Big Print Marketplace: Helping Photogs Trade Prints Through Tumblr

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Sure, the vast majority of photos created these days never live beyond a few seconds on an LCD screen. But it’s still true that one of the ultimate compliments you can pay to an image is that you’d like to hang it on your wall.

Thinking about that and the steep prices demanded for gallery work, photographer Duncan Wright decided the photography world could use a little more of a sharing ethic. So he created Big Print Marketplace, a Tumblr site that helps photographers trade prints with each other.

The main page highlights images available for swap and community news, but the real power of the operation lies in the BPMPOFFER hashtag. Post a photo to your Tumblr page, add the tag and you’re part of the community.

The first print offered on BPMP.
The first print offered on BPMP.

“The idea is that people who are interested in finding a print to hang on their wall will lurk through the BPMPOFFER Hashtags until they find a print they like,” Wright says in the site’s FAQ. “They will then contact you through your Tumblr and offer a print they would be willing to exchange with you. If you think their print is awesome then exchange addresses, head to your local post office and trade away.”

The site has only been operational for a few weeks, so selection is pretty limited now. But especially for photographers with a drawer full of old prints and no place to hang them, this could be a great way to expand your horizons.

Big Print Marketplace (via Japan Camera Hunter)


Image credits: “Camel in the Thar Desert. Rajasthan, India,” by Otis Ayers, B&W image by Jono Lardi

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