Ladies and Gentlemen:

I hope you have been enjoying the background photos I started adding to the newsletter a little over a year ago.  It's a little tricky with the web page html code, but it adds a very nice visual touch, and makes the newsletter look quite professional.

To date, I have been making selections from my personal photos, but my supply is not inexhaustible.  So, I'd like to tap into a bigger pool of photos, and I am going to open this concept up to you, the members. I'm calling for submissions of photos to be used as future newsletter cover photos.  This is your chance to get some exposure for your beautiful photography, and you'll be given credit for it in a caption.

There are some guidelines for these photos, of course. 

First, it has to have something to do with canoeing or kayaking, preferably featuring a boat somewhere in the picture.  That's the obvious one.

Second, they must be high quality, with good resolution - at least 1,000 pixels wide.  No blurriness, not grainy, no bad exposure, no date/time stamps.  Some minor flaws I can correct digitally, like too-dark shadows, or small spots of discoloration.   

Third, they need to be vertical format (portrait mode), or square in shape, but not horizontal (landscape mode).  The newsletter cover page is tall and skinny, or square, so the photo needs to match that format.  I know that is a limiting factor, as most photos are taken landscape mode. But all hope is not lost. A horizontal format picture can still work, if there is room on one or both sides to crop off some of the photo on the sides, without losing any of the essential image, like canoes or people. For example, if a close-up of a canoe spans the entire width of a landscape photo, then it can't be cropped without also cutting off a significant portion of the canoe, person or landscape - that won't be acceptable.  

Good		No good		Can be cropped to make it good

Fourth, I'd like them to be photos of paddling in Texas waters, or beyond if it features HCC members. I don't want random strangers off the internet from places HCC members don't visit.  I like to showcase the diversity of types of water we have available to us; white sand beaches, National Forests, cypress swamps, creeks and bayous, hill country rivers and desert canyons, urban and wilderness paddling, flat water and white water.

As newsletter editor, I reserve the right to select or reject photos based upon quality, and how well they fit the technical requirements for the newsletter web page.  If I get a flood of offerings, it may take a while before I get around to featuring your photo, since I only use one per month.

So, pick some of your best photos which you would like to share, and send them to me by e-mail at Editor@HoustonCanoeClub.org.  Your photo could be chosen next!  Fame and fortune will certainly soon follow.

You can click here to see a photo album review of newsletter cover photos used to date.  All that's missing is yours!

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Newsletter Editor, John Rich