2009 Is Coming - Part II

I've been poking around looking at options for having calendars printed. I'm interested in doing some my self, and perhaps selling some custom ones to clients of some photography that I'm doing.

While poking around I've found two more vehicles to have custom calendars printed. The first, VioVio, is my favorite place to have on-demand books printed. I've had a couple of books printed by them and they are of excellent quality and the most reasonably priced of any of the places that I've investigated. The disadvantage with them is that you have to do all the layout yourself if you want a completely customized book with text. They do have a fairly new feature that will layout a book automatically from images that you upload. They even have an interface to take images from your Flickr account. I have not used this feature, so I can't speak to it. As for the calendar, you have to do all the layout yourself, including the month grids, and then choose a calendar binding when you order the product. Not the easiest, but it is an option.

The option that looks like offers the most flexibility is Costco. You upload the images that you want to appear in your calendar. Then, you select the size, 8.5x11 or 11.5x14. You can choose from a variety of styles, or plain if you choose. Then, you select the image(s) for the cover and months. There are several layout options for the cover and for each month. IOW, you aren't limited to one image per month. You can use their layout options, or create a full page layout of your own and use it. You can optionally add text.

The best part? The cost for the 8.5x11 is $9.99 plus tax and shipping. The cost for the 11.5x14 is $17.99. Very reasonable, IMO.

So, now you have even less reason to complain about other calendars and how they are created. Take charge and print your own calendar. I bet you find it a liberating experience.

Orchids

I was fooling around with my new camera photographing one of my wife's orchids. Here are a couple of images. The camera was paid for in part by fractals, so as far as I'm concerned, fractals are far from worthless.

2009 Is Coming

Okay people. 2009 is right around the corner. I can hear the knuckles cracking from those warming up and getting ready to start complaining about the next call for submissions to the Fractal Universe calendar.

Well, you no longer need to complain. You can create your own calendar. I put together a few samples in just a few minutes. You can too.

You can create monthly calendars.
You can create yearly calendars.
You can even create different styles.
The point is, do something.

Don't whine about whether or not the submission process is a contest.

Don't whine about the ethics of the image selection process or the compensation details.

Don't whine about whether or not the images selected are excellent examples of fractal art or are mediocre.

Don't whine about whether or not the calendar publisher operates their business in the manner you think is appropriate.

Just do something constructive and prove to yourself it can be done. Try it. You just might find it liberating.

Find free templates to use. There are free ones available for Microsoft Word. There are free ones available for Photoshop. There are ones available for Lightroom for a small fee. The ones I used are available from Camera's View. Or, make your own. It doesn't matter.

Print the pages individually from your favorite print outlet. Get a poster sized print for the yearly calendar.

If you want to print the calendar and have it spiral bound, why not try Lulu.com? You can print the standard size for $12.72 plus shipping.

You might even be able to sell a few if you print one for yourself and show it to people.

So, the choice is yours. Be proactive and do something creative, or continue to whine and complain about something over which you have absolutely no control and won't change because you decide to complain about it. Chose to do something for yourself, or chose to try to tear down others because you aren't happy about some aspect of the venture.

Go Vote

Tuesday is election day in the US. Make sure you do your civic duty and vote.