Soon the rains will come and, although not enough of a force to make you stop driving your Swede, the opportunities to capture a silhouette in front of those summer sunsets will soon be coming to an end. So before the days of waking up and driving to work in the dark are upon us, dust off the digital camera and find the perfect place to take some spectacular pictures of your beloved Volvo.
By sending in your Volvo photo, you’ll get a crack at a $300 gift certificate you can use toward any ipd parts or accessories.
As you may have noticed, this year we used the three photo contest winners on the front covers of our annual ipd catalogs. It's proof that all your hard work can be immortalized and part of ipd history. Be creative and have fun and show us what you've got.
This year, the voting will be done by you, the Volvo community. We will bear the burden of sifting through and narrowing down the best of the submissions and leaving the rest up to you. We will spare you the pain of looking at low res/blurry camera phone submissions, links to Photobucket files, pics of Volvos in driveways and next to Toyota Camry's. All of which happened last year so please, please, I beg you, don't send me photos like these again. It's painful. Seriously, my stomach is churning just thinking about it. I've included a few tips to give you the upper hand.
Tips
- Be creative.
- Make the focal point of the photo be the Volvo and not the mountains or scenery behind it.
- Do not take pictures of your car in your driveway after you just finished washing it.
- Although there are exceptions, avoid having people in the photo. Most of us aren't as attractive as we think we are.
- Avoid other car makes being in the photo. It's a bit tacky to have a photo of your 850 with a Ford Explorer sitting right next to it.
- Resolution! Make your photos large enough for us to use on the cover of our catalog if we wanted to. See my tech tip below.
- Other than that, have fun and again, be creative. Take a cover worthy photo. Good luck!
Watch out because here come the details.
Details
By submitting a photo, you release the rights and allow us to use your name and photo in any way that ipd chooses. There will be one winner in each of 3 categories (Vintage, Rear Wheel Drive, Front/All Wheel Drive) and a single “best of show” winner that will take the grand prize!
Only 2 photos per person will be accepted. If you send me links to photobucket sites or forums etc. it will be impossible to enter your car in the contest so choose the 2 photos that you think have the best shot and send those in.
Entries must be received by November 6, 2009. There will be no extensions or exceptions.
Send to: ipd Photo Contest, P.O. Box 20339, Portland, OR 97294-9906*
or
Send your .jpg images to photocontest@ipdusa.com.**
*If you are mailing in a photo, please include “Photo Contest Entry“ on the envelope and your name, the year and model number of the car on the back of the photo.
**If you're e-mailing your photo, please name the file(s) following this example: bryancottrell1970140.jpg (name,year,model,.jpg)
The Prizes
Grand Prize Winner - $300.00 ipd Gift Certificate
Best shot in each category - $50.00 ipd Gift Certificate
The Rules
1. Physical photos need to be at least 5”x7” or the largest possible .jpg files.
2. If there are people in the photo, a signed release must accompany the photo.
3. Limit two entries per person, please.
Tech Tip - It’s all About the Pixels
By: Bryan Cottrell - ipd graphic designer and marketing coordinator
Digital photography has been around a while now and if you haven’t made the switch to a digital camera then it’s almost a guarantee that you will eventually. In this day and age, digital photography is getting more and more popular due to the ease of use and the quality of the images that camera technology has evolved to. A cameras quality is generally based on the amount of information that can be contained with one click of the button.
Pixels are dots used to display an image on a screen or printed material. Camera manufacturers use the term megapixels to describe the resolution of the total number of pixels that any particular image can hold. In most computer contexts, resolution is given as two dimensions, such as in a computer display resolution of 1600 x 1200, which represents a width of 1600 pixels and a height of 1200 pixels. Digital camera manufacturers take the sum total of pixels generated by multiplying the two dimensions, so that a camera capable of producing images at 1600 x 1200 would produce a total of 1,920,000 pixels, or 1.9 megapixels. Even if photos look perfect on the computer screen, different rules apply when printing in a catalog or newsletter. The reason why is that computer monitors don’t require as many pixels as the printed page so when your getting ready to submit your winning photo contest entry be sure to set the camera on the highest setting possible so we can be sure to print them in our upcoming publications. Good luck and I look forward to seeing what you’ve got.
Please submit photos in the highest resolution you can. Computer screen resolutions (800x600, 1024x768, etc) are too small for printing purposes.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here represent the opinions of the author and not necessarily those of ipd. All data and information provided in this article is for informational purposes only. ipd makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information in this article or respondents comments and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis.
Community Comments
Tuesday, September 08, 2009 - RICH HAMMERSBERG
Regarding your Photo Contest "Tech Tip" - Could you be specific as to what resolution would be best for submission/the cover? I think a specific resolution would help both your customers/contributors and you in the long run... being a geek, I've received a >70MB photo (which wasn't even all that great when viewed @ a normal size), and I don't think you want that extreme either! Also, back in 2007, I submitted a story & photos of my 1996 850R's 5,555 mile cross country trip for IPD's consideration... ok, not Photobucket, but the pix were posted on my web site. My bad... Problem = I had no way of knowing if my photos were even considered for the photo contest, so a note of submission acceptance would be good to add if not already in place. Keep up the good work! R~
Friday, September 11, 2009 - JOHN C.
Is this a joke? "By submitting a photo, you release the rights and allow us to use your name and photo in any way that ipd chooses" I do not even let people take photos of my car (I've smashed two cameras already from people that took photos and won both court cases). Why would anyone let you guys have full control over their photo or Car photo. Until that paragraph is removed, you will not get a photo of my car. The cleanest 73 1800 ES in California
Sunday, September 13, 2009 - JOHN D.
Hi, regarding John C.'s comment, I would be more than happy to release liability of my name and picture as I feel it would be a privilege to have my name and vehicle in your catalog/website/bathroom. Not to mention, my 1973 1800 ES is the cleanest IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. If I were IPD, I wouldn't lower my standards to a picture of a vehicle owned by a man that leaves such a poor taste in the mouths of REAL enthusiasts the world over.
Monday, September 14, 2009 - ALAN
I don't let people take photos of my car either. I've punched two people right in the face just because they were looking at it. Until that paragraph is removed, you will not get a photo of my car. Seriously.
Monday, September 14, 2009 - KEVIN R.
It seems simple to me. If you don't want your photo used, don't enter. No prize for you. There's no such thing as a free lunch. ipd uses photos on catalog covers and other media. It seems like a good way to show off your car to me. All this stuff about smashing cameras and punching people borders on insanity. Jeez, don't let your car see the light of day if you are afraid of people looking at it or taking pictures of it.
Monday, September 14, 2009 - BERNZPEED
I think John C and Alan needs to chill and don't enter the contest if you don't want your car featured in anyway. That's how photo contests are. How are they able to publish the photos online to declare it a winner if they don't have a release of liability. Some people are just idiots and are out to get money.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009 - KEITH J
John C and Alan have it all wrong. I punch people on the face if they dont look at my car(the dirtiest DD 72 1800E in California). And I often park my car behind where people are taking pictures just to get it in the shot. I will submit a pick of mine, and will happily sign a waiver. And in fact if I can pay $300 to get my pic included in the catalog I would do that as well!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009 - JOHN C.
It was a joke people to get this board going. Of course I'm going to submit a Photo. John D. you made me laugh out loud with your comments.
Sunday, September 20, 2009 - PETER H
Well done to get people stirred up about their passions! Pity I don't have my rusty '66 P1800 to compete against the cleanest and the dirtiest, so I'll send a good pick of my '91 240 SE Wagon that rides on the coolest Volvo wheels and IPD suspension.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009 - REBEL HAMMERSMITH
"By submitting a photo, you release the rights and allow us to use your name and photo in any way that ipd chooses" is TOO OPEN-ENDED. ipd doesn't want people in the pic, so why does ipd feel the need to brandish someone's full name (note how many people included their last name here in these comments!!!) any way it chooses when the car's the star? (That makes about as much sense as requiring that a large JPEG file be pushed at ipd as an 7-bit email attachment -- which is Very inefficient and wasteful in terms of bytes -- instead of letting ipd pull a JPEG from a server at some URL!)
Monday, September 28, 2009 - MATTHEW BLAIR
Dear fellow Volvo enthusiasts: Don't be childish. Take fun, good-looking, awesome pictures of your prized ride and send them in. But no more than two. Oh, and if there are people in the photo IPD needs their permission to reproduce their likeness. 'Nuff said.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009 - ANDREW
This will be my first year entering. I cant wait to enter and see the results.
Thursday, October 01, 2009 - ROBERT
I'm going to spend about $1,500 to take an awsome photo of my Volvo. I'm going to rent a crain, buy a pack of cigarettes (I don't even smoke), and I'm going to be in the picture (I will send a release - and no, I'm not good looking). And when I win the $300 gift certif, I'm going to give it away. So There!
Friday, October 02, 2009 - 244V8VOLVO
i will be entering my 1982 244gle (holden) 5.0 ltr efi v8 (most hated in australia) it upsets the the local stuck up volvo crowd (who need a punch in the face) and the ford and holden lovers all in the one quick pass. most people get upset when they are whipped by a volvo.
Sunday, October 04, 2009 - ROGER C.
c'mon people! chuckleheads like alan and john need a serious reality check--my 850 can dent the hell out of your 1800 any day. GROW UP!!!!
Monday, October 05, 2009 - TAKEAJOKEPEOPLE
My pictures are going to so awesome...IPD staff members are going to wet them selfs (In a good way) along with everyone else who sees the pics.
Wednesday, October 07, 2009 - JOE K
You guys kill me....lol... Punching people out and busting cameras ha ha ha. If you really have such passion, and penchant for violence, come on up to Canada and we'll have a real game of hockey.... I got the best T5 S60 with R wheels courtesy of our freinds at Volvo Canada. Only set on the planet that is Black Chromed! Looks sick! Oh ya the Chrome on all the OE Volvo wheels? That's us too. Love to set up a chrome exchange service with all the great people at IPD. Who's in?
Thursday, October 08, 2009 - FRITZ
I would like Robert's Gift Certificate. I vote for Robert's car Go Robert! Robert-call me for mailing address
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 - DAVID A SOUSA
Back in may I became a volvo owner and I don't miss any of my old cars. I am glad to see that use volvo drivers havea place to show off our rides and I will be sending in a picture of mine a 99 s80 t6
Thursday, October 15, 2009 - TIM VAN SLYKE
Volvo owners are one of a kind. You know we don't drive the best performance cars of the ilk but we sure enjoy getting involved with them. My 98 S70 was a prize winner for the 10 years I owned and drove and upgraded it with the help of IPD. Now I am embarking on another 10 with my new S60. I'll be sending a photo soon and I haven't punched anyone................................this week.
Thursday, October 15, 2009 - ADAM IN FG, OR
I bought my current '85 244 from a coworker for about $300. I've spent about 5 times that now at IPD making it into a decent daily driver. Still looks like a $300. car though. So if I win it'll be like having a free car right? Oh and I usually hide behind the steering wheel when I'm driving it in case somebody sees me or heaven forbid actually takes a picture of it.
Monday, October 19, 2009 - KEVIN H., NY
i drive a 1995 volvo 960 that my grandfather originally bought and was given to me when he passed away a few years ago, for the past few months ive been working on it and im bringing it back to life. im gonna send in 2 pics and hopefully it will blow the mind of the people who judge the pics from how clean she is. then when i win the $300 i can put it right into the car and really make it worht it
Thursday, October 22, 2009 - JIM, LAS VEGAS, NV.
Of course I'll sign a release, particularly if you print the picture of my car while I'm exposing myself. Hey, I need all the exposure I can get.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009 - PATRICK MINNEAPOLIS,MN
I submitted, hope it can make the cut, i like to think it is avant garde. I didn't know there was a contest at all so i look forward to seeing everyone else's submissions.
Friday, November 13, 2009 - KEVIN H. N.Y.
when will the photos be up for vote?
Thursday, January 14, 2010 - PHILIP
The guy that said: "I don't let people take photos of my car either. I've punched two people right in the face just because they were looking at it. Until that paragraph is removed, you will not get a photo of my car. Seriously"-- I hope the people he hit had him arrested for assault. I'd also have taken him to civil court. That guy has serious mental issues. As one person said-if he doesn't like it being looked at, keep it in the garage. What a d*** a**!
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