HOW TO SUBMIT MATERIAL TO THE

BLACK SWAMP MODELERS WEB SITE

Okay, you're either a member of the International Plastic Modelers Society who builds non-mainstream subjects or you're not in the IPMS but did win the coveted Black Swamp Modelers trophy. Those qualifications make you a Black Swamp Modeler, the principle benefit of which is the privilege of contributing photographs of your work and other materials to this web site. How to do it, you ask? Here's what we'd like to have from you:

Photographs

There is a lot of helpful information on the actual process of taking digital photos in the FineScale Modeler magazine article, "How to photograph your models in the digital age" by Mark Thompson. Here's a link to the article: http://www.finescale.com/fsm/default.aspx?c=a&id=2486. We'd prefer that you submit your digital images in .jpeg format because they're easier to publish on the web site. We can edit them if necessary but would rather you do it yourself. That way you'll be able to get the most visual information about your model out to the public.

The process really starts before you take the picture. Most models benefit from a neutral background. A model of the USS Enterprise from Star Trek isn't going to fair very well if it's placed in front of the rhododendron bushes in your back yard. We've used felt cloth and craft paper for most of our photos.

Try to get in as close as you can when you frame your photos. You'll be sending us more model and less background, which must be cropped out so that we can get as many photos as possible on your page. For that reason we frequently have to reduce the size of a photo. If the photo was as tight on the model as possible to begin with, the level of detail visible won't be diminished too much when the photo is reduced.

Since the idea is to get the best look at your models, feel free to send several different views. Mostly these will be the front, sides, back, and some particularly interesting feature of the model. The cockpit of a spacecraft or a close up of a figure's face would be examples.

Send the best images that you can. Although photo editing software can sometimes work wonders, it can't perform miracles. If your model is out of focus or poorly lit, we can improve the photo somewhat. But in the end it's up to you to show your work off to its best advantage by sending us the highest-quality pictures you can.

A short description

We like to include the salient facts about the models that are displayed on the site. Check out the Galleries to see what we're looking for: the kit(s) used for your project, the manufacturer or reissuer, the year of reissue if applicable, the scale of the model, and the materials from which it was made. If there are prominent aftermarket items, conversion, or kit bashing added to the model, that information would be worth having. A few brief sentences about some particular area that you think would be of interest are welcome also. In short, we'd like you to give the viewers of your models a feel for what it is that makes your model unique.

Modeler's Profile

Just as we want to make your models come alive for visitors to the Black Swamp Modelers site, so we'd like to acquaint them with the SIG members. So we're asking that you send a photograph of yourself along with a paragraph or two that describes your life as a hobbyist. You needn't go into a whole lot of detail here, just introduce yourself. As with the model descriptions, if you're not sure what to write about yourself, take a look at the other BSM member's Modeler's Profiles to get some ideas.

We will contact you from time to time with Black Swamp Modelers business only - no commerce is going on here. Therefore if you are submitting material via email, it should be from an address that we can use to contact you. It will be kept strictly private and not shared with any outside parties, and will be kept off the site's server for your added protection.

Submitting you materials

You can submit your materials online by sending them to our email address: blackswampmodelers@toast.net There is nothing special about our email account, so we can't handle a huge volume of photos at one time. Therefore we ask that you write us first and give us fair warning of what's coming, and send no more than six pictures per email. We'll get them posted as quickly as possible and let you know when they're up. Feel free to send any amendments, corrections, or articles of your own - this is your SIG too, y'know!

If you haven't yet joined the Digital Age, you can send us photographs by snail mail; email us for the address.