Author Archives: Calvendo Team

CALVENDO self-publishers in conversation: Chris Ford

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Be it commercial work, street photography or coastal landscapes – Chris Ford, who grew up in Canada and now lives in in the heart of the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, has bags of experience that he imparted to his students during 30 years of teaching photography in Oxford. Here, he tells us how he approaches street photography, shares his love for Dorset’s famous landmark Pulpit Rock and why it’s worth persevering when creating your first Calvendo calendar, even if you’re not a techie …

Pic Chris Ford

Chris, can you talk a bit about your background as a photographer and how and when you took up photography?

I was introduced to photography by my grade six school teacher in the academic year of 1967/68. She had visually described the lyrics to a current song on the radio at the time, and then assigned similar as homework. I tried my best, using my plastic Kodak Instamatic camera in the middle of a very white Canadian winter. Needless to say, my results were useless, but the seed had been planted. I later studied it in high school and had decided I wanted to make it a career during my college (Quebec CEGEP) years (1974). Educationally, my training was as a commercial advertising photographer, specializing in studio photography.

How would you describe your style and approach as a photographer? Continue reading →

CALVENDO self-publishers in conversation: Andrew Kearton

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Location, location, location: Being at home in a place where the great outdoors of the Peak District is in spitting distance means that landscape photographer Andrew Kearton is perfectly placed for his work. Here, he tells us about his approach to photography, what he likes about Flickr, what to have in mind when creating a calendar plus he’s got a very simple, but nonetheless essential tip for Calvendo first timers.

Andrew Kearton

Andrew, can you talk a bit about your background as a photographer and how and when you took up photography?

I began photography as a means of recording the beautiful places that I went walking with my dog (who also features in my photography). I had only ever taken snapshots for years with a pocket camera but always had in the back of my mind the idea of taking photography more seriously. In 2007, I bought an entry level DSLR and was totally hooked from then on.

The past few years I’ve been trying hard to refine my skills. After leaving my previous job due to some health issues I became a self-employed landscape photographer last year. I’m lucky to live in a beautiful area on the edge of the Peak District national park so I am spoilt for locations. When my health improves I will go further afield.

How would you describe your style and approach as a photographer? Continue reading →

Calvendo launching “Made in the UK” calendar edition

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Calling all photographers, graphic designers, painters and creative people: We’ve just launched a new Made in the UK edition and would love to see your calendar ideas for that! 2016 calendars submitted between now and 15th November 2015 will be considered for Calvendo’s special Made in the UK logo to be featured on every calendar selected.

Flagge_UK.eps

With the Made in the UK edition, Calvendo wants to encourage users to think creatively how to render the theme of Britishness for the medium of a wall calendar: “Typical sports, customs, traditions, sights, quirks – any ideas are welcome and will be considered by our team of calendar specialists,” explains Calvendo CEO Jochen Jauch. “We’re deliberately not restricting the topic further apart from the ‘Made in the UK’ headline because we want to give our users scope to use their creativity as freely as possible. We’re very excited to see what kind of topics they’ll come up with and in which form they’ll submit them for our new calendar edition dedicated to all things British.”

 
Important to know for anyone considering to give it a go: Every calendar that is created on www.calvendo.co.uk and submitted has the chance of being published, even if it won’t be included in the Made in the UK edition. As an open platform, users can register free of charge on Calvendo, create their calendars as self-publishers with an editing software integrated on the site and submit them to a jury who will perform a quality check. All calendars that pass the jury process and are released for publication will receive an ISBN and be listed on retail platforms such as Amazon. Production is upon custom order via digital print-on-demand and self-publishers receive royalties for each calendar copy sold.

 
Users who want their submission to be considered for the Made in the UK edition should add a short note before submitting their work. For more information, please see our dedicated “How to submit a calendar for the Made in the UK edition” page. Users whose calendar has been selected will be informed and provided with the logo to add it to their calendar. They are also free not to accept the label and publish their calendar without. Altogether, Calvendo will include 20 calendars in its first ever Made in the UK edition.