I was excited to see that this site was going to make a calendar but after seeing the selections i am somewhat dissappointed. I want to go through the member galleries and pick my favorites and make my own calendar. Any thoughts on how i can do this? Can I bring the pics on disc to a store and have it done? Thanks.

 

A lot depends on what you're planning on doing with your calender. Is it for personal use or do you plan on selling it?

I'm sure a lot of members (including myself) would have a problem with you snagging our pictures from the Galleries to make a calender that you would sell and make money off of...

 

Yahoo! used to have a feature where you could import your own pictures into a calander format and then print it. (I am sure they probably still have it, but you might have to search a little) But you should be able to get this done at Staples or someplace like that.

 

Oh, of course i wouldn't sell it. It's just for me.

 

Sorry to hear that you don't like the winning selections. In picking these entries I wanted to insure that when the calendar was printed that it would be the highest quality possible. To that end I picked entries that were high resolution and that emphasized the adventures and journeys that have been encountered by members of the site.

As I mentioned in my original contest announcement the calendar has been designed to be unique. In fact, I have spent the last one and half weeks building the layout of the calendar so I can send it to the printer today. Additionally, it is being printed by a professional printer on custom sized paper. While it won't be the biggest calendar around it will be very MINI-centric.

I hope this explains a little of what has gone on behind the scenes in pulling this calendar together.

Best regards,

Mark

 

I really like the calendar selections. I like the different locales and thoughtful shots. I do, however, wish there was a color version available. The MINI is so vibrant I think color would be better. Either way, the pix are really good :smile:

 

Where are the results/pix picked?

 

 

I agree with weaverpsu......The selections are not for me. Sorry to say as I was really looking foward to purchasing and using them for gifts. :???:

 

Looks like they wanted all artsy shots, and i don't think it was right to select more then 1 pic from a person.

honestly i was disappointed.

 

>>I was excited to see that this site was going to make a calendar but after seeing the selections i am somewhat dissappointed. I want to go through the member galleries and pick my favorites and make my own calendar. Any thoughts on how i can do this? Can I bring the pics on disc to a store and have it done? Thanks.

Weaverpsu, I was a bit disappointed with the selections as well (especially since my little baby wasn't chosen

 

Again...I'm sorry that I wasn't able to please everyone. I would have loved to do a large format full color calendar for the site but there are three reasons that I was not able to do so...

1) Resolution : Very few people own a digital camera that is capable of capturing a image more than 5x7 (if you scale this up it looks grainy). I would venture to say that more than 65% of the submissions were not of sufficient resolution to be used in the calendar because, when printed, they would look grainy.

2) Cost : In taking bids for this calendar (again from professional printers using high quality paper and not using Kinkos), the cost of doing a full-color calendar that was approximately 17"x22" in size was more than $5,000...not a risk that I was willing to bear given this is the first year we've done a calendar.

3) Unknown market size: Given the above costs and not knowing how many would actually be purchased I decided the most prudent path was to go smaller format with black and white.

Based on the number of calendars that are sold for 2004 I would like to look at options for going to a full-color large format for 2005. That said my concern is that of the photography. To run a large calendar like that you have to have VERY high-resolution images...something that consumer-based cameras will likely not support this coming year. Given that I would have to work with professional photographers adding additional cost to the project.

Unfortunately I'm aware that with my best efforts I can't address everyone's needs or desires relative to the calendar. Hopefully I'll be able to offer something that will interest you for 2005.

Best regards,

Mark

 

Will this calendar void my warranty? I hope not.

Having worked in Retail for longer than I'd rather admit, I know 3 things...

1. You can't please everyone.
2. The customer is almost never right.
3. Loyalty to a Brand/Product/Store is what keeps us in Business.


Support your Internet Motoring Group!
Buy a North American Motoring Calendar!!


-V--V-

 

I just wanted to thank Mark for all his efforts on putting this calendar together. Obviously there are only 12 months in a year (plus a cover), so there were bound to be MANY disappointed people who's pictures weren't chosen, myself included.

I thought I had a shot because my resolution was higher than the minimum requirements but hey, that's life. You win some. You lose some. I'll just give it another try again next year along with everyone else. I'll just have to crank the resolution up to the highest setting, though with my dial-up connection I guess I should start uploading my pictures now if I hope to be done in time for next year's contest.

_________________
Robyn
<p>Nittany: 03 IB/W MCS, Lapis Blue lthr, 3 packages, H/K, rally lts, painted dash

 

>>A lot depends on what you're planning on doing with your calender. Is it for personal use or do you plan on selling it?
>>
>>I'm sure a lot of members (including myself) would have a problem with you snagging our pictures from the Galleries to make a calender that you would sell and make money off of...

Whoa! Chill dude. Besides, once the pictures are in the public domain (like the internet) they are free from usage restrictions unless they are copywritten.

weaverpsu, you can use all the pictures of my car you want, for makin' money or not. Hell I'll even email you full size versions that will look good with printed, not the shrimpy compressed versions in the member gallery.


_________________

Alta pulley, Stebro exhaust, Pipercross intake, progress rear anti-sway bar.
Visit Vince's MINI page

 

JMHO...as follows :smile:

Mark thank you for putting together a wonderful calendar.....
that you as......
chief designer and architect/layout mogul/chief cook and bottle washer/picture picker outer....
felt .....
represented this terrifc NAM site.:smile:

Terrific job.... mi amigo

Peace,
D

 

5,000
I can see your point

my bad :???:

 

I consider purchasing a NAM calendar a nice way to support North American Motoring.com, and to have pics actually taken by my friends in the MINI community of their MINIs! I'm anxious to order mine as soon as they're available. This could be the start of a great tradition, and is a wonderful way, in a way, to pay dues for all the fun we have here.

 

I personally like the BW ......Retro like our MINIs.

 

>>I was excited to see that this site was going to make a calendar but after seeing the selections i am somewhat dissappointed. I want to go through the member galleries and pick my favorites and make my own calendar. Any thoughts on how i can do this? Can I bring the pics on disc to a store and have it done? Thanks.
>>
guess they didn't pick your pic

 

I was a bit put off by the B&W images at first, until I really looked at them. Color be d***ned! Those are some really nice shots that were chosen! Be forgiving if you can't see that. It's a great idea and Mark did a fine job putting it all together. That said, I'm kind of surprised at some of the responses here.

MiniClo's got the right idea. As sales of these will ultimately help the site, it's your civic forum duty to buy at least one of these. Use it, give it away, or line the parakeet cage. It doesn't matter, because you'll be supporting your favorite place on the net.

D.D. - don't you think other people might appreciate them more than you? After all, as it's a gift, it's really not about what tickles your fancy, is it? I'm sure many people would be happy to get one of these. Personally, I know a few owners who never or rarely venture on this forum, and hence, don't even know such a calender exists. Imagine their surprise to see one.

Weaverpsu - As our resident legal-eagle, Orbhot, was so quick to point out it's not illegal for you to put your own calender together from gallery photos. It's not illegal, but that doesn't make it morally right. If you have any respect for the owners of the cars you choose, you'll ask permission to use their pics before you do.

 

Thanks for the responses guys. Mark, we all appreciate your efforts and there is no reason to apologize. Some pics i liked some i didn't. I have been wanting to make a calendar for months now. I want to make one with more than one pic per month, maybe closer to 3 and it would be cool if i could make the pics coincide with the months. (i.e. winter pics for winter months) I am not very computer savvy even though im young. Only owned a pc for about 5 months now.

For instance, i don't know what this person is talking about. I didn't know the pics would be more compressed? Why? you can't make them bigger? See what i mean a dummy

And not to be a jerk....BUT i dont see why i should ask anyone for permission to use their pictures. No one is going to see it except for people in my room. What's the big deal? I know i wouldn't care, it would make me feel good.

 

weaverpsu,

Being a visual artist, I can explain why you should get permission to use the pics. They are intellectual property. They are images belonging to the person who made them, and as such, the copyright is implied. In other words, to use another's images without their knowledge is intellectual property theft. It is also considered good form to acknowledge the artist whose work you "borrow," as well. I'd suggest that you contact every person you'd like to "borrow" those images from and ask if they mind. I'm sure most will be flattered, as long as this is only for your personal use and not for commercial use or for profit.

Hope this helps.

Clo/Wanda

 

>>>And not to be a jerk....BUT i dont see why i should ask anyone for permission to use their pictures.<<< Because you don't want to be a jerk, and in your own words, you're dealing with "their pictures", not yours.

>>>No one is going to see it except for people in my room. What's the big deal? I know i wouldn't care, it would make me feel good.<<< I don't want to hijack this thread, so this is not the time or place to discuss the aspects of the proper way to deal with this question. The basic issue is not whether you care or not, but rather if the people who's pics you "borrow" do.

 

Necessary image size for a full sized calendar from digital files would need to be 8x10 @ 300 DPI, minimum. Of course you can interpolate the images in a photo editing program, but in doing so you will encounter crunchiness and image detail loss. The current point and shoot digital cameras in the 5 megapixel range are coming closer to allowing people to have excellent quality 8x10's. But these cameras are still limited by the fact that they are point and shoot cameras, with lesser quality lenses than what the professional diigtal SLR's can offer. And in the end, film is still king at this level.

As far as intellectual copyright and such, unless you watermark the images with your name and disclaimers regarding use, they will turn up anywhere people want them to. And based on the fact that most internet photos are low res files with 72 or 120 dpi, no one will be making high quality prints out of them. My concerns with my images are more along the lines that they will be used in other forums for ill purposes - not financial gain.