Check out this inspirational YouTube video by Chase Jarvis. Four invaluable high speed photography tips and some very cool stunts to boot.

» More at www.chasejarvis.com

I have to say I’m loving the new look. Everything I could possibly want is there on the homepage. Not only do I get an instant view of the recent activity on my own photostream, I see the threads from where that activity is coming from; so if a comment is from a group I posted a photo to then parts of that thread are included. And for PRO user, those stats – do you sometimes get hooked on those stats? C’mon, we all do from time to time :-) Simply click the graph to the right of “Your Photostream” to open them up.

My contacts

I love viewing my contacts’ photos and this option is still there [note: I prefer using the Flock sidebar for this]. And if I have made a comment of faved a photo I can see recent activity on their photostreams, too. In fact, the recent activity includes the “Comments You’ve Made” option – you can change this in the recent activity settings if you wish to.

My groups

One new feature I enjoy has evitalised the social aspect of Flickr. Flickr is social media after all. Each time I visit my homepage I have a preview of the latest uploads from one of my Flickr groups … and it’s a different group each time. Try refreshing your homepage to see what I mean. The visual preview shows the latest uploads to a group rather than a simple notification telling me there is an upload. I don’t even have to click to see the new photos. But I find that I am clicking the new photos – and ‘fave’-ing and commenting more than I did with the old homepage.

Get lost

Hours at a time lost. I can lose loads of time Exploring photos on Flickr. Now it’s all there on the homepage. And do you remember when you first got hooked on Flickr? That feeling comes back. As I learn more about photography my focus on its different aspects changes and hence my interest in the groups. As you learn new techniques you become obsessed fascinated with particular groups and tend to forget about others. But, seeing the thumbnails of the recent uploads of these forgotten groups has reignited my interest. Perhaps you can give back some of your knowledge, or simply fave a few and comments on others.

Minimise your options

Too much going on with the new homepage? Simply minimise some options. Click the arrow to change the options.

Switch over

So how do you switch to this cool new look? Log in and then check to the bottom of the screen for an invite to ‘preview’ the new look. You might already have it … in which case I invite you to add your tips/thoughts in the comments below.

Can you switch back? I’m sure you can but do you think it’s worth it? After all, this will be the new look and we may as well start using it now.