Betterphoto, last gasp

 I posted a few days ago about the demise of Betterphoto.com, one of the first photo websites I frequented...  The site is supposed to go dark 4/30, which is today.  I've spent a chunk of time over the past 2 days downloading (most of) my images from the site.  Primarily focusing on 2021 and before.

A lot of the originals from way back when are not easily located, so not I have something.  I'll probably trickle out some of those oldies over the next few Thursdays.  Here's the 1st new (at the time) I published there:

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And to bookend, here's the last photo I published there, from August 2025, not long before they had the system crash from which that they never quite recovered:

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I was really active at BP between March 2003 and June 2020, posting over 900 photos.  Then, for "reasons" I quit the site.  For other "reasons" I restarted in late 2020, a break of over 11 years.  Still, I was active there for a long time, and published well over 1,500 photos there.

Sad to see them go, wishing the folks there good luck in future endeavors.

R.I.P. BetterPhoto

 The web site BetterPhoto was one of the fist online photography sites that I discovered / joined.  Going back to 2003, it was my only photo site I participated in for a long time.  I've waxed and waned there, but not too long ago (early 2024).  I even set up a web domain through then (lawheadphoto.com).  And in mid 2024, I agreed to provide (volunteer) input ti the guy running the site.

BUT, they had a major, catastrophic server/computer crash back in early 2025.  Everything was gone.  After months, they had restored some functionality, but they just couldn't seem to get it back up and running.  And all historical uploads were just gone.  And I basically gave up and moved on, expecting to go back when they got it all resolved.

Sadly, over a year later, they've decided to pull the plug and give up.  Disappointing, and I feel bad for the owner, but after a year, not especially surprising.

Big takeaway?  I have about 2 weeks to transfer my domain name, or lose it....  Any suggestions for good photo web hosting services are welcome!

Life goes on.

RIP BP....

December Winners, BetterPhoto.com

  Better Photo has announced the winners of their November contest, and I had a second place, along with 3x Finalists.  Always fun to get some recognition!

2nd Place winner:

Carolina Chickadee - Animals

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Finalists:

Cold Trail and Setting Sun

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Pittsburgh Skyline

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Orchid Buds 

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So, that's 1x Second Place, 3x Finalist and 0x Staff Favorite.  I also had 15x Editor's Picks, too many to post here.  So everything received some recognition.

Check out my photos HERE.  

November Winners, BetterPhoto.com

  Better Photo has announced the winners of their November contest, and I had a second place, along with 3x Finalists.  Always fun to get some recognition!

2nd Place winner:

Pittsburgh, PA, USA - Travel / Places

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Finalists:

Lunch Break

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Do Not Enter

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Driftwood

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So, that's 1x Second Place, 3x Finalist and 0x Staff Favorite.  I also had 15x Editor's Picks, too many to post here.  So everything received some recognition.

Check out my photos HERE.  

October Winners, BetterPhoto.com

 Better Photo has announced the winners of their October contest, and I had a second place, along with a couple of Finalists, and a Staff Favorite.  Always fun to get some recognition!

2nd Place winner:

Leaves On Picnic Table - Catch All category

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Finalists:

Carolina Chickadee - Animals category

Aligned? - Elements Of Design category

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Staff Favorites:

Farmall - Details category

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So, that's 1x Second Place, 2x Finalist and 1x Staff Favorite.  I also had 21x Editor's Picks, too many to post here.  So everything received some recognition.

Check out my photos HERE.  

September Winners, BetterPhoto.com

 Better Photo has announced the winners of their August contest, and I had a second place, along with several Finalists, etc.  Always fun to get some recognition!

2nd Place winner:

Straight Lines - Post Techniques and Toy Camera Photography

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Finalists:

Carolina Wren

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Rattlesnake Master

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Against The Odds

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End Of The Day

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Staff Favorites:

St. Louis Skyline

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So, that's 1x Second Place, 4x Finalist and 1x Staff Favorite.  I also had 18x Editor's Picks, too many to post here.

Check out my photos HERE.  

August Winners, BetterPhoto.com

 Better Photo has announced the winners of their August contest, and I had a second place, along with several Finalists, etc.  Always fun to get some recognition!

2nd Place winner:

Windows -  Elements of design

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Finalists:

Water Lilly

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Plein Air Experience

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St. Peter Catholic Church

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Modern Cafe

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Staff Favorites:

Warner

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No Trespassing or Loitering

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So, that's 1x Second Place, 4x 2nd Place and 2x Staff Favorite.  I also had 18x Editor's Picks, too many to post here.

Check out my photos HERE.  

BetterPhoto Contest - March

  BetterPhoto is one of the sites where I'm a long time member, and one of their key draws is a monthly photo contest.  It does, however, tend to take about a month for the results to roll through.

So the winners for the March contest were announced yesterday, and I received 1x 2nd place winner, and 4x Finalists.  Out of 25 total entries, that's 20% which is in line with my typical results.

1st Place:  None

2nd Place:

Eastern Phoebe

Animals Category

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Finalists: 

Fit To Be Tied

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Curves Ahead

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Cathedral Of Learning 

(Throwback from 2018)

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Missouri Botanical Garden 2

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I had 19 entries in April, hopefully I can extend my current streak of 4 straight months with a 2nd.  One of these days I might even get a 1st?

BetterPhoto Contest - February

 BetterPhoto is one of the sites where I'm a long time member, and one of their key draws is a monthly photo contest.  It does, however, tend to take about a month for the results to roll through.

So the winners for the February contest were announced yesterday, and I received 1x 2nd place winner, and 3x Finalists.  Out of 19 total entries, that's 21% which is in line with my typical results.

1st Place:  None

2nd Place:

Shared Sunset

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Finalists: 

Common

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Richard's Brick

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Untitled

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POTD - Photo Of The Day

 This one received a POTD recognition at BetterPhoto yesterday (Sunday 1/21/2024).  Always fun.  It's from September 2023, and won a second place in their monthly contest back then.  Also was posted at 365project, where it received the Popular and Trending Tags.  Woo Hoo!

Taken at an Amish Country Store, Penn Yan, NY.