Here we answer your questions about how and where to submit images for
publication:
We would love you to contribute your pictures to the Gallery. If you would like
to do so, please bear the following in mind:
- We need 3 files for each image: i.e. the picture, a thumbnail and a
description. See below for details.
- Stick to the standard image formats defined below. We don't
want formats that can harbour malicious code, or that most people will not be able to view
anyway. Many readily available programs, including Paint, can generate jpg
output.
- File sizes need to be kept within reason. You wouldn't like to wait for
interminable download, so don't put others in that position. If however you
have accomplished a true high-resolution stunner, you can negotiate this
point on a case-by case basis. Larger files can be accommodated for Canopus,
but we still want the 3 files mentioned... add an "L" suffix to
the filename if you supply an additional full-size image.
- Pictures need to be cropped properly to frame the subject. A huge expanse
of black with a little white dot off the screen on the bottom right is
ludicrous.
- The filenames must be according to the format below. A long name with
illegal characters that will cause problems for the average file system, is
not acceptable. So please stick to the rules; we don't want to receive
something like "John&Mary's wow! star
party @ the lake #52.paintprogram"
- If you submit something to us, you are stating that you own the copyright
and giving us permission to use it
however we please. It could be published here on our web site, in the
Canopus newsletter, used for brochures or whatever.
- There are no guarantees that any image submitted will necessarily be
published
- Remember that we cannot prevent people anywhere in the world from
extracting your images from a web page; if they do so, it's because you lost
control of your intellectual property by placing it here. What you can do is
watermark your images with a decent image processing package. The watermark
will survive even quite complex manipulations of the image, yet will be
imperceptable to the viewer. This is your business.
|
The main image file |
Thumbnail image file |
Description file |
| Filename
format * |
SUBJ_yymmdd_intl_##.fmt |
SUBJ_yymmdd_intl_##.jpg |
SUBJ_yymmdd_intl_##.txt |
| Size |
Not greater than 640x480
Keep it as small as possible,
commensurate with the actual image quality. |
Not greater than 300 pixels
on its larger dimension |
Like a woman's skirt, this
should be "Long enough to cover the subject, but short enough to
retain interest". |
| Notes |
Crop, crop, crop!
Do all your processing first
|
If the main image is good,
this should automatically be fine too
|
This MUST be in plain text
form (e.g. from MS Notepad).
Tell us more about the...
-
Subject itself,
-
Conditions at the time
-
Equipment & materials
-
Techniques employed
|
* Where:
|
|
= |
the subject, e.g. Mars /
Vtransit / NGC5019 / M42 / ScopeX, etc.
Try to keep this to 6
characters or less
|
|
|
= |
the date that the
picture was taken |
|
|
= |
your initials. 3
characters should surely be sufficient |
|
|
= |
a sequence number, in
case you submit more than one image where the other details will be the
same (e.g. time-lapse sequence of a transit of Venus, or an eclipse).
Let's not fool ourselves. If
you send us 328 pics, we're just not going to look at them all, so just
because your camera can take an AVI, doesn't mean a thing to us.
|
|
|
= |
the usual suffix denoting the image
file format (jpg or fits only)
|
|
