Want your bike photo on a calendar?

[trbig]

Just to throw this out there....

Why couldn't someone with obviously more computer skills than me... fix something up on here... then people could print them off from their homes. It would sure save on someone else publishing them... plus all the small pics on the people's birthdays.. when you click on them on the comp they could enlarge to where you can see them?? Even the cheap printers out there produce a pretty decent picture...

OK.. don't everybody throw rocks at once... but it is a thought??


Tod

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Tod,

Great idea! I've got a better one, how about we all go to the fabric store, buy the colored thread and make our own patches, the images are right here on the site, why bother having them done professionally, they'll look just as good being homemade. Shouldn't take but a few hours or more to hand stitch the design into the fabric!

I want a nice professionally printed glossy full sized calender to hang on my wall at work!

"Here's your sign"
T.C.

[trbig]

Well.. I don't get the similarities... but I get the vibe. I have no idea why you bring up patches.. we're talking calendars. My printer can't make a patch.. but it can dang sure make an 8x10 glossy photo out of anything with enough pixels and some photo paper. Sorry... I was just trying to think of an option that wouldn't cost so much...


Tod

[MAXIMAN]

Originally posted by trbig
My printer can't make a patch.. but it can dang sure make an 8x10 glossy photo out of anything with enough pixels and some photo paper. Sorry... I was just trying to think of an option that wouldn't cost so much...


Tod

No doubt.

I thought it was a great idea. Desk top publishing is very high quality today and very common.

Kudos Tod

[TopCatGr58]

I wasn't trying to piss you or anyone off!

Hey Tod,

I tried to put several of the smilies in that message, wish we had a tongue in cheek one. I was just drawing the parallel between a professionally made calender vs. printing one at home, like having the patches made vs. doing your own crosstitching!?

Part of the problem is in storing the files. For decent high resolution photos for 8x10 or larger printing, the photo files are over 3 MB in size each, whereas the ones we've been posting are only 100-300kb, only 1/10th the data size! Also, the size of the printing paper for a combination of the image and the calender grid section is also much larger than what is readily available.

I'm sure E. Liberty will shop around to find the best prices he can find to try to keep the production and therefore the final selling price to a reasonable level. But it IS a custom piece of work, possibly only a 100 or so printed, vs. the thousands or more that are done for the ones you can buy in the mall!

So....I'm willing to pay a bit extra for a custom calender displaying the power and glory that is XS11. I do print my own photos on photo paper at home, but they are only 3x5, or 5x7, and even 8x10. I just don't want to go trying to tape and staple them all together to make a hanging calender!

Like you said, you need enough pixels=resolution to make them look decent when printed in 8x10 or larger. I'd be sure to assume that the owners of the photos you want to use would be willing to send you the high res versions. I just don't know if many of the folks have ISP server space to post the FULL RES photos on, and provide D/L links for them?? I also don't know if there are public file storage places where they could be sent for everyone to access to D/L??

I'm all for do it yourself when you can. Maybe Maximan can help figure out the logistics for storing and accessing files? It's just that Liberty offered to put this thing together, I can realize the amount of computer work it will entail to get it done right, just didn't want him to have his idea shot down for the sake of saving a few bucks! You decide!
T.C.

[MAXIMAN]

Whoa Whoa Whoa...don't get me involved in this.

I just thought it was a good idea. However what is the limit at photobucket? I bet you can store enough there...maybe in two or three accounts.

But I'd just as soon buy a quality calendar too. I bet a calendar like that would burn a full color ink cartridge on this HP9650. And those things "AIN'T" cheap.

[trbig]

Seems like you are pretty bound and determined to do it how you planned anyway... was just trying to give options. Someone good with Excel or Photoshop could make something as nice as any professional place could. When they got it all together, burn the file onto a disk and send out to whoever wants one...like Andrew and I did after the Oklahoma XSessive meet. Way too big to email that file.... but cheap to send. What's a CD.. a dime?? If you used 11x17 paper to print it on, using one month per half page... fold it in half, staple at the crease.. and you have a calendar just like every other one. Most free emails can send and recieve up to 10mb files and will store 1 Gig. My 5 Megapxel camera's files are in the 1-2 MB range, so that's a whole lotta pics it could hold.... run out of room? Make another account.
I can see your point about too much bandwidth use for full sized pics on the calendar on here... but you could use the smaller ones for that.. just to look at for reference. Other photos look pretty good in here.. they just wouldn't look great at 8x10 size if you were to print them.

Anyway... like I said, it appears your mind is set on paying someone else to do it, so it's a mute point. I was just trying to point out that there were other cheaper options that would look just as nice. It was just a suggestion for you to take or leave as you wish. With replies like I got, I'll be really quick to send any more.

Tod

[Special Ed]

Of course you can download photos and print them out yourself, and make a do-it-yourself calendar, a one-of-a-kind coffee table book, greeting cards or anything else you want. and save the $15 to $25 it would cost for an “official” XS11 2008 calendar. Of course the time spent, and the ink and the questionable quality of the printing…
The latter isn’t intended as a slur, it’s just that one of the things that impressed me when I studied digital photography is just what a difference the printing made. My photo of the “Surfing XS11” when printed out on good quality simi-gloss photographic paper is really impressive (if I do say so myself) compared to seeing it at 72 dpi on the computer. Unless you have a top-of-the-line printer and expensive paper I doubt that you would get the same quality results that I hope to deliver with these calendars. Part of what I hope to do is to distribute these calendars to the Yamaha dealers in order to bring attention to these bikes and new members to the web site.
I may make all these photos available to everyone to print out as they choose. But this gets into a legal area: namely that of publishing rights. Would any knowledgeable person care to comment?
Let me say here that I really appreciate the faith that my XSive brothers and sisters have eXpreSsed in me. I hope to create a product that we can show to our friends, family, and Harley riding brothers and sisters of the road with pride. I truly believe that we own one of the greatest motorcycles ever built!
E.Liberty

[MAXIMAN]

Originally posted by E.Liberty
I truly believe that we own one of the greatest motorcycles ever built!
E.Liberty

And the crowd ROARS!!!!!!!!!!

Preach it brother Ed.

[TopCatGr58]

Status Report??

Hey Ed,

Have seen you on lately, so wanted to check to see what the status is on the Calender Project?? Do you have enough quality sized photos for a whole year or even an 18 monther??

T.C.

[Jerry]

Guys, I would like to point out that Microsoft Word has a variety of calendar templates, and it is pretty easy to create your own calendar (whith photos) in either a vertical or horizontal format. You can pick your own starting and ending months, making the calendar as long or short as you want it to be. If someone wants to take the time of putting a calendar together and posting the link to it here, everyone who wanted one could print off what they wanted. A quick example:

June 2007 Calendar (Word Doc)

Several other styles / options available. This one happened to be landscape, other have portrait with photo at the top. Some templates are free, others are pay-for, but a lot of calendar options are out there for the do-it-yourself calendar creator.

Or save file as a .PDF file for faster downloads and viewing. Don't know that we have to go to a lot of desktop publishing; could even make a calendar from a specific event, year, model (anyone for an XJ calendar?) options bounded only by your imagination.

[Special Ed]

Calander

Sorry, my dinosaur of a computer had a problem with that link, so I haven't seen it, but I've got the idea. Like I've said, anyone can do their own calendar on line, or with photoshop. I could (and may) do an "E.Liberty XS11" calendar and just show my own bike, me, my dog, and the rest of my family. I could get them printed up for $30 bucks a pop and give them out as Christmas presents. Any one of you could do the same.
I want to create a uniform, "official" calendar with at least 12 bikes representing the gamut of maintained, restored, and modified XS and XJ models.
Alas, I have received only two submissions. My computer was down for a while, and one must keep on keeping on, making mulah to pay bills, etc. I keep meaning to email those who have posted photo's to Hobbyman's thread to ask them to send me photo's, but like I said...
I'll try to contact people, but if I don't get pics I just might have to do the "E.Liberty XS11/family dog" calendar. Knowhatimean Vern?
E.Liberty

[Pain]

Re: Calander

Originally posted by E.Liberty
"official" calendar with at least 12 bikes representing the gamut of maintained, restored, and modified XS and XJ models

I have a fair number of interesting pics, but my bike is certainly not maintained or restored. I might be modified, but mainly it is dirty.

Still, the rustic road thread (in ride reports, or the link in my sig) has some, and there are more at xspain.smugmug.com. Higher res pics avail upon request.

[Mathh]

what is the correct email adress to send pics?

[Pat Kelly]

Only 2 photos sent ??
I'd have thought you'd be flooded so I didn't send one.
I'll clean the LG and send one. What kind os background and lighting would you like for a black bike?