OAImages Blog

I’m frequently asked how to contribute images to this site.   It happens often enough that I thought I should post iit here on the blog and make it permanent page on the site.     The short answer:   send them in an email.

Now the longer version…

Images should be sent as file attachments to an email sent to jpannell@oaimages.com.   Please avoid using any other of my email addresses, specifically my RoadRunner address. That address has a limit on its mailbox size:   if it overflows email will bounce; the email with images as well as any other email I might receive before clearing out the mailbox.

I’m not terribly picky with technical requirements, but there are  some guidelines and suggestions that should be followed:

1. I prefer images in jpg format.   Please avoid bitmaps and tiff files as both create huge files.     Please do not send them embedded in Word documents or pdf files.
2. If possible and practical, the patches should be on a plain white background.     There’s exceptions to this that should be obvious.   In those cases use another contrasting color for the background.
3. I prefer the images to be at 150 dpi.   I can deal with shrinking the image down to a more usable size if necessary.
4. Compressing the files really isn’t necessary.   You don’t gain much and it just creates more work for me to decompress.     If you’re an Apple computer user, please do not compress them with Apple’s compression utility as I can’t decompress that.
5. Scans are preferred to digital photgraphs if possible.      Experience has shown that most  digital photographs are not nearly as good in quality as a scan.     Amateur photographers often underestimate the lighting and other requirements for producing a good  photograph of a patch.
6. This should be obvious:   please tell me what issues the images are for.     It’s not always possible to accurately catalogue a patch from an image and besides that creates more work for me.
7. It’s a good idea to copy the appropriate Blue Book editor if sending items not yet listed.     That increases the chance of it getting listed, if appropriate, and might elicit helpful feedback from that editor.
8. Lastly, please sign your email!     Don’t assume I’ll know who you are by your email address alone, even if we write regularly.   I want to credit those who give images to the site, but can’t do that if you don’t tell me who you are.

Also, please remember that I do not write the Blue Book.   I’m not even the North Carolina editor.     As such, I’m going to very deliberately stray away from any discussions about the listings.    On the few  ocassions I got myself involved in such things, I invariably found myself bogged down in an imbroglio, as I was never given complete information by either side of the argument.     At the risk of sounding overly hardheaded, my insistence on this point has annoyed at least a few people:   so be it.    Please direct issues about the listings to the appropriate regional editor.

Use of the images for “for-profit” purposes is strictly forbidden.       This includes publishing them on other media for sale or using them to sell patches.   Very specifically, taking images from this site to use on eBay auctions is not to be done.   There are so many reasons for this that I really don’t think I should have to discuss them.   With apologies to Nike, “Just Don’t Do It.”

As always, thanks for your support.

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