The 2016 Truck Camper Magazine Calendar Contest starts now! New and updated rules, fine-tuned suggestions, and eight years of winning examples to inspire you.
Somewhere in the world, there’s a guy sitting in a grey windowless cubicle staring at his 2015 Truck Camper Magazine calendar. He’s studying Stu and Karla Dekkenga’s Northstar in Moab, Utah, and dreaming of following in their tire tracks. Next month he’ll be admiring Julie and Monte Hendricks’s awesome photo from Toquima Range, Nevada. Oh, to go where they go, and to see what they see.
He plans to retire in a year or two, and is saving up for a truck camper and the trip of a lifetime. Between now and then, he has the calendar, and the inspirational photographs within it. Hang in there guy in the grey cubicle, it’s so worth it.
The 2016 TCM Calendar Contest Is on
Welcome to the ninth-annual Truck Camper Magazine Calendar Contest.
There will be twelve calendar winners, one for each month of the year, plus one more winner for the calendar cover. All thirteen calendar winners will have their winning photograph and the story behind their photograph featured in the magazine. The thirteen winners will also receive a free 2016 Truck Camper Magazine Calendar.
All submitted photographs will be placed into a 2016 TCM Calendar Contest Gallery. By sending in a photo for the contest, you give Truck Camper Magazine the right to use your photograph in future posts, social media, etc.
Here are the 2016 Truck Camper Magazine Calendar Contest rules:
1. All photographs must contain a truck camper. A truck camper is a camper that can be demounted from a truck.
2. Photos can not be altered with Photoshop, apps, or special camera filters. The contest is for natural images of truck campers in nature.
3. All photographs must be taken between October 25th, 2014 and October 23rd, 2015.
4. All photographs must be submitted digitally via email to [email protected]. You can send all entry photos at once or one photo at a time up (with a limit of 3 photos per person/camper) until October 23, 2015.
5. All photographs must be submitted by 11:59pm PST, Friday, October 23rd, 2015.
6. You can submit three photographs for the calendar. That’s three photographs per truck camper rig. Choose carefully!
7. All photographs must be horizontal. Please make your shots wide, not tall, like a calendar page.
8. All photos must be taken with a three-megapixel digital camera, or better.
9. Send the highest resolution possible. Please do not downsize your photos before emailing them to us.
10. Along with your photographs, please include the following information: your first and last name(s), the location the photo was taken, and the year, make, and model of your truck and camper.
Here is an example:
Name: Alex and Julie Blasingame
Photo Location: White Rim Trail, Canyonlands National Park, Utah
Truck: 2007 Ford F250
Camper: 2002 Lance 815
Six Time Tested and Proven Ways To Win:
Over the past nine years, we have recognized six clear patterns shared by the majority of calendar winners. If you want to win the calendar contest, here are six pointers:
1. Capture the Golden Hour
The moments immediately after sunrise, or just before sunset will give your photographs a beautiful soft warm glow. You may have to wait patiently for this moment in the evening, or wake up early to capture this moment in the morning, but it’s worth it.
2. Take Many Different Perspectives
If you’ve found an amazing place, park your rig and take pictures from many different positions and angles. I will often walk in many different directions looking at the camper and how it appears in the scene before me. Often times we need to move the camper a couple times, and I need to move the camera a few times, to get it right. Sometimes I climb a ridge and shoot down, or get on the ground and shoot up. The trick is to try lots of ideas, experiment, and see what looks best.
3. Avoid Most Man Made Stuff
Do what you can to avoid man made objects in your photographs, unless they’re the subject. For example, an interesting bridge or a red barn are often great, but random trash cans and power lines are not. If there’s a man made object in your picture, make it great.
4. Include Your Entire Truck and Camper Rig
Almost without exception, calendar winning photographs feature the whole truck camper; bumper to bumper, cabover to ladder, tires to roof top – the whole rig.
5. It’s All About Location, Location, Location
Don’t even think about photographing your camper at a campsite, unless the campsite is incredible. This contest is all about finding amazing places, and photographing them with your camper. More often than not, this means finding a pull-off, and getting the shot. If you wait until you park for the night, chances are you drove by the interesting places. Always be on the lookout for the calendar winning spot, and have your camera ready.
6. Learn Your Camera
As a camera buff, I make sure to read my camera manual and watch YouTube videos on photography, and my camera. This knowledge, coupled with experience, often leads to much better photographs than would otherwise be possible. Automatic mode on most cameras is certainly very good, but knowing how to fully utilize your camera will pay dividends.
Get Inspired By Past Winners
We absolutely love looking at the calendar entries, especially the winners and runners-up from years past. These photographs not only wow us with their beauty, but also remind us of the possibilities and adventure the truck camping lifestyle offers. Then I find myself thinking, “I want to take pictures like that this year!” We are inspired!
Good luck everyone!