|
YEAR
2011 CALENDARS
AND
SANTA FE IN COLOR SERIES VOL 5 - ARIZONA
Updated
12-21-09
NEEDS:
We are looking for sharp, well composed color slides
or digital images of Santa Fe, Union Pacific, Rio Grande, BNSF,
NS and CSX subjects. We need dramatic action shots on
main lines and branches; new, old or unusual locomotives;
passenger or business trains; seasonal views, such as
autumn, summer, winter and spring, and night scenes.
Please, no roster shots. We will produce six calendars for 2011: AT&SF, BNSF, UP, Rio Grande, NS, and CSX.
Specific
Needs:
Santa Fe - System branch lines, fall colors; winter;
views from the 1960's and 1970's; grain, coal and
other unit trains. Please, no BNSF. We really need
photos from Texas, Oklahoma, northern California and
Kansas.
BNSF
- for geographical coverage, we especially need the
Pacific Northwest, the Dakotas, Minnesota, Illinois,
Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Missouri and Wyoming. Photos must
show BNSF units on the point in Heritage I, Heritage
II or Warbonnet paint, but trailing units can be ATSF
or BN. Please, no "patch job" renumbered
units on the point.
D&RGW
- We are usually short of images made in Utah, and we always need winter and fall scenes. We prefer shots taken during the days of the Rio grande, but will consider photos made during the SP era if only Rio Grande units are shown. We would also like to see material made on branch lines. We have never published photos of Rio Grande trains between Pueblo and Kansas City, but would certainly consider doing so. No patched units, please.
Union
Pacific - for geographical coverage, we especially need the
Pacific Northwest, the Midwest, and especially scenes on the former MoPac and Katy lines in Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma. Please, only UP locomotives on the point, but trailing units can be leased units or foreign road. Please, no "patch job" renumbered units on the point. We will consider views of the 844 and 3985 in excursion service and diesel-powered business trains.
Fallen
Flags -
We do not plan on publishing a Fallen Flags calendar for 2011.
Norfolk
Southern - branch lines, winter, fall colors and
new locomotives. We also need slides of the west end
of the system, i.e., Illinois, Missouri and Indiana.
Coverage should include that portion of Conrail merged
into the NS System, however, only NS units on the
point. As a note, we receive a large number of fall shots, which is fine, but often we are often thin on summer views. Coverage should include
that portion of Conrail merged into the NS. [For all submissions, please only NS black/white units; no Conrail units on the point.] We are always short of images of the NS in the Southeast.
CSX
- branch lines, fall colors, winter action. We especially
need the west end of the system, i.e., Illinois, Michigan,
Indiana and Ohio) and the Southeast: Florida, Georgia,
the Carolinas and Tennessee. Coverage should include
that portion of Conrail merged into CSX Transportation.
[For all submissions, please only CSX blue
and yellow units; no predecessor roads or Conrail
units on the point.]
Santa Fe in Color Series, Volume 5, Grand Canyons and Super Chiefs (working title). This book follows in our Santa Fe series and covers the State of Arizona. We have much of the material we need on hand, but we do need slides and images from the following branch lines and main line segments: Lupton to Winslow main line, the Coronado and Springerville Subs (the branch heading south off the main line at Coronado Junction (Navajo) serving two power plants), Williams Junction to Phoenix, Williams to Grand Canyon, Drake to Clarkdale, Abra to Prescott (and Prescott to Skull Valley), Matthe to Parker, and the industrial spurs out of Ennis near Phoenix. We would also like to include something from the now-abandoned Iron King District (Entro to Iron King). We are in pretty good shape on the main line between Winslow and Needles, but if you have something spectacular, we'd sure like to see it.
COVERAGE:
The entire Santa Fe, BNSF, UP, D&RGW, NS and CSX systems
are considered. We prefer photos from areas other
than the super popular locations such as Cajon Pass,
Tehachapi, Horseshoe Curve, Bear Mountain or Sherman
Hill, but if you have something really spectacular or
unusual from these places, we'd like to see it. If in
doubt, send it. Please, no off-line shots, such as
NS locomotives on the UP or UP units on NS. However,
we will consider trackage-rights trains for example:
(BNSF trains on UP's Central Corridor for the BNSF calendar,
etc.).
WHAT
IS A GOOD CALEDNDAR PHOTO AND WHAT DO WE LOOK FOR:
In general, a good calendar photo is a pleasing
view in good or dramatic light; a photo one can look
at on the wall for a month. Because of the visual impact,
overhead views have a better chance at selection than
do "grade crossing wedgies." We usually have
no need for roster views, unless they are in some sort
of dramatic or ususual setting. Though not always possible,
we try to select photos that represent the railroad
geographically and are made during the four major seasons.
Unfortunately, we are usually flooded with great fall
shots and in some cases, we are short on summer and
winter views. Since we cannot use but a few seasonal
views, we will often put blue dot stickers on the backs
of slides we'd like to see again for the following year's
calendars. Historical shots do not necessarily make
good calendar photos. We often get "first run"
or "last run" views of trains on some line,
but unless these views also qualify as a "calendar
shot," they are best left to the news section of
some magazine.
"Busy
scenes" (not "cluttered scenes") have
a better chance for selection than do views where the
train is the only object in the photo. We will usually
reject scenes where the train is very small in relation
to the rest of the scene. For example, a train winding
its way along the floor of a canyon where most of the
scene is canyon and very little is train.
Many
photographers shoot multiple slides of the same scene
using their camera's motor drive. Their submissions
to us often do not contain the "best" compositionof the series, and we understand that. However, we receive
hundreds of slides taken a little too early or too late
and this affects the composition of the scene. Because
of the large blow-up size of our calendar pictures,
we have to use the whole slide and cannot correct composition
problems. We reject many otherwise great photos because
of this. While we do not expect contributors to send
their "keeper" shot, we would like one close
to it.
DEADLINE:
The deadline for submitting photos for the 2011 calendars
is March 15, 2010, but we would prefer receiving your
material during January and February after the holidays.
EMAIL ADDRESS:You must have a valid email address in order for us to consider your submissions, or you must include 60/80 words of caption information about each photo. We do all of our communicating regarding photo information by email (and sometimes by phone) and cannot take the time to correspond by mail when we're running close on printing deadlines.
FILM and DIGITAL:
We can use only original 35mm slides. Please,
no duplicates, prints, color negatives
or medium/large format transparencies. We can
use only horizontal format slides for calendars. No vertical views, please! We
have no restriction as to the film type used for the
original image. We do our own scanning, so the film
is never removed from the original mounts. For scanned slides, send us TIFF scans at 4000 dpi scaled at 100%. We accept
digital images taken with cameras rated at 6 megapixels and up. (We prefer images made with 10 to 12 MP cameras.) For photos made with digital cameras, send us TIFF files measuring 13 inches by 9 inches at 300 dpi on a CD. Please do not send RAW images or JPEG images. We no longer require that you submit separate proofs to accompany your digital images, however, it would be very helpful if the location (city and state) was included in the file name of the digital image. We are receiving more and more digital images every year and we encourage that. The sooner we can get out of handling slides, the better. If you have questions, please call us at 303-456-4564.
MAILING:
We prefer receiving slides in plastic see-through pages.
In that manner, a slide is not touched unless selected
for use or further examination. If you prefer to send
slides in a box, feel free to do so. We will put them
into plastic pages upon arrival and will return them
to you that way. PLEASE GROUP RAILROADS ON SEPARATE PLASTIC PAGES. PLEASE DO NOT MIX MORE THAN ONE RAILROAD ON A SINGLE PAGE. If you mail your slides in plastic pages,
do not cut off the notebook binder holes. We keep your
slides in large notebooks and if the holes are removed,
we just have to transfer the slides to other pages.
Unless other arrangements are made, we will return your
material via USPS first class or priority mail. For
large submissions, we may use UPS or FedEx.
LABELING:
Your photos must be properly labeled as to date photographed,
location, etc., but you need not include captions
unless you wish to do so (See EMAIL ADDRESS above). If one of your shots is selected,
we will contact you if more information is required.
In that regard, please furnish an evening phone
number and email address with your correspondence,
and please be sure your name is clearly
displayed on each slide. We still have slides in our notebooks without names on them!
RETENTION:
We will try to return your material as soon as possible,
but bear in mind that takes several months to produce
a calendar. If we select one or more of your slides
for use, we need them on hand until the calendar goes
to press. If you wish, we can immediately return those
photos we feel we cannot use, but on occasion we'll
change our mind about a slide and use one previously
rejected. If the slide is not on hand, we can't use
it. We will abide by your wishes, of course, but please
realize that we may have to retain your material for
awhile. There also may be times when we may retain your
submission for the next year's calendars if we feel
there might be something we can use. If you wish your
slides back at any time, just say so and we'll return
them. If you change addresses while we have your
slides, be sure to tell us.
PAYMENT:
We pay $75 for each photo used in the calendars. We pay
$100 for a cover shot as it is used twice. In addition,
you will receive 6 free calendars if one or more of
your photos is used (For example, if you have two photos
published in the calendars, you will receive a check
for $150 and 6 free calendars). You also have the option
of buying additional calendars at a 20% discount (Please
enclose $4.75 shipping for one calendar and $1.00 for
each additional). Your free calendars, check, and slides (if any) will be sent to
you as soon as practical (usually in October). Calendar orders from hobby shops and wholesalers
will be filled first.
ADDRESS:
Send
calendar contributions to:
McMillan
Publications Inc.
9968 W 70th Place
Arvada, CO 80004-1622
Attn: Calendar Photos
RISK:
We will handle your material with utmost care. We have
not had a problem with scratching or slide loss, nor
do we anticipate one, but there is always a risk involved
if you or I wish to have our work published. While we
will do everything reasonable to protect your material
from damage or loss, we cannot guarantee it.
Joe
McMillan, President
McMillan Publications, Inc.
|
