It is actually quite hard to get a publishable picture that suits the requirements of the IOLI Bulletin. With a digital camera, a rather high level of dpi are required and the dpi determines the size that the picture can be printed at. Speaking from the standpoint of one who has taken photographs that have been rejected, only to have to take them again and again, I can tell you that I have purchased a special camera. I have also had to buy a special cloth for the background. Double knit is best because it doesn't wrinkle, shows the lace well and sort of absorbs the light. I have also purchased a clamp for the camera to hold it still because camera shake is more of a problem in high dpi, low light situation. Debra has a fancy tripod she uses and a special drape. Lighting must be side lighting, not flash, because the flash washes out the lace. There is a very steep learning curve. Sometimes we joke that we should train someone in each region to photograph to our specifications and have everyone else bring their lace to them, sort of establishing photo stations. In the past, Debra races around the convention trying to take a picture of every speaker and event, every award recipient, etc. Then she photographs the all the contest entries, often in the wee hours of the night. There were quite a lot of contest entries this year, twenty-five as I recall. It is quite exhausting. Last year, her camera began to malfunction during the convention and she had to enlist Joann Eurell's husband to go running around at top speed with his camera to cover all the photographing necessary. So, I think that she thought that since she was contest chairman, and since typically the entries are sent to the contest chairman, she might be able to photograph some of the ribbons while she was still at home and able to control lighting, etc. better. This is especially desirable since the table ribbons are large and she may need to stand on a ladder to photograph them. Also, this year her husband is coming with her and I think she thought it might be nice for them to have Wednesday to see Montreal, before she disappears into her grueling schedule again. I'm not certain that it occurred to her that someone might feel so strongly about the "sending in" requirement that they would rather pay a professional photographer to take a photo. This is certainly something you can discuss with her. I think she was just trying to take a little of the pressure off her and eliminate more of the risk associated with the camera breaking down. It just so happens that she is the contest chair and it seemed like pre-photography of some or all of the entries and the attendant relief of stress might be an extra bonus to being the contest chair. I don't think it has ever been done before. I guess it was previously the case that entries were sent to the contest chair, but whatever the reason for that was, I don't think it was for photography. But here, I shouldn't be commenting on things I don't know about. Debra is very behind on things because she is getting children settled at college. I am sure that she will respond as soon as she can. Devon
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