Hit 500 upvotes on a photo of a blurry nebula

I posted a shot of the Orion Nebula I took from my backyard in Austin. It was out of focus and had some light pollution streaks through it. Somehow it got 500 upvotes in a day. Meanwhile my perfectly stacked Andromeda shot from a dark sky site got 12. Has anyone else had a mediocre photo do way better than your best work?

3 comments

3 Comments

mila_flores810d ago

Posted a photo of a raccoon in my trash can once and it got more likes than my best wildlife shot.

oliver_morgan10d ago

Yeah that "perfectly stacked Andromeda shot got 12" line hits close to home. I spent three hours on a lunar mosaic once, perfect focus, great conditions. Got maybe 30 likes. Posted a quick phone pic of the moon through some clouds a week later and it blew up. The algorithm just likes what it likes. Best thing is to not let it get to you. Post the good stuff for yourself and the small group who actually cares. The upvotes come and go but a clean stack is something you can be proud of no matter what.

jamesfox10d ago

My trash panda photo took over my feed while my carefully planned Milky Way shot got crickets. @oliver_morgan is right though, the algorithm just vibes with whatever it vibes with. Throw your phone pic up on a bad night and watch it smash your best work.