharpe pictures. However I then got some viewings through images.yahoo.com . Gradually the photo worked its way to first entry on any search for Edward Sharpe on images.yahoo.com . I think people were clicking on it because it looked so unusual and because people were clicking on it, it moved up the search results.

The band has gone on to have success in America, including appearing on the Letterman show and several festivals, so the picture got lots of views. Eventually it was surplanted in the search by more recent photos of the band but it has been one of my more successful photos in terms of views, thanks to yahoo.