It's that time of year again!!!!!
I'm a little behind this year, with the move to a house and all, but I finally remembered!
Submission deadline is Monday, August 10, 2009.--------------------
Calendar Submission Requirements
What are the submission requirements?1. Images should be high quality, and decently composed. This means no blurry shots, underexposed shots, overexposed shots, or shots washed out by a flash. I can correct minor color issues in photoshop, but I can't fix everything. We want this calendar to look almost as good as something you'd find in the store -- and we have a LOT of talent on this forum!
2.
Please submit the folliowing with your entries: your screen name, your general location on the planet (as detailed as a town and state, as vague as a country) and the name(s) of the rat(s) in the photo.
Entries without this information may be disqualified.3. Digital images should be 9" x 11. 5" at 150 dpi for full bleed. They will be trimmed to 8.5" x 11" by CafePress. The files should be in JPG format, at the highest-quality setting.
If you can send the ORIGINAL digital camera file, with NO editing whatsoever, that works best. For print submissions, see below.
Other info:
For geeks: Pixel measurements: 1350 x 1725
For novices: Images at 72 dpi: approx 16" x 22" or larger, which is pretty standard for digital cameras (I will convert the image to 150 dpi, please do not edit the file in any way)
4. If you would like to send a print to be scanned, I can accept prints by mail. They will be returned. I would like to have at least 5" x 7" to work with, with 8" x 10" being ideal.
Note: If your images are not quite big enough for the requirements, that's OK. The specifications listed are simply the ideal submission. I can always add a background or border and do some layout magic to make it work. The bigger the better, though, which is why I prefer original, unedited files from your camera. If your image is truly too small to be used, unfortunately it will be disqualified from the contest. I'm good, but I am not a miracle-worker!
5. Photos that contain product logos or copyrighted material of ANY kind will be automatically disqualified. CafePress will not allow us to print photos with copyrighted material, even in the background. A perfect example was the 2005 Calendar -- one of the winning photos contained a pint of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream -- CafePress forced us to replace the image before they would fulfill any orders.
6.
There is a strict limit of THREE entries per person. If more are sent, all may be disqualified, and I will send a reply asking you to pare down your photos, and try again. For the sake of my sanity, PLEASE only send three, and do
NOT ask me to pick my favorites among what you send. I have enough work to do for this project as it is. Thank you.
Where do I send my submission?Submissions by e-mail can be sent to
rfcmod@suebeedesigns.com. I can receive larger files at this address. If you need to mail me a print to scan or mail me a data CD, PM me for my (new) mailing address. If you had my address from a previous submission, jewelry purchase or forum event, it is no longer valid. I have moved.
Please DO NOT send Photobucket links, or other web links. Attach the original, full-resolution files directly to an e-mail. Photobucket links submissions will be "on hold" until the files are sent directly by e-mail, after I reply to your e-mail with the request. Photobucket "tweaks" files so they look good online, which usually means that they look like crap in a high-resolution printing scenario. Sending multiple e-mails is A-OK!
What if there are too many submissions?I'll narrow the field down to 48 myself, and we'll have polls to select the final images used in the calendar. Choose the best of what you've got, because I will only accept
THREE submissions from each person.
When's the deadline?Monday, August 10, 2009 at 9:00 AM Eastern. Basically, whatever is in my inbox that morning when I log in will be accepted. Anything after that will not be accepted. This gives everyone plenty of time (seven weeks!) to get your entries in to me, so no excuses for lateness!
How will voting be set up?1. I am going to divide the 48 finalists into "seasons" of the year, and create six polls -- one for every two months of the year (Jan/Feb, Mar/Apr, etc.). Each poll will have 8 choices.
2. The top two vote-getters from each poll will go into the calendar.
Now, here's where it gets tricky. Since we also have a front cover, we need an image for that, too, so here's how it works:
3. The 3rd place from each poll will be retained as an "alternate."
4. Then I will set up a final poll with 12 choices, which will determine the cover.
5. Whichever photo wins the cover, I will then take the alternate from the poll it came from, and put that in the calendar. This way, we can squeeze one more stellar image into the calendar.
Example: Say the winner of the cover came from the July/August poll. In that case, the third place photo from the July/August poll would be included in the calendar.
When it comes time to sort images, I want everyone to remember that this is not a popularity contest, and in choosing the finalists, I myself will not even put people's names on them (I print them all and spread 'em all out on the floor, while my husband is on standby to make the last few decisions). I don't want anyone to be offended if their images do not make the cut... If this year is anything like past years (and I exepct it will be), I will get a LOT of entries, and only 48 can make the cut. Since I won't have names attached, we're going on photographic merit only -- what my husband and I think will make good calendar material. The rest will be up to all of you.
To prevent any "popularity contest" shenanigans, I am going to leave names off the polls, as well. I ask that those who do find their images in the final voting do not reveal yourselves -- here OR anywhere else. We want this to be honest and anonymous. Of course some people are going to recognize photos from beng posted aroud the board here and there, but try to make your choice based on how they look, not who took them. The first year, we had a few people trolling for votes on other forums -- this WILL result in a reset of all the polls, as we did that year, and those found to be participating in such antics may be disqualified as well.
If you have any questions, please direct them to the questions thread. Some of them may already be answered from previous years.
Now go through your photos!
Thanks!
