Want to share your best marathon swimming photographs for an MSF swimming calendar?

loneswimmerloneswimmer IrelandCharter Member
edited November 2014 in General Discussion
Forum member @JenA contacted @evmo & I recently about the possibility of creating an MSF calendar, something which had already been on my mind. I know I'm not the only photography enthusiast on the forum and we have at least one ex-professional.

Would people be interested in such? And, if you are, do you have any photographs you'd like to submit to be considered?

What we'd like to do is print 12 to 13 best shots (12 months and possibly a cover) to make a 2014 2015 calendar. I'm going to co-opt @JenA to help out.

Obviously we'd need a provider where the cost would include shipping from origin to individuals rather than going through one of us. The impetus behind this calender is to help offset some of the site's operational costs while putting together something unique and of interest to swimmers and members. Therefore the cost will include the unit, the shipping and some amount to site operational costs. We will be transparent and publish all costs and returns to the site. No profit will accrue to any of us.

Your photos will remain your copyright. If we get this working and we have a process, you will retain ownership and copyright of your images, you just allow us to use them for this one project. We will not use them for anything else. Each image will have a title and the photographer's name.

Therefore it is absolutely essential that you only submit any images to which you either have copyright or have permission to share with us.

The quality of the image needs to be sufficient to enlarge to 8"x10" (A4) which requires a resolution of 1536 x 1024 pixels minimum (anything shot on a 6 mega pixel camera or above). Crop format should 3:2 (normal) or 4:3 (but not 16:9 or any other long formats). Ideally a calender would be better with either all landscape or all portrait orientation but if interested please submit both landscape and portrait orientation and we can decide. If necessary we may be able to mix orientations. For the first attempt we will not limit the images to those taken in 2014.

The subject can include anything related to marathon swimming: Swimmers, boats, crew, gear, and locations. Colour or black and white. Please include any description to help us understand. (As an amateur photographer I will be just as interested in the technical details and constraints). It can be your own swim or someone else's.

Right now, I think once we have a range of submissions, we will endeavour to make a selection and we may co-opt a few more of you to aid in that process. We're not going to post the images under consideration on this thread, as we'd like people to be excited to see the final product (fingers crossed).

[submission page expired]

loneswimmer.com

Comments

  • SuirThingSuirThing Carrick-on-Suir, IrelandMember
    OK I have one .... hardly a great photo, but then I'm no photographer. It's a picture of you during your Clonmel to Carrick, with Owen in front in the kayak and your son running along the bank, as ye pass Kilsheelan cemetery.

    My big difficulty is choosing a title. I'm caught between "Swimming Is Living"
    and "Living Is Swimming". Or if I was being a bit more colourful - "Get Busy Swimming Or Get Busy Dying"

    Taken with an I-phone so no hope of selection, but I'll enter it for the craic.

    Opinions on the title welcome ....

    I tried to convince myself, but, orange flavour electrolyte, mixed with hot chocolate,
    tastes nothing like Terry's Chocolate Orange ....

  • TheoTheo Oxnard, CAMember
    Sounds good to me. I am sure I can come up with a few for consideration.
  • IronMikeIronMike Northern VirginiaCharter Member
    What we'd like to do is print 12 to 13 best shots (12 months and possibly a cover) to make a 2014 calendar. I'm going to co-opt @JenA to help out.

    I'd rather have a 2015 calendar. ;)

    Seriously, though, I'll buy one, but I'm a crap photographer.

    We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams

  • JenAJenA Charter Member
    I'm really excited about this project, and am looking forward to having calendars motivate me at work, in my kitchen, etc. :-)

    Personally (although the decision-making process should be interesting!), I'm less interested with technical photography stuff, and more interested in pure-hearted swimming awesomeness. :) Along the lines of a shot of @pennypalfrey in the dark, wading ashore after her Caymen island swim, or @jackiecobell's look of fatigue? Or any anonymous swimmer with a mile-wide (knot-wide?) grin at the end of their swim?

    I wonder who will get to be "the original" Mr/Ms July? (or whatever month is deemed most enviable) :-)
  • malinakamalinaka Seattle, WACharter Member
    I nominate Harris Silver's photo (any one of his choosing) for this. @david_barra, let him know I said so.

    I don't wear a wetsuit; it gives the ocean a sporting chance.

  • JenA wrote:
    I wonder who will get to be "the original" Mr/Ms July? (or whatever month is deemed most enviable) :-)

    What I wrote but didn't post to Spacemanspiff on his thread...

    "Your profile picture always made me think you were the guy from the old Cracker Jacks commercials.
    Your selfie looks like you're Mr. July for the NYFD calendar!"

    But alas, the reveal is now off. Sorry, SMS!

  • JBirrrdJBirrrd MarylandSenior Member
    Love the idea. Please consider including that shot of Anthony McCarley on the beach after successfully crossing the EC on his second attempt. I would submit it, but I do not own the rights. I know who the photographer is but he's prob. not an MSF member. May I submit it on his behalf if he says it's ok? He gave me permission to use it my collection of swimmer pix w/ inspirational quotes. ANNDN3KYF0HO.jpg
  • SharkoSharko Tomales BayGuest
    One of Sharko's longer training swims..
    FTNV3ILGCN3K.JPG

    "I never met a shark I didn't like"

  • loneswimmerloneswimmer IrelandCharter Member
    edited August 2014
    Copyright is really important to (most) photographers, especially if the image is going to be used in any commercial way. But we do not have any funds to pay for any images nor is it likely there'll be a lot of sales, and no subsequent royalties. Anything that gets used, is based on the goodwill of the members and photographers.

    To consider any photograph, regardless of how good or how personal the subject, we would need to hear directly from the photographer giving us permission. This is no reflection on any member! Each image will be credited to the photographer who took it.

    Also, while we will allow watermarks, aesthetically they'd need to be subtle but this was something I'd planned to go into further with the photographers when we have a final selection and need full size images.

    Oh and @IronMike, yeah, how did I miss that? Thanks.

    loneswimmer.com

  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited August 2014
    That photo of Anthony... just wow. Speaks more profoundly by itself than any inspirational quote ever could (as the best photos always do).

    I am reminded of @malinaka's recommendation url="http://andrewswims.com/take-it-too-far/"]source[/url:

    Never read motivational posters; they are the worst.

    Now that is an inspirational quote ;)
  • JBirrrdJBirrrd MarylandSenior Member
    I agree. What a powerful image. The response to it from swimmers and non-swimmers on both Anthony's and my FB pages has been incredible. In my opinion, the picture of course speaks for itself, but knowing that this was his second attempt after being pulled a mile from France on his first swim made this particular image golden.

    I personally like inspirational quotes, so agree to disagree on that note. Quote or no quote, I do think people would like knowing the back story on each picture included in the calendar. Hopefully, we can figure out a way to incorporate those inspirational stories (short blurb) of each swimmer featured in the calendar.
  • HaydnHaydn Member
    edited August 2014


    [img][/img]TJ5VUURJKG2S.jpg
  • @Haydn this photo should be Mr July. :)
  • JenAJenA Charter Member
    edited August 2014
    @Haydn, I love this picture. We are getting an over-representation of single arms photographed artistically in recovery. :-) Diversity of photos is good!

    A reminder that @loneswimmer proposed: "The subject can include anything related to marathon swimming: Swimmers, boats, crew, gear, and locations. Colour or black and white."
  • heartheart San Francisco, CACharter Member
    S7WMLVZRMGA6.png

    The end of the Portland Bridge Swim. Photo credit: Marisa Frieder. In the kayak: Kyle Sheehey. Butterflying: yours truly.
  • loneswimmerloneswimmer IrelandCharter Member
    I'd like to remind you all of what I requested in the first pic. Please don't post the images in this thread. I would like to keep the submissions private and in hopes to build anticipation for a final product. This will be very much reduced if the images are already all public.

    We're off to a good start (almost 40 images received) in what we've received through the submission page, please continue to do so. Thanks all.

    loneswimmer.com

  • mpfmarkmpfmark Teesside England Charter Member
    2 images via form as requested
    I have a lot of catching up to do here !!
  • Sorry, Donal, but my picture is old and not to modern standard for a calender. And why Mr July? Leprechaunturd. It was September. Best panda eyes ever having just done the Channel backstroke.
  • loneswimmerloneswimmer IrelandCharter Member
    edited August 2014
    Thumbnails or avatar sized pics are impossible to really see properly.

    For anyone considering submitting a pic for consideration, we don't need a full size image, but we do need a minimum size, say 300 pixels on the shortest side if its a landscape or prtrait, 500 px if it's square.

    loneswimmer.com

  • loneswimmerloneswimmer IrelandCharter Member
    Bumping this for possibly the last time. We've received about 40-odd images. A lot are swimmer's arm over water. It's swimming so this shot is the standard, and doing it well is harder than it seems. However as I said previously, I'm looking for other images also of marathon swimming.

    Please consider anything. I can help people with post-processing whether to improve sharpness, straighten horizons, improve colour, or better cropping and composition.

    loneswimmer.com

  • ssthomasssthomas DenverCharter Mem​ber
    @lakespray- did you submit pictures? I know you have a lot of really good photos that aren't just swimmers with arms over their heads. @fil: did you send in the picture of Bill and Ryan in the boat at Memphre, with Bill bailing out the boat with the boot? It's a classic crewing photo!
  • lakespraylakespray Senior Member
    @ssthomas yes I did, when the call was first made.
  • JimBoucherJimBoucher Senior Member
    Sent @loneswimmer a link by email for some higher resolution pics from the 2014 Gulf of Toreonos Swim (26km) in Nikiti, Greece, the country who invented the word "Marathon". Boucher+1.jpg. Not sure about the bloke in shamrock jammers but the vestal virgins might add something to the Miss July slot.
  • There's no way those shorts are FINA approved Jim!
  • mpfmarkmpfmark Teesside England Charter Member
    Sorted D. Are you getting closer to choosing the images for 2015 calendar ?
  • loneswimmerloneswimmer IrelandCharter Member
    @lakespray, can you resend your images? I didn't get them.

    @mpfmark, no. Still working trying to get enough quality images of different subjects,perspectives and regions for further discussion.

    loneswimmer.com

  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    @lakespray we got your photo submissions -- no need to resend. thanks.
  • IronMikeIronMike Northern VirginiaCharter Member
    OK, uploaded one that I think meets all the requirements (size/orientation). I don't have access to my home computer now so had to get the picture from my blog. Let me know if I dorked it up.

    We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams

  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    @Loneswimmer, what is the deadline for submissions on this?
  • loneswimmerloneswimmer IrelandCharter Member
    I think we'll wrap it up in the next couple of weeks. 10th October I think. We had quite a nice bunch of submissions last week or I'd have closed it earlier.
    mpfmark

    loneswimmer.com

  • loneswimmerloneswimmer IrelandCharter Member
    FYI, we've had about 200 images submitted and are now in the hoped for but difficult position of choosing images. Thanks all.
    evmo

    loneswimmer.com

  • Can we view the top 20-30 on say flikr and vote or express preference?
  • loneswimmerloneswimmer IrelandCharter Member
    Folks, Just to let you know. While I do have a shortlist of suitable images, I've however been both ill and lacking time for the past few weeks and unable to do anything in finding a supplier. if anyone wants to help on this it's the only way we'll have something. The supplier needs to be able to ship to international locations from a created "project" from which individuals can order and pay.

    loneswimmer.com

  • mpfmarkmpfmark Teesside England Charter Member
    Depending on the specifications my employer can sort it. I can do the posting. Just need to sort the finer points.
    lakespray
  • IronMikeIronMike Northern VirginiaCharter Member
    Hope you're well now @loneswimmer.

    We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams

  • loneswimmerloneswimmer IrelandCharter Member
    @Evmo & I think we might have a solution. @Mpfmark, if I get stuck I'll let you know.
    mpfmark

    loneswimmer.com

  • IronMikeIronMike Northern VirginiaCharter Member

    OK, this is one of the neatest pictures I've ever seen of OW:

    loneswimmerJSwimheart

    We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams

This discussion has been closed.