What is the purpose of YOUR posting on shipspotting.com

[Dave van Spronsen]

SimonWP iam an very reguler visitor to the Maasvlakte for many years but i have never seen that people posting pictures on shipspotting in the car
When there is cold weather we sometimes waiting in the car to warm up or meet some people that are empty there memory card,
And from all the shipspotters there are only 2 that post on shipspotting

Iam just like to share my pictures if i see the Emma Maersk 10 times in Rotterdam i will post 10 times the Emma Maersk why ? just because i like to share my shots,
But have to say in Rotterdam its difficult to upload different ships most of the ships are the same,(containerships,or bulkers the big ones )

[Emmanuel.L]

I have been taking photos since I was about 10 years when I used to use my dad folding Ilford  for snapping family members and our pets and even of places which over the times have changed considerably. At about 14 I  bought a small camera  ,gradually changing cameras and formats as years gone by.
At the age of 11 years I used to accompany my grandfather ,an ex-seaman who in his 60s used to be employed as a watchman on laid up vessels ,and it was my joy to spend a night sleeping aboard ,then waking up to a breakfast of eggs and chips and bacon, then spend the day (usually a Saturday or Sunday )touring the ship ,fishing over the side and hearing sea stories from my grandfather adventures during the war and from faraway exotic places.
Those days kindled my love for ships, apart  also being the son  of an Royal Navy serviceman.
Now at 71 , I look back with nostalgia to those weekends with my grandfather Paul.
These days I spend the mornings at Senglea Point with my shiploving friends talking ships and drinking coffee or cool drinks.
Nowadays I own 2 Nikons, but my favourite is the compact Coolpix which is always strapped to my belt or in the glove locker of my trusty Toyota.
I seem to be the only resident who is putting photos on the site apart from visiting spotters.I hope that some one takes up my mantle and start and  taking photos of ships in Maltese ports.
I try to photo every ship  visiting Valletta harbour for posterity and putting them on the site. Ever one can make use of them for their collections ,books ,magazines etc. I don't ask for payment, but it would be to my satisfaction if any profit is made of their use that a small donation to some charity especially for some sea orphans or old needy seamen etc. be given.
I like to comment on interesting photos on the positive side and appreciate comments on mine which  I will answer back .
I have made many friends from across the world through this site  which I joined in 2011.
I thank all these friends for the enjoyment and satisfaction that I have derived from these connections. I especially thank Ken for his encouragement throughout these 5 years.
As long as my health permits me , I would continue clicking away to my heart delight and hoping of others viewing my photos, hope  I never offended any one with some comment or remark , and if so it was never my intention ,and offer  due apologies.
Thanks and regards to every one.
Fair weather and calm seas to every one connected with the sea.

Emmanuel.L  (Malta)

[jdap]

Allow me to bring up a key principle of my course of Economics 101:

There is a supply side, and there is a demand side. The economy is balanced when the supply side meets the needs and expectations of the demand side.

This to say that it is certainly interesting to read about the reasons that push photographers to use this channel to publish their photographs of maritime targets. But with more than 130.000 members uploading to this website, I am sure we can probably find 130.000 - more or less - different motivations for them to do so.

But wouldn't it be equally as interesting to find out what visitors to this website come here for?

What are visitors looking for? For example,

Is it photographic quality?

or is it mere curiosity?

or is it attraction for novelty/new entries?

or is it the photo subject - a vessel of some sort?

or is it the breadth/variety of subjects available at this website?

or is it the depth/number of variations available for a given subject?

or it is the subject changes over time/space - its history, looks, etc?

or is it the cross comparison accross equivalent subjects?

or is it the need to research in detail a given subject?

or, or, or...?

In a word, is there a demand side at this website, and if affirmative, what are visitors looking for? How can demand be segmented? Would it be possible to quantify the demand segments? What is each segment looking for?

To me, this appears to be an interesting input, and it might allow suppliers of raw material (i.e., photographers) to target better their contributions to the perceived expectations of demand.

If supply/demand are balanced, the website - i.e., we all - would have all to gain.

Any ideas?

My 2c contribution to this topic - and I hope I am not sidetracking here...

Jose
(jdap)

[pieter melissen]

jdap, you forgot to talk about the marginal rate of return of each visit...but that is economics 102. 

[Lyndon Henry]

To give our small island port (Castries St.Lucia) some courage