My pals Sonny and Kara Parlin have launched Sparrow Lounge, a site to showcase their amazing photography. The below pic of yours truly was taken in Hartford by Sonny.

Along with a sharp eye for perspective and in-the-moment portraits, Sonny and Kara are doing some amazing post-processing work. The work showcased on Sparrow Lounge is phenomenal.

Equally as awesome as their work is the lightening speed awareness Sonny and Kara are receiving via flickr. Within one day of posting the “Dreaming of Infinity” pic, Sonny received a two-page list of comments. Some spammers were among them but quite a few were either “love it” comments or “can I post this on my site?” questions. Sonny also joined the CT Meetup for flickr so he could hang with other photophiles.

This is a great example of social media turning the corner. flickr is a soc media granddaddy, for sure, but for many it’s still an online photo album. But, while kids and moms are posting photos for the heck of it, photographers are getting discovered and connections are being made.

If you have been one of those folks wondering what usefulness social media would ever have beyond a water cooler chat, get yourself on flickr. For the mainstream, flickr and other soc media giants are finally beyond the honeymoon stage. One of the biggest reasons for this is volume. With typically 5,000+ uploads per minute, flickr’s flurry of activity is more than just photos and comments. It’s art, laughter, friendship, innovation, intensity, transparency, discovery, and, for some, opportunity.