ophoenix, I appreciate the feedback.

Others seem to enjoy the chain reaction photos as do I as I like to see where it takes us. Almost like playing telephone in the old days.

So I think what I'll do, in general, is have a chain reaction Saturday, a free for all Sunday and a themed for M-F unless there is an obvious theme like today's holiday. That takes a lot of burden off of me to come up with a theme daily.

There's no requirement that only photos that follow the theme be posted. That's only if people choose to.

As always, I'm open to suggestions for themes.

I don’t think you need to come up with a theme every day.

Here's my suggestions for the chain reaction photo thread:

When someone posts a photo, they should write a description that includes three elements of their photo that might inspire someone to post the next photo, and these elements should be different from the element that inspired them. Or it could just be one element, but at least it would be a clue for the next poster. This way we would not get stuck on one theme.

Lars makes a good point. Yesterday was mostly pathways and previous one was arches.

Actually we never started out with a theme, but it seemed to grow organically as people picked up on something in the OP photo and ran with it. So it seems to be something people enjoy doing.

The problem with the 'chain' posts is that while one is looking through one's vast collection of pics to find a next 'link' for the chain someone else has posted their link and now the link you have found to post may be a repeat and so on.

As jtc said above, it results in many theme duplicates.

Igmd, I think Outside also mentioned this snafu, in that her computer is slow. Maybe the way around it is to say, “Lars photo of this beach reminded me of......”

This way we know what you are reacting to, and it’s okay if the chain has moved on. It’s okay if a photo is done twice as long as we explain it. Different twists and turns.

I also agree that if you see the ocean in one photo, don’t then post your ocean. That’s a different theme that we do.

The idea is what the ocean might mean to you. To be personal and creative.

Thanks Annie, we all so appreciate your leadership here. Anything to make it easier.

Yes, I also appreciate all the efforts that Annie is putting in to these threads, let's not make it difficult folks. Just go with the flow, and enjoy every ones choice on what to post, theme or no theme. It is welcoming to have a theme, but not all the time. Annie's post at the beginning of this thread gives guidelines for rotating the subject, no hard and fast rules needed. Lets continue to have fun and enjoy the posts keeping it easier for our Annie as we play along with her suggestions.

Thank you all for your kind words, your inputs and your participation. Without you, these threads wouldn't exist.

I like the idea of referring to the specific photo that inspires your chained photo selection. That way if other photos intervene, it's not a problem. The chain need not be linear.

We get enough stress in our lives elsewhere and these threads are supposed to be a respite from it all. It's meant to be a pleasant and welcoming where we can share our experiences while enhancing our creativity and our ability to notice and appreciate the world around us and our fellow posters.

There is no right or wrong here...no grades...no mistakes...no fails. Let's relax and go with the flow and enjoy where it takes us.

I don't post photos, but I have to agree with ophoenix, I liked the old way better. I enjoyed the way people used their imaginations to make their photos fit the theme. Either way is fine with me though, because I just love looking at everyone's photos

Many years ago, when Casey (caseynfld) originally started the "I'll Show You Mine if You Show Me Yours" series, it worked like this -- she would post a photograph that she had taken, usually on one of her hikes around Newfoundland. Then others would post photos that they had taken. There was no specific theme to any of the threads, but there were times when a theme would spontaneously arise, such as at the beginning of spring when most folks would post photos of flowers in their gardens, or observed on walks, etc. Or on July 1st, Canada Day, many people would post photos that were Canadian- or maple leaf-themed. There were no "rules," other than you were only supposed to post photos that you had taken, or a photo that someone had taken of you. No photos found on the Internet, etc. The comments made earlier by folks about duplicates goes totally against the way the thread used to work. If YOU took the photo, no one else would have it, no one else had taken it, so how could there be a duplicate? At most, if a spontaneous theme was "bridges" (for example) there could be more than one photo of the same bridge, but each photo was unique because each photo had been taken by a different KT member.

I think they’re all fun and always look forward to participating. Thank you Annie fo consistently having an early morning treat for us.