Hello everyone,



I am very happy to announce that an idea we've had in the back of our minds for a good while has finally been brought to life! Today we're officially unveiling the PentaxForums Exclusive Gallery, which is conceptually similar to Pentax's PPG. At first, we wanted this gallery to also appear fancy and have cool effects, but we found that other solutions wouldn't offer the level of integration that this one did. So, let's jump right in to what we're looking at here.

Our Exclusive Gallery will become a collection of only the best photos taken by our users. Only PentaxForums.com users will be able to submit to this gallery. We will also be imposing certain quality standards to make sure the photos are at their very best.

To submit a photo to the gallery, simply click the 'upload' link in the upper gallery toolbar, or click here. The submission form is the same as that in our other gallery categories, so you should already be familiar with the controls. The following will be required of each photo:

• JPEG format and compression at 90%-100% (9-12).
• A resolution of at least 1024x700 (WxH or HxW) pixels; preferably around 1500 or 2000px on one edge
  
• Full EXIF left intact in the file, if digital
• Manual addition of EXIF metadata, if film
  
• A photo description and complete camera/lens fields
• If you choose to place copyright text in your photo, please do so in the lower-right or lower-left corner only
• No added frames, borders, or drawings
  
• Taken with a Pentax camera (no exceptions)
• Limit 2 submissions per user day (to be fair to our judges)
  

If your photo conforms to these regulations, it will then be evaluated by the site staff. If the photo is good enough, it'll be approved into the gallery; if not, we'll simply move it to a regular category. You will be able to submit as many photos as you'd like until 10 have been approved in the gallery. This limit is currently going to be in place so that every photographer gets about equal exposure, but may increase in the future.

Why this is going to be better than the PPG:

• Not a slow flash-based gallery
• Large resolutions will be available for your viewing pleasure
  
• Comments can be made
• More great photos will be posted!
• Feedback on your photo will be e-mailed to you once a decision has been made
• The approval decision will be made within 1 week at most (apply to be a judge)
  
• Status tracking at https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/galleryapprove.php?do=status and updates on status via e-mail
• It's integrated with your favorite photo forum
  

And, best of all:

• If 5 or your photos get approved into the gallery, you will be invited to become an Exclusive Gallery judge

So, why wait? Upload your best now!

A note to newbies: the gallery is accessible through the 'photos' button in the navbar. Simply click it and then select 'User Photo Gallery' from the menu.

Enjoy, guys! I'm very excited to be bringing you this.

Photos accepted into the gallery will also be tagged as "exclusive" in gallery searches and listings, and within the exclusive category, supersized thumbnails will be shown!

[dtra]

lol, just checked the thread, um, yeah, when I said downloaded, I meant viewed the image in the browser (which is the same thing), it might be in the browser cache somewhere, but I think it might be a bit more hassle than it's worth to find and delete it.

[HypnoCin67]

LOL! Yeah, I'd guess so. . .

[Class A]

Cindy, fantastic image!

I think you should give Falk (falconeye) some reputation points for advertising your craft and for being so helpful w.r.t. your image protection.

If people are stealing said images to keep on their own hard drives, they're taking money away from me.

Most of the time that isn't true. It is the same when a record label claims they lost Quintillions of dollars because of illegal file sharing.

How many of the people who didn't pay would have used the product if they had to pay for it? A lot less, I'm sure of that.

I fully agree that there shouldn't be unwanted use of anyone's product but the fact that it happens doesn't necessarily imply loss of revenue in each case.

[HypnoCin67]

Cindy, fantastic image!

I think you should give Falk (falconeye) some reputation points for advertising your craft and for being so helpful w.r.t. your image protection.


Most of the time that isn't true. It is the same when a record label claims they lost Quintillions of dollars because of illegal file sharing.

How many of the people who didn't pay would have used the product if they had to pay for it? A lot less, I'm sure of that.

I fully agree that there shouldn't be unwanted use of anyone's product but the fact that it happens doesn't necessarily imply loss of revenue in each case.

Thanks! Probably true on all counts. . . I'm just hypersensitive to this. I'm realizing that I need to copyright a bunch of my big moneymakers, as I could get in big trouble with my stock agencies if some jerkola challenged my right to them after having stolen them from me and I couldn't "prove" they were mine. Sad world that we live in that those things actually happen. . .

Go get your own talent people! lol!

Anyhow, thanks to all who responded to my questions and helped me with the sharing option in my Smugmug gallery.

Cindy

[Adam]

All current photos in the gallery have been processed. Seeing some great photos, guys!

[Ash]

Wow Adam - getting strict now I see.
Quite a number of PPG acceptances being rejected from the Exclusive Gallery...

... and only 3 in total being accepted in 48hrs, the gallery is living up to its name.

[Naturefreak]

Most of the lenses I posses/use on my digital K-x are of the M-series. Photo's taken with them do not specify the used aperture value in the Exif information. Is it in these cases permitted to upload a photo with only the available Exif information without the aperture value?

[Adam]

Yes- as long as you include the EXIF that came with the original image, you'll be fine.

[Adam]

The next batch of photos has now been processed!

Also, you will now get an e-mail if one of your photos is accepted

[scatron]

The bugs are taking over! 11/48 are bug shots. Really nice bug shots, but bug shots nonetheless.

(not criticizing, just an observation)

[rparmar]

Yeah I noticed that. And I have some really good bug shots to submit.

[Rees]

Sorry to sound dull, could you explain "compression 90% to 100%, how do I do this? I would like to submit a photograph for consideration. Thank you.

[Adam]

When you save your JPG's, simply select 9, 10, or 11. In your camera, this corresponds to 1, 2, and 3 stars.

[ManhattanProject]

I think it's been a while since the last approval. I uploaded a couple a couple days ago that are still hidden.

I know you've been busy recently, though, Adam, so no worries.

[Adam]

There are currently one or two in the queue that look like they're going to be accepted, but the next batch likely won't be processed until tomorrow.