TAY Calendar - 2009 Photo Contest

I vote only pictures of women. The " Women of TAY" Calendar.
Don't want to see any pics of all you crusty old farts skiing in long johns and shorts!( I incude myself as a crusty old fart!)

I'm in complete, 150% agreement. The only thing is that we're going to have the same three or four women printed 3 or 4 times...

As far as the "hurdles" Charles is referring to, it sounds like those start to pop up further along in the production phase of things. Couldn't we still begin the whole picture submitting/selection phase while we work out the other stuff?

And as for photo guidelines, I've read 3.5 mp. What about content? Do you want people in the shots? Just landscapes and mountains? Sunsets? ect.?

I believe that if you want to be able to accept credit card payments at PayPal, you've got to have a business account.

From what I understand, you don't need a business account, just an account, but there is a 3-5% "merchant service fee." Meaning that 3-5% of the total bill would go to Paypal. You can link Paypal to a website though if that is the way you want to go.

From what I understand, you don't need a business account, just an account, but there is a 3-5% "merchant service fee." Meaning that 3-5% of the total bill would go to Paypal. You can link Paypal to a website though if that is the way you want to go.

Yes, sorry, I think you are right about this. It is confusing on the PayPal site because if you click the "Start accepting credit cards on your website" link in the Personal tab this sends you to the Business section. The charge is 2.9% + $0.30 for smaller monthly transaction levels (<$3000/month).

Couldn't we still begin the whole picture submitting/selection phase while we work out the other stuff?

I know that this is the fun part, but before investing time in photo selection it might be better to have a workable overall plan. Maybe those interested could do some surfing and see what kind of costs could be expected for different sized print runs for a calendar?

I know that this is the fun part, but before investing time in photo selection it might be better to have a workable overall plan. Maybe those interested could do some surfing and see what kind of costs could be expected for different sized print runs for a calendar?

You're absolutely right, but time is running out. I went ahead and started a contest, on the theory that even if the calendar falls through, I can upload the images to Cafepress, Shutterbug, or whatever site we decide is best, and let people buy calendars at cost.

A dedicated print run does sound best. Anyone who can research that would be a lifesaver. Unfortunately, I've been on the road more than I've been home, but I'll look around a little today. I've only got two ski-dates for the long weekend, so that will give me a little more time to research.

I've done some looking around at printers, and the prices range widely. The most affordable printer I could find online was Print Pelican, which doesn't have a minimum quantity, but of course per-unit costs decrease with quantity. Using 100 pound stock, we could print 100 for $660, or 250 for $1277. Switching to 80 pound stock saves a little money, but not much. There's also a $110 "design fee" if you don't use their online calendar creator, which I haven't looked at to see if it's adequate yet.

That's roughly $5 per calendar. If we could sell 250 for $15, that's potentially $2,500 raised on less than $1300 initial investment. If that investment were a donation from a sponsor, that's $3,750 raised. Wow. (Real numbers would be lower due to lost/damaged calendars, unsold stock, etc)

For comparison, I looked at Cafepress's prices. Base price is $15 each, which means to raise any money we'd have to charge $20 each. Selling 250 through them would only generate $1,250, and we'd be charging $5 more per calendar. On the other hand, virtually no work is required.

Anyone know any local printers that might cut a deal? I'd like to check with some stores to see if they'd be interested in sponsoring a print run, but it's Thanksgiving. I'll see if some folks are open tomorrow.

Also thought of a possible solution to the December problem -- we could do a Feb-Jan calendar, instead of a Jan-Dec calendar. It's a bit odd, but hey, why not?

While I appreciate the efforts many have made in sending in photos, it looks like this idea came on too late to be an effective fundraising tool for this winter. I've learned a lot of things, and I think I can do a lot better and raise significant money next year. Therefore, I'm going to do two things:

• Put the winning photos in a calendar on Cafepress, where anyone can buy them at cost (roughly $15 plus shipping).
• Begin preparing for a 2010 calendar that I'll sell next year at a much higher quality.

After many discussions with many different people, I really would like to see this take off as a big fundraiser, but the time constraints prohibit that this year. As they say, you can have it fast, or you can have it done right... The 2009 calendar is hereby officially declared an experiment and a learning experience. The 2010 calendar preparations have begun, and I'll put up more information at the top of this thread soon regarding that.

I don't think I was very clear in the onset about my intention for the calendar, and I apologize for that. Many of the rules were misunderstood, and as a result, I've accepted many photos that didn't meet the rules. Not all the photos shown were taken in 2008, and some people submitted more than one photo for each month. I didn't let anyone have two photos for the same month up, but I did accept them and choose one for the contest. Many of the entries were below minimum sizes for quality printing, and that may show up in the final calendar as well.

So again, my apologies for getting this all muddled, but I've learned a lot and I think next year could be a killer calendar. I hope you all participate and have fun helping me raise money for NWAC next winter!