Rfalconcam Forum

The Rfalconcam merchandising team is working on calendars for 2012, and we need your help!  We would like followers of Rfalconcam to submit 1 wildlife picture they have photographed.  Yes, this photo needs to be one you have taken yourself. 

Directions on how to submit your photo will follow.  In the meantime, this gives you a chance to go through your own archives and find us a whimsical, cute, spectacular, unique, or even scary view of the wildlife world.

Thanks for your efforts in this endeavor, and please wait for further instructions rather than posting your pictures here.

Your Rfalconcam Merchandising Team
 

Carrie-- general wildlife (i.e. non peregrine)?

Probably because there were NO babies this year. It's a great idea though!  :clap:

Yes, for this one, general wildlife, non-peregrine.

Sounds like there will be a peregrine one too...maybe no Rochester babies, but plenty of Rochester peregrines...and there were lots of grand-eyases this year...better start saving my pennies!

But there is more to this group than just our primary focus...excellent idea! :clap:

I am so glad to see here that there will be a 2012 calendar.  I just walked past my October page tonight, and it's another beautiful snapshot that became part of the Falconcam calendar.  There have been so many wonderful pictures submitted.   MAK...your latest pic of the juvie black crowned heron must be part of it. I do hope that pics of Quest, Kendal and Harlequin are submitted.     So many talented photographers; so few months on which to print the pictures.    How about one for every day of the year? 

Ok, here are the criteria for the 2012 Wildlife Calendar submissions.  Remember, we are looking for Non-Peregrine photos.

1. Wildlife image for the calendar needs to be a photo that you have taken of animals (mammals, birds, etc.) that are neither human nor domesticated.  Only ONE submission per person.
2. Image must not contain any 'hand of man'. This means no bird feeders, bird houses, fences, telephone poles, building, etc. The spirit of this is to present the animal in its most natural environment. Note: Images CAN be edited to remove hand of man elements.
3. Image should be sent as one of these file types:  JPEG, PNG, TIFF, or GIF
4. Image size should be 2200 x 1700 pixels (11 x 8.5 ratio).
5. Image should be sent to Lou at this email address:  LTCapuano@gmail.com
6. Provide a title and brief description of the image in the note to Lou.
7. Do NOT post your submission to the board.
8. Last day to submit is October 16th, 2011.

Link:
http://rfalconcam.com/imprinting/?p=1542 (http://rfalconcam.com/imprinting/?p=1542)

Can you please clarify the orientation (portrait or landscape)...is 2200 height or width?

Good question, Patti.  We will need "landscape" (2200 width) orientation.  Thanks!

Gee, I don't know what all this is, I point and shoot. How would I know if it's 2200 width? I tried Paint Shop Pro to do my pixels but not sure if the pic is worthy. Will Lou be the judge if the pic meets the criteria? I'm sure a lot of us here are not pixel privy! Is there a sure way to know before we send if it's eligible?

 :ditto:  I'm afraid I don't know how to do these things either! Can Lou fix it for us?  :stupid:

I have enough trouble pointing and clicking :scaredblue:

 :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

One way to check pixel size and dpi is to simply go into explorer, find the file in your folder, and right click on the file name. Then, select 'Properties'. When the properties window opens, go to the 'Summary' tab and it should display your pixel width and length and your dpi resolution.

Your picture needs to be 2200 (width) x 1700 (length) pixels and the dpi needs to be at least 200 dpi. (DPI stands for 'dots per inch' and the calendar maker suggests that images be at least that to have a quality print.)

As far as getting the image to the needed specs, there's several ways to do it - it depends on your picture editing software. There are some free software packages out there to help. Here is a link to a site with a free editing tool that I have used:  http://www.irfanview.com/ (http://www.irfanview.com/)

Lou

Yup, that's what I did and mine was 2200 x 1643 but the dpi was only 96!! grrr

And the simple explanation of Orientation (paper OR photo):
Portrait = Up and Down
Landscape = Sideways
 8)
Carol
who still hasn't mastered the pixel part...

I've received a few entries so far. Keep 'em coming.

I also want to offer my assistance for those who are struggling to get the picture to the needed specifications.  If you'd like me to do an edit of your picture, I would need the original, unedited picture file sent to me by Oct 10th. Just send it to me via email (ltcapuano@gmail.com). I'll make an attempt to crop the image, get it to the appropriate size, and do minor adjustments (brightness, contrast. sharpness) if you'd like. I'll send the edited picture back to you so you can submit it. Reminder: only one picture submission/person.

Note: If there are other folks on the board who want to offer their assistance as well, please post that here!

Thanks,
Lou

Thanks so much Lou, any help is appreciated!

There's still lots of time to submit your wildlife pictures for the 2012 calendar, but I thought I'd send out a reminder because the weekend is here and it's a good time to go looking back for one of your favorites!

Lou

PS Just a reminder that we're looking for wildlife pictures without any hand of man element. In other words, the picture cannot contain anything that's made by us humans. Of course, you might be able to edit or crop out an element that is man made, so that's okay. It's just that the final image needs to exclude stuff like sidewalks, telephone pole wires, etc.

I'm down to 2 finalists...decisions, decisions...

UPDATE: Calendar submission extension

 goodnews:

We are extending the deadline to submit pictures for the 2012 Wildlife Calendar!  The new deadline is Friday evening, October 21st. My computer is on the blink and I need to get it fixed!

 :computer:

Thanks,

Lou

I know the feeling!  :(

Hmmm, I wonder why the deadline is Friday...

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/232554/20111017/harold-camping-world-end-october-21-2011-rapture-doomsday.htm (http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/232554/20111017/harold-camping-world-end-october-21-2011-rapture-doomsday.htm)

Yeah yeah, see ya's! (http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e105/CommentCrazyGirl/Smileys%20Hello%20Wave/Signs%20Goodbye/toodlepeeps.gif) Again!!

 :thanks2: :clap: I needed that! :clap:

Me too!  Thanks for the extra time Lou.  It's interesting trying to pick one that has no "hand of man" in it.  Our wildlife is so merged with us humans. 

Everybody be sure to send in your favorite wildlife picture that you took to Lou by this Friday.   :thumbsup:

Only 1 more day!

Hello,

There's still a lot of members who I haven't received pictures from. Don't worry about the editing.. just find a picture that you like and send me the original, unedited file.

Thanks,
Lou

Wish I'd had the one I took yesterday instead of what I picked through to submit one, sigh.  :crying:

Do you have a voting "committee"?  I didn't see a post about voting.  Any news on when we'll hear anything about the calendar, can't wait :clap:

I was wondering the same thing!  Can't wait to see what's on them and when I can place my order!

Lou posted a comment on Imprints.

http://rfalconcam.com/imprinting/?p=1542#comments (http://rfalconcam.com/imprinting/?p=1542#comments)

I see the 2012 Wildlife calendar is now available but is there going to be a 2012 Falcon calendar too?

Not only available, but I bought 3 last night - 40% off Black Friday and Free Shipping!  :yahoo:

That's odd...I'm with Kris-I only see the wildlife one so far for 2012.

The others that I saw on there that were Falcon calendars were for 2011.

Thankfully I joined FaceBook a month or so ago, I finally found the nature calendar notice on there to check it out.  I haven't seen the 2012 falcon one though.........

I've looked at looked through all the store links and can't find the falcon one.  :banghead: Where did you find it Janet?  :stupid:

CarolP told me there is a falcon calendar in the works. I think Janet is talking about having ordered the wildlife calendar. Maybe they both can comment and set us straight.  :gum:

Due to personal complications, the "Falcon Calendar" is taking a little longer than we had hoped for.  But, we are working on it and hopefully it will be made available soon.  It will be a little different than our past calendars, but I think you'll like it.  We had a little help from our Canadian friends on this one.   ;)

Wildlife - followed the FB link.

If you don't do FB try this
http://www.zazzle.com/rfalconcam/2012+calendars (http://www.zazzle.com/rfalconcam/2012+calendars)

The 2012 Wildlife calendar (http://www.zazzle.com/2012_wildlife_calendar-158126827922299282) is now 'officially' for sale. Finally!  The lateness and the poor communication is all on my shoulders - I had the responsibility for the wildlife calendar and I had some personal things going on in my life that took me away from staying on top of this to the degree that I should have. My sincere apologies for this.

At any rate, I finally managed to coordinate the process enough to get a draft calendar out to the merchandising team for them to look at. They did find a couple of errors on the calendar and so I just now went in and fixed the errors. Note: If you ordered one using the link that had been posted, you will have to re-order because I deleted the draft calendar that someone discovered and provided the link to.

My sincere gratitude goes out to members who submitted pictures; all of you who have anxiously waited for something to materialize have been so gracious and patient. Luckily, I think we have plenty of time to order these as gifts to support rfalconcam.

Thanks,
Lou

P.S. Congrats to Patti in Kentucky for getting the highest scoring entry in the picture scoring process that I coordinated. I used her picture for the cover!

Who are the people that were lucky enough to have their photos included?

Thank you Lou.  Help?!  Nora

I ordered three yesterday and when I go in now it says:

2012 Wildlife Calendar
Two Page, Standard, 11"x17", White
Quantity: 3
Processing

Need to cancel your order?
Sorry, your order can no longer be canceled or modified once it has been processed.
Please Note: Tracking code information for orders shipped with standard shipping may take up to two business days to be received.

If you have any further questions, please contact our support team. Thank you for using Zazzle!

Kris,

The photo credits are on the back cover of the calendar. I chose to not do a voting poll for the calendar. The selection process was one that I stole from the Kodak camera club in which anonymous submissions were rated on a 1-5 scale and in which people could not score their own submission (if applicable). This process seems to be fair for surfacing the pictures that merit the highest photographic appeal and helps avoid selection based on bias or popularity.

Some of the pictures that I received could not be used because they were nowhere close to the minimum specifications defined by Zazzle calendar. Again, my apologies for not communicating more closely with those who submitted those pictures. I will provide individual follow-up to you.

Lou

Nora,

I'm looking into this.

Lou

Thanks, Lou. I see the names now.  I recognize most of the names but Kathleen Rogers and Brigitte Dublin aren't familiar to me. Are they members of the Forum?  Don't recall ever seeing their names or postings unless they're going by a different name on here. Anyone know them? Congratulations to all.  I'm really waiting for the Falcon calendar though.  Is there a chance it will be ready for Christmas orders?

Thank you  :wave:

Lou, I ordered a wad of the "draft" calendars, and my order already says "shipped".  Given that I don't want to spend that much money a second time, what errors am I likely to see?

Patti,
There was a typo in the title of one of the pictures.
Lou

Guess I can live with that, I just got an e-mail that said:

>Hi Annora L Hensley,
Your package (1 of 1) from order 131-55309305-02XXXX has just been made, and we are super excited to get it to you!
The following items have already been packed and queued for shipment...<

That was fast!

Congrats to all who's pic made it on the Calendar! :clap:  (http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp41/dalesdrama/ICONS/Calendaricon.jpg)  Some good shots!

That's what we hope Kris.   :wave:

 :coolphotos:  Yeah, what she said!!!  :clap:

Wonderful!  Can't wait to see more pics of our Rochester Falcons-Beauty, Archer and Unity!

Got my calendars (nature) yesterday.  They look good and thanx for using my pheasant!   :2thumbsup:

So glad you liked it Nora!  Thanks for submitting your Pheasant picture.  It's beautiful.   :clap:

The 2012 Rochester Falcons in Toronto calendar (http://www.zazzle.com/2012_rochester_falcons_in_toronto_calendar-158118029449289907) is now for sale.

We have had the unique and wonderful experience of following our eyases: Rhea Mae (2006), Linn (2007), and Quest (2008), mature into adulthood and raise fledglings of their own. This calendar features pictures of them as eyases and fledglings in Rochester and as adults, along with their families, in Canada. Many thanks to our friends at the Canadian Peregrine Foundation for helping us share this experience.

The Merchandising team hopes you enjoy this calendar as much as we do, and we believe there is still plenty of time to order these as gifts to support rfalconcam.

Thanks,
Dana

 :clap:  :crying:  :wub:

 ???  No Rochester Falcon calendar for sale this year to help support our Rochester Falcon site?

Since we did not have eyases of our own in 2011 and it was such an off year, it was my idea to put together a calendar including "Rochester Falcons" that have left the area and have successfully nested and raised families of their own.  :heart: :wub: :heart: 

My call for help to our CPF friends brought an outpouring of shared pictures of our girls.  Many thanks to all of them.   :clap:

We spent many hours watching them while they were here in Rochester and now as adults in Toronto.

I truly hope that we will have young of our own next year.

I hope that everyone will enjoy this calendar filled with beautiful pictures of Rhea Mae, Linn and Quest and their new families.  I think you'll be very impressed with the beautiful pictures in this calendar.   Thanks.   

 I was an occasional lurker for 2006 and 2007 so am not that familiar with Linn and RM except through long-time members stories.  Needless to say, I'm very disappointed that I will not be getting a calendar this year.

How nice that our friends at CPF helped with pictures!  Just ordered one!

See, I told you we should've made the Empty Nest Box Calendar

It's too bad some members don't feel we have a Rochester calendar this year, but with no babies this year I for one do feel using previous babies and now adults from M&K is a neat idea.  You guys did a good job figuring out a way around the no baby situation yet still tied it into M&K, which I thought was great.  It IS disappointing we didn't have any hatched this year in Rochester, but maybe next year................. :thanks2:

I think what people are trying to say is that there was no Calendar at all for AB C and J back in 2010. There really is no merchandise for them at all. They are the Rochester falcons now. Keep in mind, I love the "Kodak" falcons as much as you all do but we do have new Falcons in town now. 3 of them and an occasional Mr T!

Kaver still rules!  :heart:

They were featured in the 2011 calendar, which is no longer available for obvious reasons.

http://rfalconcam.com/forum/index.php?topic=3764.0 (http://rfalconcam.com/forum/index.php?topic=3764.0)

They were also featured on the 2010 Holiday Ornaments.

http://www.cafepress.com/rfalconcam/6313439 (http://www.cafepress.com/rfalconcam/6313439)

 :notworthy:

I  have been looking at my  2011 calendar - with pictures that I love,  but wondering what would be available for 2012.  So happy to see this new offering.  I just ordered two!  One for me and one for a gift.   
And I just received my new Christmas ornaments.... one of M and K,  one of Quest as baby,   One of Quest with her transmitter, and  one of Beauty with three eggs..... and I did ROC the day yesterday for rfalconacam and for Garth Fagan Dance!

Let's face it this forum depends on what it's members want. Clearly there is more M&K stuff to purchase than there is B&A. Perhaps a poll is in order here to determine where the majority of our forum members stand on merchandise. Would they be more apt to buy M&K items or B&A items. This would be useful in the future success of selling products and giving people what they want. Just a suggestion! At the very least I believe we need to make more B&A merchandise available.  :2cents:

I'm not putting down the calendar-it's very nice but I'm not really familiar with 2 of the 3 Falcons so it doesn't really interest me enough to buy it. And why do we have to tie everything with M&K?  Mariah and Kaver haven't been here in over 2 years and I would imagine that there are many members of this Forum that don't even know who they are. We have 3 resident Peregrines who have been put on the shelf.  No 2011 ornaments of them, no mugs, no shirts, no calendar, etc.  If you go to the stores, the only merchandise that I found to have B&A's pics on are 2010 ornaments. The majority of stuff for sale contains Mariah and Kaver pics or the Rfalconcam logo.  Sure, we all loved M&K but don't you think it's time to move on and make new memories of what we have here now? I think MAK has a good idea that maybe it's time for Forum members to suggest what we want to see in the stores. I would love a mug and mousepad-anything with Archer and Beauty.  It's too bad that Unity is so hard to photograph being she's so far away to see. I hear she's a beautiful Falcon but I've never seen a good closeup of her.

I think with a change to the cover art, the calendar could be re-released for 2012. Lou put together that calendar. He would know best.

Good point.

I think a great calendar would have been pics captured of Archer and/or Beauty and even Mr. T. at the nestbox this year with some of the Forum members captions.  BUT I went back to look at some of them today and all the pics are gone!  What happened to them?  I know that the people who own cameras with the big lenses aren't as interested in Beauty as they were with Mariah but I would think someone has taken some pics of A and B this year on TS building, Wilder building, OCSR, etc that also could have been included in a calendar. Even a distant pic of Unity on the tall stills would have been a good pic to include.

They were taken offline after 6 months so we don't run out of space on the server.

Do you mean like this?

This 2012 Redux Calendar (http://www.zazzle.com/2012_rochester_peregrine_falcon_calendar-158001880890353392) is a makeover of our 2011 calendar, with the exception of a new montage of pictures taken by our dedicated, out-on-the-street, falcon watcher, Margaret! 

Lou

http://www.zazzle.com/2012_rochester_peregrine_falcon_calendar-158001880890353392 (http://www.zazzle.com/2012_rochester_peregrine_falcon_calendar-158001880890353392)

In case you're wondering who Margaret is it's me...MAK! lol  ;D

I didn't mean it should tie in with M&K, but it did and M&K were Rochester.  You weren't familiar with those two of M&K's and personally I don't know the new couple and don't care who, just that it tied it somehow to Rochester.  Guess I should have left M&K out of the comment.  Ok back to my corner.

Lou - I have long admired your photo work, and  you and Dana are long time photographers of our falcons...I trust your work! 

MAK, this was getting too confusing for me to read....I knew I had the calendars, but I new it was you taking the pictures;   love them all!  ...margaret

Just as an aside...I love the montage...perhaps it could be made into a T-shirt design?  And the 2011 montage, for that matter.  One of my regular go-to shirts is the watcher weekend montage you put together, Lou.  Or maybe we could do prints? A confession-I don't really use my home calendar for the dates-I flip around to whichever picture strikes me.  I keep coming back to the montage.  Just a thought.

Okay, Eileen. Easy enough. Here are some new products using your suggestion. 

Female T Shirt (http://www.zazzle.com/2012_rochester_peregrine_falcon_female_t_shirt-235853126535102506)

Male T Shirt (http://www.zazzle.com/2012_rochester_peregrine_falcon_male_t_shirt-235610596172393259)

Also, I added one more (http://www.zazzle.com/rochester_falcon_watcher_im_a_maniac_t_shirt-235290372916404807) based on an email request..

Thanks for the suggestion.
Lou

Very nice!  The anonymous design is great too!   :clap:

I just wanted to let everyone know that I received my Rochester Falcons in Toronto calendar today and I love it.  The quality is outstanding and the pictures came out great.

I was very happy with how it turned out.   :clap:

I also received my Rochester Falcons in Toronto calendars just before CHristmas.  One for me, and one for a friend in Florida.  This is a great calendar with Rhea Mae, Lynn and of course our Quest and Harlequin.
  Great shots and what a wonderful opportunity for Rochester and Toronto falcon lovers to collaborate.  Lovely pictures by all! 
 I only just saw the Wildlife Pictures Calendar thumbnails for the first time today, and they are great as well.  You are all so talented! 

I also received my Rochester Falcons in Toronto calendars just before CHristmas.  One for me, and one for a friend in Florida.  This is a great calendar with Rhea Mae, Lynn and of course our Quest and Harlequin.
  Great shots and what a wonderful opportunity for Rochester and Toronto falcon lovers to collaborate.  Lovely pictures by all!  
 I only just saw the Wildlife Pictures Calendar thumbnails for the first time today, and they are great as well.  You are all so talented!  - Margaret

Thanks for letting us know that you received your calendars and that you liked them Margaret.   :wave: