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Photographic Contributions for Guidebooks
Photos are best submitted as digital images (see below for technical requirements), but slides/transparencies are also welcome. Please do not scan slides. All slides will be looked after and returned in due course. As normal, photographers will retain copyright on their photographs - we are paying for their use in the guidebook.
We are now collecting photos for a comprehensive Climbers Guide to the Inner Hebrides (excluding Skye). This includes Arran, Mull, Rum, Colonsay, Muck, Eigg, Canna, etc.
If you have any decent action photos for the above, then we would be keen to see them. Portrait (vertical) format or landscape (horizontal) format are equally acceptable. Historical photos (first ascents, aided ascents, etc) are also useful.
If you have any suitable photos which you would like to see in print then please send them to me at :-
Grahame Nicoll
Cranstackie,
St. Mary's Road,
Birnam
Dunkeld
PH8 0BJ
Grahame Nicoll's email: Email
The payment depends on the final size of the photo used and there will also be one free copy of the book. We intend to include a lot of action photos.
Cheers, Grahame Nicoll
Guidance for contributing digital photos
Digital Photographs for SMC guidebooks.
1) Photos from 4 megapixel cameras are adequate, 5 megapixel and above are preferred. Photos from mobile phones are therefore not usually acceptable. Always shoot on the highest quality and the largest image size.
2) We require the original files exactly as downloaded from the camera. Please do not reformat, sharpen, colour or contrast adjust your photos. If you wish to do this to a copy to show us you have a picture with potential, fine, but it is not essential. We want the unadjusted photo taken in highest quality JPEG format. TIFF or RAW formats are also acceptable.
3) Please be selective with the photos you send. Weed out the poor ones, we only want to see the best. And please do not send more than 2 or 3 almost identical shots.
4) Please include name of route, grade, names of climbers and name of person to be credited with the photo. We also require your address and phone no. or email address.
5) We prefer digital photos to be submitted on a CD as some email providers may reduce the file size of your image. However we will accept emailed images if necessary.
Digital photos burned onto a disc and posted.
1) Please be selective with the photos you send. A maximum of about 40 images is usually enough.
2) Please if possible include a printout (any size/any quality/several on a sheet) of your photos. This makes our work a lot easier.
3) The name of the route, grade, names of climbers and name of person to be credited with the photo are best written on the printout.
4) Unfortunately CDs and printouts cannot be returned.
Digital photos emailed.
1) It is important that you email the original unadjusted files exactly as downloaded from the camera. These will normally be between 2mb and about 6mb each. If it is less than 1mb it will not be usable.
2) Please email photos one at a time. ie. each photo attached to a separate message. Your email must not exceed 10mb.
3) Please include name of route, grade, names of climbers and name of person to be credited with the photo in each of your messages.
4) The address to email your photos to is Email
GN 2.11.11
Digital Cameras, an Overview
Digital cameras are useful when you`re climbing, cycling, hiking or mountaineering because you can store large quantities of photographs and often adjust camera settings to different light-levels and weather conditions. They usually store images in JPEG format and JPEG images are made of pixels. The more megapixels a camera has the higher the size and resolution of photos. Try to get good quality pictures without them taking up too much space.
There are 2 different kinds of zoom with digital cameras, optical zoom and digital zoom. Optical zoom magnifies images using a lens whereas digital zoom enlarges a part of the image. This results in a degraded image and isn`t good, so choose optical instead.
Here`s a guide to our 5 favourite digital cameras:
1. Pentax Optio W30, £152.95
If you love outdoor activities the Pentax Optio is the best choice because it`s water resistant. Pentax Optio survives depths of 3 metres for up-to 2 hours; as a result it`s used by the RNLI. It also has face-recognition, auto-focus, digital-shake reduction and Pentax colour rendition.
Specifications: 3x zoom, 7.1Mp, 2.5-inch LCD, SD/MMC memory, 107x54x23mm, 140g
Although waterproof and durable this thing isn`t indestructible so don`t drop it off a cliff.
2. Canon Digital Ixus 950 IS, £225
Image stabilisation makes shaky shots sharper, 9-point autofocus makes images clearer and the zoom is stronger than average too, so this is a good camera for wildlife photography. You can take 140mm photos with this and the image quality is impressive.
Specifications: 8.0Mp, 2.5-inch LCD, 4x zoom, SD/MMC memory, 90x57x26m, 165g
This camera is heavy so don`t drop it, it also doesn`t like getting wet or too hot.
3. Canon PowerShot G9, £267
This is a real `photographer`s camera` it`s also rather chunky. It`s got superb image quality, a 6x zoom lens, exposure and metering options, RAW image capture and more features than any other compact.
Specifications: 6x zoom, 12.1Mp, SD/MMC memory, 3.0-inch LCD, 106x72x43mm, 320g
It`s rugged but it`s also precious so it belongs in a camera case.
4. Nikon Coolpix S510, £110
Coolpix has a 0.7 power-up time and response-priority shooting mode, the shutter lag is a five thousandth of a second and it is good in tons of shooting conditions. With face detection and a slight reduction on shakes it`s a good all round camera; as useful in bars as it is up mountains.
Specifications: 3x zoom, 2.5-inch LCD, 8.1Mp, SD/MMC memory, 88x51x22mm, 125g
Don`t spill your mojito on it.
5. Fujifilm FinePix F50fd, £120
The Fujifilm FinePix has the highest resolution of any Fujifilm camera. It`s great for shooting dramatic shots at dusk because it performs well in low-light conditions. Fully automatic and manual exposure, image-stabilisation and high-quality images all make this a superb camera.
Specifications: 3x zoom, SD/MMC memory, 2.7-inch LCD, 12.0Mp, 93x60x23mm, 155g
The plastic tripod socket seems fragile so it might not last many mountings, be gentle.
If you`re still wondering what digital cameras are best for you, we`ve got other articles that might help.
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