# The 5th Annual Tortoise Calendar Photo Contest is HERE!



## Josh (Sep 12, 2012)

Time for our fifth Annual Tortoise Forum Calendar Photo Contest and the 2013 Edition of our much sought after Tortoise Forum Calendar! For those who are not familiar with this annual tradition, toward the end of the year we hold a contest where all members are encouraged to submit their best tortoise photo. Then we all vote for our favorites, which are then published in a Tortoise Forum Calendar.

*This year we will be doing photo submissions differently, and we'll tell you how at the bottom of this message.*

You must have been a member for the previous 30 days (from Sept. 12) to enter this contest.
Please, only ONE entry per household.

Entries should be submitted until September 30, 2012 @ 11:59PM PST after which the voting will begin. 

The top 12 voted photos will be printed in the 2013 Tortoise Forum Calendar (12 months and one cover) along with a collage of ALL of this year's entries.

The photo with the most TOTAL votes will receive a $100 gift card to LLLReptile.com!

- Your photo must be of a living tortoise, any species will do.

- You must be the sole copyright owner of the photo you submit.

- Only one submission per member. Choose your photo carefully - you may not change it once it's submitted.

- Photo placement in the calendar will be prioritized according to how many votes each photo gets (ex. the top voted photo gets first choice on which month they want their photo with)

- The photo original must be *at least* 5 megapixels so that it can be printed at an 8.5"x11" size. *Your photo will be thrown out if it does not meet this requirement.* (To find megapixels, multiply the length of your image, in pixels, by the height. ex. an 2592x1936 pixel image is roughly 5 megapixels.) This is important because small digital photos cannot be blown up and still look nice.

*- All photos must be submitted by September 30, 2012 @ 11:59PM PST.*

We will not be publishing the submitted photos until the submission date has passed and it is time to vote.


To enter, mail your 5 megapixel (or larger) photo to:

[email protected]

Please use the following format when submitting your photo:
Tortoise Name: [Your Tort's Name Here]
Tortoise Species: [Your Tort's Species Here]
Taken by: [Your Name Here]
[Your Photo Here]

Thanks for your participation and enthusiasm in continuing this great tradition! May the best photos win!


----------



## ALDABRAMAN (Sep 12, 2012)

*The photo with the most TOTAL votes will receive a $100 gift card *

*I have a question, last year to the best of my knowledge my photo entry had the most votes. I never received any form of notification or information regarding the advertised gift card? *


----------



## DrewsLife727 (Sep 12, 2012)

Aww man. I joined too late. I got some killer pics too! oh well ill still buy the calendar =]


----------



## taytay3391 (Sep 13, 2012)

Okay I'm an idiot when it comes to computers.. How the heck do I make my picture 5megapixels???


----------



## Q'sTortie (Sep 13, 2012)

taytay3391 said:


> Okay I'm an idiot when it comes to computers.. How the heck do I make my picture 5megapixels???



You need a nice camera  most smart phone cameras are 5 and 8 megapixel but better to borrow a digital camera to get all those fine details on your tort


----------



## taytay3391 (Sep 13, 2012)

Q'sTortie said:


> You need a nice camera  most smart phone cameras are 5 and 8 megapixel but better to borrow a digital camera to get all those fine details on your tort



Gooootttcha. Cool thanks


----------



## laney (Sep 13, 2012)

Aww I want to enter my beautiful babies for the calendar but think I joined too late


----------



## dmmj (Sep 13, 2012)

No entries yet guys? that makes me a sad panda


----------



## laney (Sep 13, 2012)

Wait maybe I didn't join too late..?
My profile just says august... Can I enter? Pleeeease


----------



## dmmj (Sep 13, 2012)

laney said:


> Wait maybe I didn't join too late..?
> My profile just says august... Can I enter? Pleeeease


Auguat 12 or earlier


----------



## Josh (Sep 13, 2012)

David, the entries are being emailed in this year


----------



## Mky2k (Sep 13, 2012)

Can I submit a photo of my boxy?


----------



## dmmj (Sep 13, 2012)

Mky2k said:


> Can I submit a photo of my boxy?


Sorry tortoises only.


----------



## Reptile_Rapunzel (Sep 13, 2012)

What date are the  calendars able to be purchased; November or December sometime? Canâ€™t wait for the  calendars 8)


----------



## Laurie (Sep 13, 2012)

Only one submission allowed, ugh this will be hard for me to choose . Any rules for or against an informal poll in the photo section. In other words , can I post a few different ones and ask for a vote before I pick the one to submit?


----------



## ALDABRAMAN (Sep 13, 2012)

Laurie said:


> Only one submission allowed, ugh this will be hard for me to choose . *Any rules for or against an informal poll in the photo section.* In other words , can I post a few different ones and ask for a vote before I pick the one to submit?



*Great idea! (LOL!)*


----------



## Yvonne G (Sep 14, 2012)

In the past people have posted several pictures (in their own thread) to get opinions, however, this year I don't think its such a good idea. The reason we're doing it by email and not posting the pictures in a thread is so that when the voting happens, no one will know who belongs to which picture. Well...I'm pretty sure we'll all recognize Greg's picture!


----------



## mary t (Sep 14, 2012)

If we email one in.. How will we know that you got it for sure. My Internet here sucks and sometimes emails don't always get to where we send them...


----------



## dmmj (Sep 14, 2012)

A quick note via PM should suffice for notification.


----------



## taytay3391 (Sep 14, 2012)

May or may not be a stupid question... it doesn't say whether or not a bigger picture is okay? I understand that yes it can't be smaller because it won't blow up, a 7meg for instance will.. but it specifically states that photos not 5meg will be thrown out.


----------



## Josh (Sep 14, 2012)

"at least 5 megapixels"


----------



## taytay3391 (Sep 14, 2012)

Josh said:


> "at least 5 megapixels"



Saw that and "submit your 5 megapixel photo to:"


----------



## Josh (Sep 15, 2012)

You're very right. 

Corrected the OP


----------



## taytay3391 (Sep 15, 2012)

Josh said:


> You're very right.
> 
> Corrected the OP



Thanks. Didn't want my photo thrown out!


----------



## mattgrizzlybear (Sep 15, 2012)

Can i enter? I just need to get my tort now!


----------



## AldabraNerd (Sep 17, 2012)

Alas, joined too recently... I will have to wait until next year... In case I'd want to submit an Aldabra tortoise photo then, can it be one I have posted in a small version on some thread here, too? Or does it have to be 'unseen'? Also, just to make sure, as far as I can see, there are no format requirements -but do you prefer landscape over portrait? -and aspect ratio: do you prefer 2:3/3:2 or is 1:1 or 'widescreen' acceptable, too?


----------



## Josh (Sep 17, 2012)

It's ok to have posted the image elsewhere.
There are no format requirements, a raw or lossless image would be best, a hi-res jpeg will suffice. No preference for aspect ratio - though keep in mind these will be printed on a spiral bound wall calendar


----------



## TortoiseBoy1999 (Sep 17, 2012)

Can I still enter?


----------



## AldabraNerd (Sep 18, 2012)

Josh said:


> No preference for aspect ratio - though keep in mind these will be printed on a spiral bound wall calendar



Thanks for the info, Josh. What format/size does the calendar have?
Cheers.


----------



## esiotrot (Sep 18, 2012)

What about entering from outside the US? 

I'm in the UK but the prize is US based. Would it be worth entering?

Thanks.


----------



## Josh (Sep 18, 2012)

The calendar measures 8Â½" x 11" closed, 17" x 11" open.
The prize is only for 1st place and can be transferred to a UK based company, if the winner prefers. Whether or not it's "worth entering" is up to you!


----------



## TortoiseBoy1999 (Sep 18, 2012)

Josh said:


> The calendar measures 8Â½" x 11" closed, 17" x 11" open.
> The prize is only for 1st place and can be transferred to a UK based company, if the winner prefers. Whether or not it's "worth entering" is up to you!



The last entry date is the 30'th of september?


----------



## ALDABRAMAN (Sep 18, 2012)

Josh said:


> The calendar measures 8Â½" x 11" closed, 17" x 11" open.
> *The prize is only for 1st place and can be transferred to a UK based company, if the winner prefers.* Whether or not it's "worth entering" is up to you!



*May i ask how the winner in notified and receives the prize? *


----------



## Josh (Sep 19, 2012)

The winner will be notified by PM and/or email.


----------



## TortoiseBoy1999 (Sep 19, 2012)

Josh said:


> The winner will be notified by PM and/or email.



Ok


----------



## Josh (Sep 19, 2012)

Last day to enter is 30th of September. Coming up quickly!


----------



## Mgridgaway (Sep 20, 2012)

My gf has a nicer camera than me and is bringing it over this weekend. I know what I'll be doing Sunday


----------



## Josh (Sep 25, 2012)

I'd like to see about 3-4 times as many submissions as we currently have. YOU'RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME!


----------



## tortadise (Sep 25, 2012)

I have been sorting and sorting. I dont have an editor program on my computer how do I get to the required 5 megapixel size?


----------



## TortoiseBoy1999 (Sep 25, 2012)

Josh said:


> I'd like to see about 3-4 times as many submissions as we currently have. YOU'RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME!



My friend is bringing me her camera!!!!


----------



## laney (Sep 25, 2012)

Josh said:


> I'd like to see about 3-4 times as many submissions as we currently have. YOU'RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME!



Let us newbies apply


----------



## Yvonne G (Sep 25, 2012)

tortadise said:


> I have been sorting and sorting. I dont have an editor program on my computer how do I get to the required 5 megapixel size?



When you put it into your computer from the camera, don't make it smaller. Just save it as is. If your computer picture program automatically re-sizes your pictures, then I don't know what to tell you. DON'T use photobucket for this contest because photobucket automatically re-sizes the pictures to smaller (less pixels) pictures.


----------



## DeanS (Sep 25, 2012)

Photo submitted...please acknowldege.


----------



## Josh (Sep 25, 2012)

Dean - we got your photo


----------



## tortadise (Sep 25, 2012)

Did you get mine?


----------



## turtletrucker (Sep 26, 2012)

Glad I logged in today! I have some great pictures of my guys and gals... now to choose just one.... hmmm... I wish I had left myself more than a few days to decide! lol.


----------



## TortoiseBoy1999 (Sep 28, 2012)

Just sent mine in! My heart is pounding that I picked the wrong one!  (did you get mine?)


----------



## Q'sTortie (Sep 28, 2012)

I'm nervous too! Please let me know if u got mine too, thank you!


----------



## N2TORTS (Sep 29, 2012)

emysemys said:


> tortadise said:
> 
> 
> > I have been sorting and sorting. I dont have an editor program on my computer how do I get to the required 5 megapixel size?
> ...



Ummmm........photo bucket seems to work fine during my regular posts.....but it's as No go for the calender? .......Ut oh.. it's the only thing I'm familiar with DL pics .... how else would I send it ?


----------



## Yvonne G (Sep 29, 2012)

Do you put your pictures into a picture program that is loaded on your computer BEFORE you put them into photobucket? You just write up your email to the photo contest address, then click on "attach" and look for the picture in your computer and attach it to the email.


----------



## N2TORTS (Sep 29, 2012)

emysemys said:


> Do you put your pictures into a picture program that is loaded on your computer BEFORE you put them into photobucket? You just write up your email to the photo contest address, then click on "attach" and look for the picture in your computer and attach it to the email.



Ahhh Gotcha! ..... I think I get it ....
Thank you ..... Yvonne'


----------



## N2TORTS (Sep 29, 2012)

Okie dokie ... ~sent ~ ... Hope it worked!


----------



## mctlong (Sep 29, 2012)

Ahhhhhhh!!!!! I don't know which picture to choose and only have one day left!!!


----------



## Laurie (Sep 29, 2012)

Good luck everyone  


I haven't entered, I need a better camera


----------



## ALDABRAMAN (Sep 29, 2012)

Laurie said:


> *Good luck everyone *
> 
> 
> *I haven't entered, I need a better camera *



** I have the same problem this year!* :shy:


----------



## Laurie (Sep 29, 2012)

ALDABRAMAN said:


> * I have the same problem this year! :shy:



You have a great camera!!


----------



## DeanS (Sep 29, 2012)

Laurie said:


> Only one submission allowed, ugh this will be hard for me to choose . Any rules for or against an informal poll in the photo section. In other words , can I post a few different ones and ask for a vote before I pick the one to submit?



Laurie...go with your gut! I did a poll last year...and then went with an entirely different photo. As it turned out, I finished second to Greg!


----------



## TortoiseBoy1999 (Sep 29, 2012)

DeanS said:


> Laurie...go with your gut! I did a poll last year...and then went with an entirely different photo. As it turned out, I finished second to Greg!



That gives me hope!


----------



## srkarpen (Sep 29, 2012)

I still don't understand the whole no noobs thing. Kind of a bummer deal.


----------



## Laurie (Sep 29, 2012)

srkarpen said:


> I still don't understand the whole no noobs thing. Kind of a bummer deal.



I think it's a good idea. 30 day membership is reasonable, a lot of people don't stick around.


----------



## Yvonne G (Sep 29, 2012)

srkarpen said:


> I still don't understand the whole no noobs thing. Kind of a bummer deal.



Not bummer at all. We have a very big presence on GOOGLE. Any search at all for something tortoise related and our forum comes up in the first several answers on the first page. When non-members see "contest" and "prize" it encourages them to join and submit a picture. The first year we did the contest we gained many new members who submitted pictures but never participated in any of the conversations or threads and after the contest we never heard from the again. We want our MEMBERS to win the contest, not some Joe Blow from off the internet.


----------



## dmmj (Sep 29, 2012)

I can't stand joe blow, I think he is related to susie cream cheese.

Time to pwn some noobs


----------



## Laurie (Sep 29, 2012)

dmmj said:


> Time to pwn some noobs



Lol! That just made my night at work.... (I'm simple, I know..)


----------



## mctlong (Sep 30, 2012)

I emailed my photo. Can I get a confirmation that it was received. I'm a little paranoid that it didn't go through.


----------



## Mgridgaway (Sep 30, 2012)

emysemys said:


> srkarpen said:
> 
> 
> > I still don't understand the whole no noobs thing. Kind of a bummer deal.
> ...



I agree completely! If new members are interested they can stick around until the next contest!

Also, photo sent! It was nearly 10MB, let me know if you guys didn't get it.


----------



## DaisyDuke (Sep 30, 2012)

Photo sent about 20 minutes ago  

I too agree with the noob rule. I'm a member of another forum [not related to tortoises] they do a thing every year where you have o have over a thousand posts and be a meMber over a year. So they're pretty lenient here.


----------



## turtletrucker (Oct 1, 2012)

So excited to see the entires! Should we expect voting to begin sometime today? Will that be in this thread here or a new one?


----------



## MnM10 (Oct 1, 2012)

Josh said:


> Time for our fifth Annual Tortoise Forum Calendar Photo Contest and the 2013 Edition of our much sought after Tortoise Forum Calendar! For those who are not familiar with this annual tradition, toward the end of the year we hold a contest where all members are encouraged to submit their best tortoise photo. Then we all vote for our favorites, which are then published in a Tortoise Forum Calendar.
> 
> *This year we will be doing photo submissions differently, and we'll tell you how at the bottom of this message.*
> 
> ...






How do we know our photo was received and how do we vote?


----------



## DeanS (Oct 1, 2012)

Let's get this baby on!


----------



## LuckysGirl007 (Oct 1, 2012)

YES! I have been waiting a whole month for this!!!!!


----------



## turtletrucker (Oct 1, 2012)

MnM10 said:


> How do we know our photo was received and how do we vote?




I received a confirmation email that mine was received. If you did not it may just be that you sent yours in more recently and he didn't get around to it. The best way to tell at this point will probably just to wait and see if your picture is among those that get posted, lol.

Last year they had a seperate thread for voting but that was when they did submissions via posting in the thread so I would not be totally surprised if voting ended up in this same thread. But who knows. I am anxious as well to see the entires and vote. The Voting process was not spelled out very clearly in the OP.


----------



## MnM10 (Oct 1, 2012)

turtletrucker said:


> MnM10 said:
> 
> 
> > How do we know our photo was received and how do we vote?
> ...




Ok thanks  and yes I'm very anxious to see if my little doode made it lol


----------



## Maggie Cummings (Oct 1, 2012)

LuckysGirl007 said:


> YES! I have been waiting a whole month for this!!!!!



Only a month??? I've been waiting since the last calendar!!!


----------



## Urtle (Oct 1, 2012)

So when is the voting stage start?


----------



## Pokeymeg (Oct 1, 2012)

I'm ready to vote!!


----------



## LuckysGirl007 (Oct 1, 2012)

maggie3fan said:


> LuckysGirl007 said:
> 
> 
> > YES! I have been waiting a whole month for this!!!!!
> ...



I've only been a member for a little over a month.  Next year I will be waiting ALL year!


----------



## chase thorn (Oct 1, 2012)

When do we vote?!


----------



## TortoiseBoy1999 (Oct 1, 2012)

chase thorn said:


> When do we vote?!



Yes! When do we vote?


----------



## Eweezyfosheezy (Oct 2, 2012)

Ahh shucks! looks like I wont have a photo entry this year. I had an awesome species to put on too.  Looks like I will have to wait till next year.


----------



## Spn785 (Oct 2, 2012)

Can noobs vote at least? When will the calendar come out? I can't wait for next year when I can submit a picture!


----------



## Yvonne G (Oct 2, 2012)

Spn785 said:


> Can noobs vote at least? When will the calendar come out? I can't wait for next year when I can submit a picture!



Noobs can certainly BUY the calendar, but you are not allowed to vote.


----------



## Spn785 (Oct 2, 2012)

emysemys said:


> Spn785 said:
> 
> 
> > Can noobs vote at least? When will the calendar come out? I can't wait for next year when I can submit a picture!
> ...



Awwww.  Oh well, I will definitely get a calendar though.


----------



## turtletrucker (Oct 2, 2012)

Any idea when voting is going to start? Anyone heard from Josh?


----------



## DaisyDuke (Oct 2, 2012)

I was hoping to receive confirmation of my entry. 
But I'm willing to bet there were a lot of last minute entries. 
Putting it all together probably takes some time.
Maybe it's a different voting this year?


----------



## DeanS (Oct 2, 2012)

DaisyDuke said:


> I was hoping to receive confirmation of my entry.
> But I'm willing to bet there were a lot of last minute entries.
> Putting it all together probably takes some time.
> Maybe it's a different voting this year?



I wouldn't sweat it! If you sent it and it didn't come back...then you should be good! Also, Josh is tied up trying to improve a thing or two here, so he just might not have gotten back to you!


----------



## DaisyDuke (Oct 2, 2012)

DeanS said:


> DaisyDuke said:
> 
> 
> > I was hoping to receive confirmation of my entry.
> ...



Thank you
I'm not worried, my reply was in reply to Jons post asking if anybody has heard from him.
I was hoping to but am sure he's very busy with it all.


----------



## Josh (Oct 2, 2012)

We're working on it! Voting will begin ASAP - and don't worry, we won't hide the link. It'll be prominently displayed on the homepage and elsewhere


----------



## TortoiseBoy1999 (Oct 2, 2012)

Thanks! I was getting worried too


----------



## MnM10 (Oct 3, 2012)

Josh said:


> We're working on it! Voting will begin ASAP - and don't worry, we won't hide the link. It'll be prominently displayed on the homepage and elsewhere




Sweet. Thanks!!


----------



## chase thorn (Oct 5, 2012)

Any news?


----------



## Josh (Oct 5, 2012)

Working on it right now


----------



## TortoiseBoy1999 (Oct 5, 2012)

Ugh! This is taking forever! Lol JK  Take your time Josh


----------



## DaisyDuke (Oct 5, 2012)

YAY!!!!  We're excited <3


----------



## N2TORTS (Oct 5, 2012)

Well GUESS IM OUT OF IT....Just got email says dosnt meet size requirements...??) ....Urgh all these changes WAYYY to confusing ... heck I remember just a couple years back ya just posted the thing in the thread/room and bam that was it ! .....Calendarsâ€™ looked just fine!!!!! There still hanging in my office years later~


----------



## tortadise (Oct 5, 2012)

N2TORTS said:


> Well GUESS IM OUT OF IT....Just got email says dosnt meet size requirements...??) ....Urgh all these changes WAYYY to confusing ... heck I remember just a couple years back ya just posted the thing in the thread/room and bam that was it ! .....Calendarsâ€™ looked just fine!!!!! There still hanging in my office years later~



Ahhh I bet yours was a good one too JD.


----------



## N2TORTS (Oct 5, 2012)

tortadise said:


> N2TORTS said:
> 
> 
> > Well GUESS IM OUT OF IT....Just got email says dosnt meet size requirements...??) ....Urgh all these changes WAYYY to confusing ... heck I remember just a couple years back ya just posted the thing in the thread/room and bam that was it ! .....Calendarsâ€™ looked just fine!!!!! There still hanging in my office years later~
> ...



YEA whats really LAME ... is I WAS TOLD JUST UPLOAD IT FROM MY PC!
Heck The Pics I just posted tonight are just a tad smaller than the darn calendar hanging on wall next to me ....... and WTF ... why tell me 5 days after the contest ending when the darn photo was submitted a 2weeks ago ? 

Dont think I'll be posting to many pics anymore PERIOD!


----------



## TortoiseBoy1999 (Oct 5, 2012)

Sorry N2 ...... I guess mine was the right size because I didn't get that E-Mail! (also N2 it's because back then they didn't have all these iPods and iPhones n' such, so that's why photos were always 5 mega pixels or bigger)


----------



## Josh (Oct 5, 2012)

JD: what you were told was to just email a photo 5 megapixels or larger. We made the process MORE simple this year. With all the submissions we get, there's no way we can double check your work and get back to all of you for revisions.


----------

