The SETOFF

WANTS TO PUBLISH YOUR MOTORCAR PHOTOS, RUN REPORTS, AND TECHNICAL ARTICLES

Please support your newsletter by sending materials to The SETOFF Editor Wayne Parsons at:

setoff@ix.netcom.com

While all materials about NARCOA activities and motorcars are welcome, here are some guide lines about what formats and sizes best fit our limited number of pages, and current production process.

Original vertical format cover photos should include some sky for placement of The SETOFF publication name.

COVER PHOTOS

To score the front cover of The SETOFF for your photograph, it must have been originally shot in a vertical (or portrait) format such as the one at left.

It must be high resolution with a .jpg file size between 2200KB to 3200KB.  For many electronic cameras this is the highest resolution just short of "raw." Raw format files are too big for e-mailing, and have more detail than is needed for our newsletter.

If you're still shooting with film, that's OK!  Have the negative  scanned to disc by your local discount photo processor.

Finally, send all photos in their original form, don't make any changes in Photoshop.

Center cutting this photo to get a vertical format for the cover does not work.  In addition, the Editor does not like "rear view" photos of motorcars.  Have your passenger turn around, and shoot the car following behind you.

The above horizontal format type of shot is suitable for placement in a run report on the inside of The SETOFF.  But, vertical format shots also work very well in the three column format of the newsletter.

ARTICLES

  

RUN REPORTS

The new format of The SETOFF has more space allocated to run reports.  Run reports should be e-mailed to the editor in MS Word format with .doc file extensions within two weeks of the event.  Rich Text Format and Plain Text format are also fine.  Those files would have .rtf or .txt file extensions.  Please set your word processor to put two spaces between sentences after the period.  This is important for later paste up in the justified column format used by The SETOFF. 

Technical Articles

Technical articles should be e-mailed to the editor in MS Word format with .doc file extensions.  Rich Text Format and Plain Text format are also fine.  Those files would have .rtf or .txt file extensions.  Please set your word processor to put two spaces between sentences after the period.  This is important for later paste up in the justified column format used by The SETOFF.  Please include photos with your technical articles.

Technical articles vary widely, so the editor will make the best decision he can on each submission.  Please include photos when possible.  For example, if writing about flange lubricators a good photo is at left below.  The additional close up shot at right below really shows how a lubricator works.  Wide shots with close ups together "sell" articles.

Photographs

Composing interesting photographs is easy.  It involves using the "rule of thirds".  When you look in your camera viewfinder, in your mind draw two vertical and two horizontal lines so that the view is divided into three equal parts across and three equal parts vertically.  When taking any photograph you put one of the major features in the scene on these lines, preferably at the intersection of the lines.  Check out the examples below.

The weight of this photo is on the left "thirds" line with the orange car touching two of the intersections of the lines.  The distant  tree horizon follows the upper "thirds" line.  The use of the method of "thirds" here has created a shot with lots of depth with the viewers' eye pulled to the orange car. 

This vertical photo was shot too quickly from a moving motorcar.  The water tower should have been placed at the intersection of the lines.  Thus, this photo needs the "missing" part seen in red above. 

Note how the track and motorcar fall on the left "thirds" line and the tree / sky intersection is on the upper "thirds" line.

Imagine this shot with the moving motorcar dead center...boring!

Putting the horizon on the upper "thirds" line gives this photo good balance.

Placing people on one of the "thirds" lines makes this portrait interesting.  If the people had been dead center it would be just another snapshot.

Putting the motorcar at the intersection of the "thirds" lines opens up the shot to see the diagonal line of the repaired track.

This shot was done out the rear window with no time to really frame it up.  However, by placing the track and following motorcar on the "thirds" line the oncoming car on the left was revealed.

Lots of stuff happening in this shot.  By placing the walking men on the right "thirds" line they get the desired emphasis, and we are drawn to wonder what they're talking about.

Please write captions and photo credits for all submissions.  Make the captions the body of your E-mail and include the photos as .jpg file attachments two at a time to:

setoff@ix.netcom.com

Please do not paste photos into Word documents.  This reduces their resolution.

The motorcar is placed at the intersection of two of the lines, and so was the apex of the roof.  The open left side of the frame shows where the cars are going.

  If you have more than half a dozen photos, please burn them to disc and mail them to:

Wayne Parsons, SETOFF

13380 Golden Valley Lane

Granada Hills, CA  91344