GDD Interviews: Anoya on APN photography

1. Why did you choose to become a CV? Has the experience been a positive one?

This is actually my second term, I was a CV 18 months before in 2010/2011 as well, so it's definitely been a positive one. Or two actually, haha. Why I chose to become a CV? I absolutely love APN photography and I also absolutely love dA and the APN community. In 2010 I read that they were looking for an APN CV (Or GM, Gallery Moderator, what it was called back then) and I read through the rules and what you had to do exactly and I felt like I was up for it! I wrote a massive e-mail to Moonbeam13 explaining why I love dA, the community and APN photography and why I thought I'd be a good choice and a while later I got an email from her. Like I said, I love the community and I'd like to think that I'm approachable and easy to talk to. I like hosting contests, featuring underappreciated artists, groups, etc. I love being a CV, otherwise I wouldn't have applied again for a second term!

2. What would you say are the best and worst parts of the job?

The best parts are being able to give DDs, giving exposure to the gallery that I love so much, making people more and more aware about APN, answering questions from the community, hosting contests, getting DD suggestions, the team at communityrelations. They're awesome.
The worst part? I can't really think of anything, but what sometimes makes me wonder is if a DD isn't being added to favorites as much as I expected. It makes me wonder if I made a wrong choice or that people just had other things to do instead of being online.
Oh, and what happened one or two times during my first term: DDing a stolen deviation. You get bashed as a CV for 'not knowing it's stolen'. I mean, we don't know everything, we try our best to figure out if something's stolen or not, but sometimes it happens. I think every CV has had it happen to them. We're human. Sometimes people seem to forget that. I think that's the worst part of the job, but 95% is pure awesomeness.

3. You oversee Animals, Plants, and Nature; what would you say is your favorite part of this category? What are your favorite type of photographs, and what are you most likely to feature as a DD?

Oh, tough questions. I can't choose what my favorite part of the category is. I love domestic animals, but I also love the waterscapes and landscapes. I love geology and insects. I could mention all of the categories really, I really love all of them haha.
My personal favorite type of photographs? The photographs that capture the essence; nature. That's what it's all about. I prefer photographs without anything 'human' in it, but if it's a good shot I'll DD it. I find that difficult to answer though, what I'm most likely to feature as a DD. There's not just a type of photograph that I pick. It has to be good quality, although I don't mind if the quality isn't 100% if the message just needs to be seen. I personally love vibrant colors, focus, depth of field. Bokeh sometimes too. But I've always realized that I don't DD photographs for myself, I DD photographs for the community. So I try to vary as much as possible. I try to vary in categories, but also the kind of animals, I try to feature colors and black and white shots, popular deviants, unknown deviants, giving people their first DD, giving people their tenth DD, etc.

4. How do you respond to members who disagree with Daily Deviation awards, and find them biased or unfair?

I honestly can say that I can't remember ever having such reactions on any Daily Deviation that I've given. I've seen it on DDs that were featured by other CVs, but they know how to handle them very well, so I usually leave it to the person who featured it. They can also explain very well why they've given it a DD in the first place.
However, I have experience with deviants that weren't happy at all with the deviation that got the DD, they weren't convinced that was their best work or for a different reason. That made me rather sad though. I want people to be happy with their DD. I try not to feature works that are from the start of their gallery, I try looking for newer and improved works. If they then disagree, it happens. It was suggested, I loved it, I featured it. I can't read minds, thankfully

5. Do you ever feel overwhelmed with suggestions since you're the only CV that covers your category? Have you ever wished someone else was helping, or have you ever considered becoming the CV of an additional category? If so, which one(s)?

During my first term I was absolutely overwhelmed with the amount of DD suggestions. There were days I got over 75 or 100 suggestions. It was insane. It's difficult to organize your notes, you don't have a search function, it's difficult to find something again that's been suggested before. I spoke to Danie about that and she really knew how to lift my spirits again, which made me realize I was doing a good job on my own. I didn't need anyone to help me. Plus, I had the community to help me with some things as well. There's no such thing as doing it alone, when you have such an understanding community
I've never really thought about having another category to look after. My heart always has been and probably always will be at the APN community. Don't get me wrong, I love the photography categories in general, and I love all kinds of different media, but I feel like I don't know enough about it to be looking after those.

Here are some of Anoya's works:

 

6. You have quite an amazing gallery, and animals/pets are often some of the hardest subjects to photograph well, in addition to macro photography being quite challenging as well. Do you have any advice for members trying to improve their skills?

Thank you so much! I really appreciate that! The most important advice I can give is practice, practice, practice! It really does make things perfect eventually. I'm a perfectionist, I can take 100 shots of one bumblebee on a flower and be rather satisfied with only 1 or 2 shots. You have to try different things to see what you like and how what you're actually looking for in your photography. Try different styles, try to look at more different kinds of photography, experiment. Make it fun and enjoy it!
Also, don't leave anything but your footprints. Leave baby animals and nests alone, don't break anything and don't leave trash. I also personally hate using flash on animals. Their eyes are more sensitive than ours and I already hate when people use their flash on me.

7. What advice do you have for members who want to become Community Volunteers?

First of all, realize how much work it is. It is a lot of work. I'm probably doing my 'job' for around 30 hours per week. I also work full time next to volunteering. I knew what I was getting myself into after my first term so I know how to organize it a bit better now.
What I didn't realize before applying the first time and what I kind of forgot applying the second time, is that you barely have time to be a regular deviant. I save a lot of deviations and such 'for later', to comment on when I have more time. It rarely happens though, and sometimes I really have to plan time to be a regular deviant. Just talking to people about non CV related things, comment on deviations, journals, etc. While browsing I always find things I want to feature, so you can't just turn the CV on and off haha.
But when you realize that and you're still up for that, it's a very rewarding 'job'. I love doing it. You get to know so many great artists and you get really close with some deviants who you can almost name your sidekicks. They reply to everything you post, share your articles, give ideas and suggestions. You invest a lot of time and energy, but you get a very happy community in return.

8. Why did you first join DeviantART, and are there any things you'd like to see change within the website and community?

I joined dA in 2004. It'll be 10 years in July. I joined because I was looking for wallpapers and a friend on MSN had a link to his dA profile in his name. And then I got hooked. It became my second home!
Things I'd like to see change? Well, I'd love to have a search function in my notes like I mentioned above. I'd also love to be able to browse the Critiqueable pages. I think a lot more people would write critiques then.

9. Can you tell us a random personal fact or anecdote about yourself?

Ehm, I technically live below sea level. I live in the North West of the Netherlands. And I believe, if I remember correctly, I live 6 meters below sea level.

10. What is one of the biggest misconceptions when it comes to being a Community Volunteer and Daily Deviations?

I think one of them is that CVs are browsing dA all the time. We're not. We have lives outside deviantART, people! I often read 'This should be a DD!' on deviations and I reply to them that they should suggest it then. We can't find these images by snapping our fingers or something. We really need your suggestions. There's only so much we can see ourselves. I watch quite a lot of groups and deviants, but we're with 31.000.000 registered users and art appreciators, when I last checked. It's impossible for us to know every good piece of art around here. We need you!