Prices are not posted in The Pine Needle Group Gallery.
READ THIS! Do not submit photos which are already posted on your personal website , or elsewhere online. This is a FREE service, and it is REQUIRED that Photos MUST be exclusive.
***(That means they can appear NO WHERE ELSE ONLINE.)***
This space is provided at no cost to you for your LATEST or BEST work, or for those who do not have their own personal website.
Please advise if you wish to add a work shown in your gallery to your personal website, and it will be removed from your gallery.
Galleries which only show non-exclusive work will be removed.
If you already have a website where you can post photos, a link to your site is provided in your Pine Needle Group Gallery, as well as next to your membership listing. If somehow we have neglected to do this, please notify the Webmaster.
To have your own gallery page:
1. submit photos for approval/editing, according to the photo guidelines (below).
2. The gallery will be written and posted by the Webmaster, with
links to whatever additional sites you hold with your work displayed (baskets or other, not necessarily coiling.)
Specifications:
You may exhibit photos of up to 7 pieces. If some of your submissions are not accepted, you may
re-submit additional photos,
until you have 6 accepted pieces, as well as a "header" photograph. Multiple views of the same basket may be accepted, and shown on the "jump" page of the gallery. These additional views will not count towards the 7 total per gallery.
General photo guidelines:
1. Only coiled work will be exhibited.
2. Photos with tags and labels visible will not be accepted.
3. Simple or plain backgrounds are preferred. Natural backgrounds are sometimes
acceptable,
if they do not detract from the basket, and are generally pleasing. Please do not use busy
backgrounds,
and watch for debris and other distractions. Sometimes the easiest thing to do is use paper or
fabric to
set the basket on. If propping is required, you may want to put a drape over the prop, under
the basket,
so the prop does not show.
4. Try to leave adequate room all around the basket when photographing.
It is better to print photos 4 x6, so if your basket is off-center, it will not be too close
to the edge after editing.
5. Get close enough to basket to show detail.
6. Photos must be in focus.
7. Simple scans of baskets will generally not be accepted, exceptions may be made if the work
is flat and does not appear distorted in the scan. 8. Please do not edit in "frames", special effects, alternate views, or drapes around your photo. The goal is to have a gallery-type presentation, letting your woven work shine, NOT your fancy computer skills or programs. 9. Baskets with wild bird feathers and nests will not be accepted. These items may be in violation of federal wildlife laws. 10. You might try taking your photos outside. Photos with heavy cast shadows or bright
reflections often result when taking
basket photos indoors with a flash. If you pick a shady spot outside,
where there is uniform shade (NOT dappling through leaves, but shade from a building or something
solid) and THEN use your flash too, you should have good results.
"Header" photos:
This photo will be used at the top of the gallery, next to the words "The Pine Needle Group Gallery", and sets the mood for the page. This photo
can be of the artist, the artist working on a piece, the studio, or a representative piece of work. Photos must be generally pleasing, have no tags visible, in focus, and with a fairly simple background.
Since several people have asked, here are step-by-step suggested photography instructions. Notice: I am not a photography expert, but when I take my pictures, this is how I do it, with NO special equipment:
wait for an overcast day, not sunny.
go outside,(I go on my deck, where there is even ambient light - it would normally be sunny there, not shaded) and put a chair with a wide seat on the deck.
cover it with a tablecloth, sheet, or other plain fabric, draping over the back of the chair, the seat, and the arms, too.
use a non-shiny fabric, to elimiate flash shine on the photo. This makes a "mini-set" for my basket.
put the basket in the middle of the chair, so it appears the background and sides are all the same color.
Then I take photos. I try to take them from straight on, as well as a bit above the piece, also straight above. Things just look so different when they are developed.
If the camera has a flash override, use it - so I take photos with AND without flash, regardless of what the camera says to use. It takes alot of clicking to get a really nice photo sometimes.
If my camera is fixed-focus (instamatic) style, read up on the camera, and find what the minimum focus distance is. It is usually about 3.5 or 4 feet. No matter how much closer you try to get to your subject, it will not be in focus. So you need to stay that far away. You can't SEE that it is not in focus through the viewer, which is why you need to know how close you can go, and then measure it.
Digital photos: When scanning photos, don't try to make them smaller, or edit them. If you send them at a standard scan of 150 dpi, and large in bytes, they can hopefully be sharpened and changed so they show the piece more closely. But if you increase the dpi, and decrease the size of the photo, they are more difficult to manipulate, it is hard to sharpen them.
Please send in jpeg format, if possible. Generally, the bigger the better. Set your camera to "fine". This allows sufficient detail to allow "detail" shots from your large photo.
All photos be cropped to approximately the same size. Detail shots will be shown where possible, and when the work is complex. All photos will be displayed in thumbnail, anyway - we are only changing the size of the large photo which loads when you "click on the thumbnail."
Hard copy photos:
1. email the webmaster for mailing address.
2. Photos should be sent with a self-addressed,
stamped envelope
for the photos return.
3. Each photo should be labelled with:
Artist name
basket name or identifier (number, etc. this should be unique to the basket, not just "lidded basket".)
any other information you wish displayed about the basket, i.e., dimensions, background, unusual materials or techniques used,
whose collection it is in, etc.
When labelling photos, it is recommended that you write the
description, and your name on a separate label with either pencil or an indelible pen, LET IT
DRY COMPLETELY, then attach it to the back of the picture. Writing on the back of one picture often is transferred to the front of another one.
If you want to be extra careful, stack them so they face each other, with the backs (where the label
is) on the outside of each pair.
4. Little smudges on the surface of the photo can sometimes be big smudges when they are scanned:
Try not to leave fingerprints.
5. Photos remain exclusive to the Pine Needle Group If another website repeats the photos which are still showing in the PNG Gallery, the Gallery will be removed. As there are links provided from each gallery to additional works by that coiler, it is evident to the viewer when works are repeated from other parts of the web. The intent of this group offering a gallery is to:
Promote coiling by showing examples of the form
Give coilers without knowledge of web specifics the opportunity to exhibit works online
6. If your photos are not accepted:
Photos are not refused because I "don't like the basket"! No judgements are made with regard to the fineness of the finished work, or the sophistication of the piece. If it is not suitable for family viewing, it will not be shown. Otherwise, jugdements are made based upon the photo quality ONLY. If you have done the best you can with photo quality, and they are still not accepted, there are plenty of other places to exhibit your photos online.
Guide to Free Online Photo Albums is a great webpage with information about the places you can make your own photo albums online. A detailed analysis is given of the different services and advantages of each host.
Tripod/Lycos offers free space, where you can make and post your own homepage. When you choose to sign up, make sure the user name you choose is what you want to call your website! Here is a sample page
Once you have your baskets uploaded to the web, don't forget to notify The Pine Needle Group webmaster. You can have a link to each of your pages next to your member listing, and pages with coiled works will also be added to the links pages.
Need help with digitizing? Most drug stores/photo development places will digitize for a nominal fee.
