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The Image of the Day Association is a group of inspired motivated image makers who are in a state of continuous image creation, always working on the next image to share with the members of the group as well as the rest of the world. Ioda has many purposes, but the most important ones are:
Any active image maker working in any media is eligible. The minimum requirement is the capability to translate your images into digital form, and be able to e-mail images and access the Ioda web site. Also a reasonable expectation of participation is desired. Anyone interested in joining is invited to e-mail wilson@wilsonhurst.com
Downsize your image to 700 pixels in the longest dimension of the image. So the largest image would be one that is a square, 700x700 pixels. Save your image as jpg for e-mailing and subsequent web display.
The file name of your image is important, because the order the images are displayed on the Ioda website depends on it!
Start your file name with the two digit number representing the day for which the image is being submitted: (01, 02, ……31). Next the first three letters of the month (jan, feb, mar, apr, may……..dec). Next a space. Next the title of your image. Lastly the file extension.
Naming Examples:
01jan flower.jpg
12feb head shot.jpg
08mar train.jpg
By naming your images in this way, up-loading to the Ioda website is made efficient.
Good taste is always right; obvious tastelessness is out. We will leave this matter specifically vague. One strong guideline: make sure the content is yours and that you give permission for it to be posted to a public website. If there is any question in your own mind as to the origin of the content, don’t use it. Obviously, we as image makers must respect the copyright or potential copyright of others just as we expect everyone to respect ours.
By sending your photos to the Ioda, you are not giving up any rights to the images. They belong to you. What you are agreeing to is: you give the Ioda explicit and implicit permission to publish the image on the Ioda website for others in the Ioda and image-loving community to enjoy, study, learn from, etc. The intent and message is one of sharing. If you create an image with fabulous commercial implications involving intricate trade secrets, please don’t expose it to the light of day. Artists work best when they are free to accept, transfer and cause influences. Ideas are not copyrightable.
Preferably one! The idea is to have a new image everyday. If you need to send more than one, limit the number in a single e-mail to no more than three.
No need to try to "catch up" - if some days are missed, just try to get back with it.
Consider including any information that enhances your visual communication.
You might enjoy describing how you take a picture. Or the technique you used during the shoot. Or the technique you used in post processing. You might create images without the use of photography at all. You can add a poem or some prose. Or make your own comments that add to the artistry of the situation. Speak of what you learned from this particular image.
Express the reverberations of emotion—the aftertaste.
Think of your e-mail as an artform that may include an image, words of explanation, poetry, prose, or a technique and educational notes about how you created your masterpiece so we can all learn from it and maybe try out your recipe for ourselves. Share your secrets. Your rewards will be the continuously entertaining and imaginative influences you have on others in the group as well others influence on you.
No problem. Become the best at whatever you are interested in. Share it with others.
The Ioda was created and is currently administered by Wilson Hurst, Assistant Professor in the School of Technology at Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg. Several of the regular contributors have been submitting images since April, 2004.
To get an idea of the kind of work that is submitted, please browse through the image library located at: http://www.wilsonhurst.com/ioda/iodaframe.htm
Constructive feedback is encouraged. If your comments will aid the rest of the group, please add your comments in the section under the image when it appears on the Ioda website. Let everyone know when you think a particular artist has done a good job.
If you know a way to help an individual in the group with a specific issue, don’t hesitate to contact them directly through e-mail. We all must become mentors for this group to grow. If you see that someone is falling by the wayside, please inquire (but don’t harass). Everyone needs a little prod now and then.
Wilson sends his iod to all members of the group, so any member can copy the addresses from the “to” field in that email.
Just send your images to wilson@wilsonhurst.com , and use the web site to view the work of the group.
Some of the image makers have dial-up accounts only. You may have your SPAM filters turned on with such tight security that you can’t receive e-mails with attachments or e-mails with HTML. Check your settings, both in your e-mail client and at your Internet Service Provider. You may have to manually allow individual e-mail addresses through your filters.
Picture taking is a casual activity, a snapshot or record. Image making is a cognitive process of creating visual aesthetic statements to communicate ideas.
"Good enough" is a value judgement. We aren’t here to judge your work. We’re here to encourage your talent while we improve our own. Every artist is trapped in the cocoon of time where they and their talents and ambitions are RIGHT NOW. No one has all the answers all the time. No artist submits his or her best work every day. Your job is to work towards gradual and continuing improvement. Ask for feedback. Give feedback.
Image making and photo opportunities are almost everywhere, but interesting, creative, outstanding image-making opportunities come from your own imagination, talent, skills and tools. We suggest that you look through the Ioda submissions over the past months to see what others are doing. Learn from them, but keep in mind that your images and the improvement of your image-making skills must be your focus.
Pick a style, any style—show your own, or invent your own.
As the Army advertises, it’s to “Be All That You Can Be.”
As member Wayne Gunn put it so distinctly in three words, “We’re artists, dammit.”
Because we are busy dealing with responsibilities of jobs, social obligations, of paying the mortgage and bills, we tend to forget those three words. Talented visual artists and designers often lose sight of themselves because they are so busy waiting tables (doing work for clients, not themselves). The Ioda provides that little space in your life to be and maintain your creative self while moving forward with a group of peers interested in the same goals. You may not achieve getting an image in every day, but the prod is there to keep you moving. The goal is the continuous creation of the path, not the end of the path. The path is made up of the steps you take upon it. The image making steps you take determine the shape and the structure of your path. The Ioda is the landscape upon which image-making paths are made.