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The Inland Waterways Association's annual calendar
Each year IWA publishes a calendar depicting a range of scenes of our rivers and canals. The photographs used for the calendar are submitted by IWA members and supporters to raise money for our premier waterways charity and to promote our rivers and canals to the general public.
Practical and decorative
The calendar has 13 pages (one for each month of current year and one for January of the following year) plus a front cover that features a much larger photograph of a canal or river location.
Each page has space beside each day of the month so you to enter the events and reminders that we all need and the bottom of the page has an attractive picture of a river or canal scene.
All this and postcards too
Unlike most calendars IWA's calendar is not just useful for the the current year. Each month's photo is also a tear-off postcard that you can keep to use at anytime when writing to someone who appreciates the beauty of our waterways heritage - and they are a large and ever growing number.
Helping the cause
Although IWA's calendar is produced to a high standard and is competively priced, it does make money for the Association to use in promoting, protecting and restoring our waterways. Because the calendars are sold directly to the public at IWA events and through our website you can be sure that all the profits are used for charitable purposes.
Your photos in print
Most amateur photographers are thrilled to see the value of their skills recognised by seeing their shots in print. This is even more satisfying when publication is helping a worthy cause such as IWA.
IWA does not make any payment for photos used but does give complimentary copies of the calendar to published photographers who are also credited on the calendar.
What we need
We are looking for shots that invoke the charm of our inland waterways. Most of the photos need to be in a horizontal format for use as postcards but we also need a high quality vertical format shot for the front cover. More details and examples of the type of shots we are looking for are given in the sections below.
If you would like some tips on photographing canals and rivers see our Waterways Photography page.
Technical requirements and information on how to submit photographs for publication follow the sections about the pictorial requirements for postcard and front cover pictures.
Postcard Photo Requirements
This section explains the type of shot we are looking for with some examples taken from photographs used in previous years.
[Top]This shot of a boat passing Pooley Hall, near Polesworth, on the Coventry Canal was used as the August shot of our 2000 calendar. The colourful narrowboat is seen here passing the ancient hall set in the Warwickshire countryside.
This picture of Hazelhurst Aqueduct in the snow was our December 2003 photograph. Opportunities to take photos of canals in the snow are rare so should not be missed. Sunshine brings the snow to life and makes the Caldon Canal look as good in winter as it does in Summer.
Another photograph of the Caldon Canal this time at Froghall in the summer. The colourful moored boat leads the eye from left to right and into the picture while the old wharf buildings and bridge behind reflect this historic site.
This scene on the Aylesbury Arm of the Grand Union Canal illustrates the importance of picking the right position to take a shot. The obvious place to stand might be the middle of the bridge but this would have produced a boring view looking staight down the canal. By standing to the left the photographer has produced a much more interesting shot.
On the Oxford Canal another photograph of a canal being used by a colourful boat in a rural setting. Note again the main points of interest are not in the centre of the picture.
Not all shots need to be rural but they do need to capture the essence of the waterways. This shot does it by demonstrating that all ages can join in and enjoy a canal holiday.
Braunston, at the junction of the Oxford and Grand Union canals, is perhaps our most famous canal village. The busy scene here shows the canals being enjoyed on the water and the towpath.
The boat in this shot brings some activity into a picture that shows lush waterside vegetation in the foreground with elegant 19th century industrial architecture behind.
Not all waterway photographs need to show a sunny view. This night shot was taken at St. Katherine's Dock in London.
Our last example of a photograph used for postcards is this winter picture. The narrowboat introduces some colour into the view and the sunlight add an extra sparkle.
Technical requirements
The postcards on each month of the calendar are printed as 172mm by 107mm (6.8 x 4.2 inches) and are printed at 300 dpi. Therefore digital images for these must be at least 1,013 by 630 pixels giving a total of 638,190 pixels in total for the image.
Therefore photos for the postcards must be taken on a digital camera of at least 1 megabyte, or a print of at least 7 by 5 inches, or a transparency.
Front Cover Photo Requirements
This section explains the type of shot we are looking for with some examples taken from covers used in previous years.
The vertical and narrow format makes finding photographs that are suitable for the front cover of the calendar much more difficult than finding shots for postcards. In addition there needs to be space at the top and/or bottom of the picture for text to be added.
The front cover is very important for encoraging sales so we are looking for an eye catching image that represents the inland waterways. We also need a higher definition image than for postcards as the picture is reproduced in a much larger size.
Technical Requirements
The front cover of the calendar is printed as 320mm by 172mm (12.6 x 6.8 inches) and is printed at 300 dpi. Therefore digital images for these must be at least 1,884 by 1,013 pixels giving a total of 1,908,492 pixels in total for the image. This is an unusually long and narrow format so extra allowance must be made for cropping the images.
Therefore photos for the front cover must be taken on a digital camera of at least 3 megabyte, or a print of at least 12 inches from top to bottom, or a transparency.
NOTE: 300 dpi = 5.89dots per mm
How to Submit Photographs
Please send photographs in January or February each year so that a selection can be made in March. The calendar is published in August each year and is on sale at the IWA National Waterways Festival which is held at the end of the month.
Please ensure that your shots meet the techical requirements for postcards or the front cover as appropriate and that all shots are sharp.
Please send images to IWA Head Office, with a note that they are intended for use in the calendar, and whether or not we may use the photos for other publcity purposes. Thank you.
