NCWW 2014 Calendar Contest

[cskipper]

I won't be entering anything due to not producing anything interesting this year and my camera has finally got to the point of pure utility without aesthetic appeal. In other words it takes crappy pictures now, white lines through the full width.

i do appreciate the kind words on the collaborative chest and would love to see it on the cover, so many people worked hard to bring it to life.

I think you do not give yourself enough credit for the collaborative chest!

 

[CarvedTones]

Andy just to clear up a little confusion, are you asking that we enter name, location, e-mail, ect in the comments section when a photo is uploaded?

I got that in the boilerplate from years past. That is an interesting question. IIRC, the requirements about the artist and location before came from printers who needed some protection from copyright infractions. If you are a registered member and upload yourself into the proper category, we have all your contact information.

 

[Jeremy Scuteri]

I need to revise this. it was correct, but totally useless. Choose to upload a photo and in the drop down for Category select the appropriate category under the 2014 calendar contest.

I don't see any 2014 calendar categories in the drop down menu. I also don't see any uploaded photos.

 

[ehpoole]

I don't see any 2014 calendar categories in the drop down menu. I also don't see any uploaded photos.

Ron,

I apologize for any confusion as I thought this had already been taken care of so I haven't been following closely. It turns out that the 2014 Calendar upload categories had been created but had not had their upload permissions enabled yet.

You should now be able to upload your photos to the appropriate category(ies) within the "2014 Calendar Contest" using the Gallery's "Upload Photos" feature on the main menu bar.

I also went ahead and closed a lot of the more ancient categories to uploads so that they are not clogging up the list of upload category choices (they can be easily reopened if ever needed).

Please let me know if you encounter any problems uploading your photos as I have not actually tested the new settings.

 

[CarvedTones]

Thanks Ethan. I wasn't sure what the issue is. Since my user type was changed, I have more privileges on the forums and sometimes don't realize things aren't open.

 

[BKind2Anmls]

The only thing I could think of that would be easy is to create a userid and password just for uploading calendar photos. Everyone who uploads would log in as that person.

 

[Berta]

Did you get enough photos for the calendar contest to end, or will you be extending the deadline?

 

[CarvedTones]

Did you get enough photos for the calendar contest to end, or will you be extending the deadline?

Extending or cancelling if we don't get more entries. Right now there are 2 in furniture and that is all.

 

[Berta]

There did seem to be some confusion about how to enter. How about a step by step post and an extension? The end of October?

 

[Jeremy Scuteri]

I think that is a good idea Berta. Given that we aren't physically making calendars, we can make the schedule whatever we want.

 

[CarvedTones]

There did seem to be some confusion about how to enter. How about a step by step post and an extension? The end of October?

Click on Gallery in the bar near the top of page. then click on Upload Photos. In the form, select 2014 Calendar contest and the category from the drop down list for where the photo should be uploaded. Browse to your photo. Fill out the form to give a description. Upload it.

 

[Berta]

Deadline?

 

[CarvedTones]

Deadline?

I guess we can say the end of October, assuming we get some entries.

 

[ehpoole]

Extending or cancelling if we don't get more entries. Right now there are 2 in furniture and that is all.

Andy,

If we can get a new deadline set so that we have something definitive to state, then we (Tracy, Ron, myself... whomever ) can add a notice to the sidebar on each page to help better promote calendar submissions.

Maybe that will help to improve participation some.

I would have suggested this sooner but I've been so distracted by some of my other work lately that I just haven't been following this as closely as I probably should -- I was not aware that participation was so low at this point. Two photos does not a calendar make!

PS - Given that there is no printing deadline this year since it is not a physical calendar product, I would like to second an October 31st deadline as that still gives members plenty of time to vote and the Board plenty of time to compile the winning submissions into a PDF document.

 

[CarvedTones]

Andy,

If we can get a new deadline set so that we have something definitive to state, then we (Tracy, Ron, myself... whomever ) can add a notice to the sidebar on each page to help better promote calendar submissions.

Maybe that will help to improve participation some.

I would have suggested this sooner but I've been so distracted by some of my other work lately that I just haven't been following this as closely as I probably should -- I was not aware that participation was so low at this point. Two photos does not a calendar make!

PS - Given that there is no printing deadline this year since it is not a physical calendar product, I would like to second an October 31st deadline as that still gives members plenty of time to vote and the Board plenty of time to compile the winning submissions into a PDF document.

OK, 10/31 it is and please do promote it. I am somewhat discouraged by the response. In the past, we had more entries when they were going to be printed but few people besides the winners wanted a printed copy.

 

[rcarmac]

Just a suggestions, but maybe promote the prizes as well. What's a contest without prizes. The only thing I can find in the thread is "Gift Certificates". Location and amount of the certificates would generate interest as well.

 

[ehpoole]

OK, 10/31 it is and please do promote it. I am somewhat discouraged by the response. In the past, we had more entries when they were going to be printed but few people besides the winners wanted a printed copy.

I've added the sidebar ad block for this year's Calendar Contest, so hopefully we'll attract more interest. Be prepared to assist users who need help uploading photos to the Gallery for the first time (there are a pair of articles on this subject available in the "Articles/Website How-to's" section -- One by Mike Davis and another by Bas).

If we know what dates the voting will be held from (e.g. Nov 1-14) then I could add that text as well at the very bottom.

And to Robert's comment regarding prizes, if we know what the Grand Prize is I'll see if I can work that in as well to help add more interest. Robert is correct, though, we really need to nail down what the prizes are and insert them into the opening post for this thread.

 

[ehpoole]

Just a followup, have we nailed down any of this info yet so that I can promote it (and hopefully improve our participation levels)?

 

[KenOfCary]

As I recall from the minutes, the Grand Prize for the cover photo is $50 and the 12 monthly prizes, 3 in each of the 4 categories are $25. All will be gift certificates spread evenly between Klingspor and Rick Dinardo's shop in Morseville.

Sorry if I've mis-spelled any of the names.

Generally we allow the winners to pick which gift certificate they would prefer on a first come-first serve basis but either vendor allows Internet orders using the certificates.

 

[ehpoole]

Do we know what period we will be having voting? I'm assuming we'll start Nov 1, but I'm uncertain how long (one week, ten days, two weeks?)

I'll try to work this into the sidebar promo once its all narrowed down. So far it has gained us one additional submission... hopefully more will come in by the end of the month so that we have enough to hold a proper vote.

I was wondering, though, given the low participation so far would it be worthwhile to close the "Cover" category and plan on using Mike's chest project for the cover instead, and perhaps use the money saved to up the size of the Grand Prize to $75-100? Just thinking out loud, but curious if anyone feels similarly. I suspect a larger Grand Prize might help bolster submissions, but I could just as easily be wrong.