The Official 2019 Calendar Contest

[wheatonFJR]

No, there's not going to be a theme. Diversity is one of the things that makes the calendar great.

And the only one who is going to really know if your photo is current or not is you.

Here, here! Tim's got eight rules. I love the KISS system. (Keep it simple stupid) Now where the f@@@ is my calander? The damn Pony Express hasn't made it to Abercrombie yet.

The South Carolina moonshine wagon made it to Travelers Rest and also dropped off the excellent calendars on Christmas Eve.

[Madmudder]

No, there's not going to be a theme. Diversity is one of the things that makes the calendar great.

And the only one who is going to really know if your photo is current or not is you.

Here, here! Tim's got eight rules. I love the KISS system. (Keep it simple stupid) Now where the f@@@ is my calander? The damn Pony Express hasn't made it to Abercrombie yet.

Patience grass hopper

[Hppants]

Patience for me too. Update on the tracking says 12/28. We will see what Friday brings...

[Auburn]

Just got my calendar - looks great! thanks for the putting together again.

[Cav47]

Hung mine up in the new office today. Not totally happy with the placement, but the quality of pics is the best yet. The bar has been raised for sure.

As for the placement, I don’t want my new boss thinking all I am doing is looking at FJR pictures and planning trips. Lol.

[gixxerjasen]

I got home and was looking through some boxes of stuff I'd ordered that came in when my wife said "Oh, your calendar came in, it's over there." Woohoo, sat down and thumbed through it. Going to be a good year and having it will remind me to take better trips and better pictures this year.

[Uncle Hud]

So, BMW sales are up (see other thread). How are calendar sales? Good? Just OK? Better than 2018?

If you say, “Confidential,” and respond from Bermuda .... well ... make sure to use sunscreen.

[DesignFlaw06]

So, BMW sales are up (see other thread). How are calendar sales? Good? Just OK? Better than 2018?

If you say, “Confidential,” and respond from Bermuda .... well ... make sure to use sunscreen.

We sold 8 fewer calendars this year than last year. Perhaps because I didn't offer the Premium variety year or because the cost jumped up $2 per calendar. My costs are still covered and there's some money left to throw into site improvements or hosting. But the trip to Bermuda had to be canceled.

I don't recall hearing a lot of feedback about the premium calendar vs the standard one. Is it worth the extra cost? The premium version has a different aspect ratio than the standard one, meaning it requires two sets of artwork. Some of the images just didn't lend themselves to getting them to work on both standard and premium this year. I was also running out of time, which is why the premium version wasn't offered.

My plan for next year is to come up with a template that will help with weeding out images or getting them on the site in the same way they'll appear on the calendar. Some might not be voted as high when people realize half the bike gets cropped out during the actual print. If there is still enough interest in the premium, I'll make a template where images will work for both.

Also, what are the thoughts on allowing more than one submission per user? We had 17 more photos than last year, but 16 of those were 2nd submissions. Of those 16, only 3 made it above the red line. We had 916 votes this year, but 376 of those votes were for 2nd submissions. Last year had 703 votes over 21 images, averaging 33 votes per image. This year, we averaged 24 votes per image, indicating a decrease in participation. There were 9 people who submitted last year that did not submit this year. There were 11 people who submitted this year who did not submit last year. Submission interest seems to be there, but I was hoping with the added work I put into the site, voter turnout would be a bit higher. It isn't a wasted effort, since it makes my life easier, but maybe there's more to do that will boost that number.

[wheatonFJR]

I liked submitted two...actually, my "second" submission earned a higher score than the other. More choices are good! Love the Calendar! My son was hoping for another one this year, so thanks for your efforts!

[Festus]

I think it might have been because before the one last year, the other forum was melting down and there was a rush of people here. I haven't visited that site in more than a year now, so I don't know if it's settled down or not, but I suspect it has and a lot of those people came here and then when the other site didn't die (when they were having hard drive problems), that people just migrated back to what they were comfortable with.

[BkerChuck]

I liked the larger "premium" calendar and would have purchased one again this year had it been offered. This was my first time submitting photos for the contest and while I didn't make the top 12 I still appreciate the fact one of my pics is on the cover art. I like the idea of 2 photos per entrant. I think this allows for more opportunity to get your bike featured and also allows us to pic photos from 2 different seasons or events that have meaning to us. I thought there were a lot of great shots submitted and it's a shame they can't all make the cut.

I've learned I need to practice and become a better photographer as some of you folks are incredible! Going forward I will make sure to reset the resolution setting on my camera to take higher resolution shots more often. I would just attribute the changes in participation levels to the everyday changes of life. Perhaps some of last years folks had family issues, job changes, moves, etc. that we may not all know about? No matter, the calendar is a great idea and now that I've thrown my hat in the ring by submitting pictures I have yet another reason to go out and ride.

[Hppants]

I agree with BikerChuck, re: everyday changes in life. For myself, I just didn't get as much of a chance to put my bike against a canvas to shoot. Also, IIRC, the contest started a bit later than prior years, and that at least has to account for something. Stay with the 2 submissions per user, IMO.

Regardless - it takes a lot to do this, and we are grateful, Tim.

[raYzerman]

I would re-proportion (zoom out) a tad to show more of canvas and not make the bike quite so prominent in some of the photos. But, good as is too.

[gixxerjasen]

Seems pretty simple to me, specify an aspect ratio and minimum size and let us go crazy this next year. Maybe do it early on so folks can start playing with how they take photos early on so they are prepared.

[Auburn]

I prefer the premium calendar. I bought the other one since that was all there was. Hopefully that will be an option next year.

[Auburn]

I would re-proportion (zoom out) a tad to show more of canvas and not make the bike quite so prominent in some of the photos. But, good as is too.

Agreed, the bike is the most important part, but the canvas tells the story of the adventure the bike is on which is very important also.

[ionbeam]

I would re-proportion (zoom out) a tad to show more of canvas and not make the bike quite so prominent in some of the photos. But, good as is too.

Agreed, the bike is the most important part, but the canvas tells the story of the adventure the bike is on which is very important also.

Perhaps a short caption of where the picture was taken if not obvious, what the background canvas is if not obvious, and maybe note that the picture was taken something like 1k - 3k miles from home. My 2018 entry was taken 1.2k miles from home, but my 2018 entries were a dull and unexciting ~200 miles from home.

[bungie4]

I'd like a little caption specifying location.

Banff, Gunnison, Wytheville...

[ionbeam]

The caption may not have to make it to the calendar but it would be nice to see here in the Forum so we know where those verrrrrry intttteresting pictures were taken.

[Hppants]

Often scenic calanders have a caption of where the image was taken. Good idea!

Regarding aspect ratio, nope. Let the artist present his/her work and let the masses judge for themself. Minimum resolution is another matter. Ya can’t do anything with a thumbnail.