Balloons of different colors tied with ribbons hovered on the ceiling. Below, the tightly packed art gallery-turned-night club was full of people toting cocktails and cameras, pushing past one another in an attempt to mingle and view the carefully set display of photographs that centered the room.

This was the scene at the fourth birthday party for Flickr, a Web-based photo-sharing service offered by Yahoo Inc. The party took place at the 111 Minna Gallery in San Francisco on March 7.

Rotting pumpkins, gumdrops, and heart-shaped lobsters were only a few of the photographs submitted by Flickr members and displayed at the event.

Art Seigel, a Bay Area lawyer and Flickr member for nearly four years, said he has attended all of the birthday celebrations.

“That’s a new twist,” Seigel said of the party hosting member-submitted photographs. “We come together, share techniques and make friends…it makes us better photographers.”

The annual Flickr birthday party is far from the only event that brings members face to face, he added, as some members of the Web-based community meet monthly.

Flickr members can join any number of online groups based on anything from a common interest to a common hometown. SF State has its own group consisting of 29 students and alumni.

Jellee Jimenez, an SF State freshman business major, said she has met other photographers who share common interests with her through the photo-sharing site.

“I’ve also met more experienced people who were nice enough to give advice,” she said. Jimenez said she had used the Web site for close to a year. “I [also] keep tuned into the latest design and web…trends. There were so many that kept popping up, but Flickr caught my attention because of its functionality and usefulness.”

SF State alumnus and firefighter Jonathan Pettey has used the photo-sharing platform since 2004 in order to share photographs with friends and host photos for his blog.

“I have enjoyed using Flickr. It is rather easy to use and offers links to other photo editing sites, and the people on Flickr are well mannered,” he said.

The party’s turnout was far greater than expected, said Heath McDonald, assistant curator of the gallery.

“[It’s] one of the best parties we’ve had of this year,” she said.