Looking through Rudolph & Arthur Covered Bridge (1886)
I have been playing with the idea of publishing a photography book for some time, and after my experience with producing Madison’s 10th birthday gift, I decided to make a first real attempt.
So what was my first real book going to be about?
Looking back at my recent history, it only makes sense that I do something about covered bridges, and I already had the content from the presentation I did back in October 2012 for Citadel bank.
This time is going to be easier from the standpoint that I only had a limited number of pictures, and a layout with the text.
So after a couple of hours, I was able to put the following together using the simple Adobe Lightroom module, and uploading to Blurb.com.
I invite you to take a look, and let me know what you think.
With this first book done, and I’m sure that I’ll revisit at some point, I am beginning to put together some ideas on themed books.
This time, using Blurb’s SmartBook application to put together my next adventure, namely because it seems to offer far more options and controls than what is available in the built-in Adobe Lightroom module.
In the meantime, let me know what you think of the book!
I had been following JPGmag.com on Facebook for some time now, and earlier in the week, I posted a link to some of the contests that they offer, and finally, yesterday, I spent some time investigating what else the site had to offer.
Signing Up
JPGmag is similar to Flickr, in that anyone can join, and for $25/year, you can get unlimited uploads to your Profile, and a number of “Spotlight credits” which are all purchased via PayPal. (One should also be aware that you are enrolled into an automatic yearly renewal, which can be disabled within your preferences.)
Your Profile
Like any other website, you are given an area to create your profile so others can learn more about you if they wish.
There is an optional field that allows one to enter their website, but I have not been able to get it to work or see where the information would be located on the Profile.
I have also tried to add an active link to my website, but the Description field does not seem to recognize the HTML code for a link.
Update – I have been able to get both the Optional Website link and some basic HTML to work within the Description area.
I was very surprised that one can include their Google Analytics code to track your views!
Uploading Images
JPGmag encourages Users to upload images at a minimal of 1000px long-side, and is done via a clean easy to use web-based interface.
After files have been up-loaded, but before Posting, the User is presented with a three tabs to enter Details (Title, Description and Tags); Categories and Geo-tagging.
JPGmag also offers an online editing package, Express by Pixlr, which I have open, but have not used yet.
“Places/Map-It” – Needs improvement
The “Places/Map-It” tab is connected to Google maps, and does leave much to be desired.
You find your location by zooming in/out and panning. There is no place to search by address or enter in GPS coordinates.
I have also tried to edit my “Places” after posting, but have not gotten my place-markers to stick yet, which needless to say, is a real pain.
Flickr definitely has the advantage here.
Now What?
Once you have images on your profile, you can then submit them to the various Themes, Challenges and Contests. (At the moment, there does not appear to be an Adobe Lightroom plug-in, which would be nice.)
JPGmag has many Themes, Challenges and Contests area, that seem to be Member based suggestions versus the “Anyone Can Create a Group” model that Flickr uses.
Theme or Challenge (JPGmag)
One does seem limited to posting one image per Theme or Challenge, and depending on which Flickr group, is rather low, which does reduce the tenancy for someone to ‘spam’ a group with images, but makes it difficult if you have an image that could be submitted to several Themes or Challenges.
Contests (JPGmag)
The Contests on JPGmag are very different from Flickr in that one can actually win cash or prizes!
There are Entrance Fees, but there seems to be a high Entrance Fee to Award ratio – i.e. $5 Entrance Fee for a $1250 Award, then on other internet sites.
Groups (Flickr)
There also does not appear to be nearly as many “Groups” as there on Flickr (“Anyone Can Create a Group” model), and I have not run into a “Post/Award” restrictions, both of which can easily overwhelm a new contributor to Flickr.
100203 Struble Trail 023 (Updated)
Conclusion
I am still within my first 24-hours of starting my membership, and so far “things” seem to be going well.
I have uploaded 22 images, submitted to 3 Themes and have already gotten several nice Comments and Favorites, as well as an “Active Spotlight”.
There is more for me to explore, and I will continue to do so.
