flickr.
The one site that compiles aesthetics with online connection.
Flickr is a photo-sharing site, owned by Yahoo,
where users can share full-resolution images
with friends, family and the open Internet,
in a snazzy, graphically rich setting.

a screen shot of flickr's site

Caterina Fake knew she was onto something
when one of the engineers at her Vancouver, British Columbia-based online game
start-up created a cool tool to share photos and save them to a Web page while playing.

She and her programmer husband, Stewart Butterfield,
transformed the project into Flickr.
In less than two years, the photo-sharing site
— now owned by Internet giant Yahoo —
has turned into one of the Web's fastest-growing properties.

ahoo bought the company in March
for an undisclosed sum and moved the 11-person team
to Yahoo headquarters in Sunnyvale.

Since then, Flickr has been on a roll,

riding the wave of consumer fascination with digital cameras.

Shutterbugs are less likely to make many prints these days

but still want an outlet to show off their work.

How much?
The ad-supported version lets users upload 20 megabytes of photos a month free.
That's about 10 to 25 pictures, depending on the resolution.
For $24.95 a year, you get an ad-free version,
and can upload 2 gigabytes a month.

Flickr also offers Calendars, posters and DVDs of photos.
Plus, members can upload pictures and post them on their blogs.

In 2009,
Flickr announced a partnership with Getty Images
in which specially selected users could submit photographs
for stock photography usage and receive payment.
In 2010,
this was changed so that users could label images
as suitable for stock use themselves.

sources:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2006-02-27-flickr_x.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flickr