I haven’t written about it for a little while now, but thankfully you guys remembered and this morning my Gmail inbox is full of new Saab Pride entries for the book I’m proposing to put together.

The closing date for entries was the 10th November, so if it’s Sunday wherever you’re reading this right now, you’ve still got time. If it’s Monday and you’re name isn’t Taras, then you SOL.

I’ve received heaps of entries since my last call, which is fantastic. The majority who have sent an entry have not received an email reply, but please rest assured that if you sent it to my Gmail account then it’s been received. And please also accept my heartiest thanks for helping out.

Here’s just one of the images received this morning, from Marc in Luxembourg:

We now have a great cross-section of countries and models represented, which is going to really help in fulfilling one of the goals of the book – to show Saab’s appeal over a long period, regardless of geography.

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I do have one problem cropping up with the book.

I’m not sure that the supplier I was considering to publish the book will be able to produce it at a cost that will be acceptable for people to pay. The two options therefore, are either to raise the proposed price (acceptable to a small degree) or find a different way to produce this work.

We can talk more about it later, but if people have connections in the publishing game or can recommend a way to get this done cost-effectively, I’m all ears.

And Saab, if you’d like to help out in producing what will hopefully be a great work for your dealers to hand out to prospective customers and new customers alike, then you know my email address, eh?

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I’ve just been going through the full stable of Saab Pride submissions and would like to place a call for any and all owners of older Saabs to get them out of the garage and snap off some photos.

So far, we’ve got just over 80 vehicles in total. This includes entries in the original Pride of Ownership competition. Please note that not all photos received so far are of the quality of composition that I’d like for the book, so that number will fall as I go through the editing process.

The current breakdown of vehicles is as follows:

I’ve got lots of Saab 9-5s and 9-3s (of both generations), both wagons and combis. I’ve also got a goodly number of Classic 900s and 9000s….BUT..

I’ve only one Saab 99 and one Saab 95 and there’s no 96s in the virtual garage right now.

So if you’ve got one of these older Saabs and you love it, please consider wheeling it out this weekend so that we can round out this book and make sure that as much of Saab’s model range as possible is represented.

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If you’re sending in some photos, I also need some text to accompany the shots. This would ideally be a brief description of the vehicle, as well as a few words about what the car (or the brand) means to you. Imagine the sort of thing you’d like to read about, and then write it to accompany your shots.

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Thanks to everyone who’s sent in some shots so far. It’s going great!

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Did I ever say that Michigan was an ugly place?? Of course, I mean downtown Detroit, which from my experience wasn’t exactly Pleasantville. Here, Wulf brings us photographic proof that Michigan’s got a lot of different views. Oh, and then there’s his brilliant new 9-5 to go with it.

Here’s another potential submission I’ve received for the Saab Pride book. In Wulf’s case, he’s got an embarassment of riches as I’ve just looked through around 40 photos of his and the large majority of them would be perfect candidates for the book.

How good are they? This is one I didn’t recommend for use in the book. You can imagine for yourself how picturesque the others must be.

If you’re contemplating a submission for the book, please do get your camera out and get some shots. There’s plenty of good scenery out there at this time of year, so if you’ve got a landmark or something else that’s beautiful nearby, get your Saab out and get snapping.

Entries close November 10 and the full instructions and conditions are here.

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Time for another quick peek into the submissions I’m receiving for the Saab Pride book.

This image shows Rogan’s Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan on the Turquise Trail in New Mexico. Beautfiul car, big scenery.

Anyone having any qualms about the shape of the 9-3 sport sedan, take a good look. That’s one very attractive and sporting profile. Click to enlarge.

If you’re contemplating a submission for the book, please do get your camera out and get some shots. There’s plenty of good scenery out there at this time of year, so if you’ve got a landmark or something else that’s beautiful nearby, get your Saab out and get snapping.

Entries close November 10 and the full instructions and conditions are here.

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Thanks again to all have sumbitted a photo for the Saab Pride book so far.

I’m aware that there’s some confusion out there as to what needs to be submitted and by when, so let’s clear that up.

Closing date: First of all, I need to tell you all that entries must close November 10, 2008. I’m going to be flat out editing and doing layout stuff after that in order to get the book out in good time. So please, if you’re thinking of entering, the next two weekends are the time to get out there, find the best scenery you can and shoot some photos.

Where to send your entries: swade99@gmail.com and please make sure you put “Saab Pride” in the subject line of the email.

What to send:

1) A great photo (or photos) of your car. Please understand that this is a book that we’re asking people to pay for. Hence, the photos and content have to be something that they’ll want to buy. It doesn’t need to be a professional shot, but it should be well composed and if there’s something notable in the scenery (a famous landmark, for example) then all the better.

2) Some text that I can post with the photo(s). This could be something along the lines of what Saab as a brand means to you, or what your particular car means to you. The bare specs of the car can be included, but these on their own won’t be enough (unless your car is extremely rare, in which case some details are appropriate). Please limit your text to around 80 words. There’ll only be one page to print it and I’d like to keep those text pages as clean as possible.

3) The name you’d like attributed to the photo. I’d suggest a fill first name and initial (e.g. Steven W)

4) Your general location (e.g. state/province/city, country)

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Why these entries were finalists in the competition

Wilfried’s photo made you feel the cold that it was set in. The arch makes you wonder what’s on the other side and of course, there’s the beautiful and unmistakable lines of his Saab 9-5.

Tim’s entry was a technical one, as well as one for scenery. Tim keeps his car immaculately clean and the mirror finish was evident in this shot. The beautiful skyline in the background gave a clear indication as to where he lives, too.

DenverNewbie’s entry was a finalist due to the breathtaking setting in which he placed his car – the Garden of the Gods in Colorado. This entry took a little effort, but the results were well worth it.

Vaidas’ entry set his cars in a dramatic setting and the composition and coloring of the photos was just fantastic. This was the winning entry in the competition.

Willy D’s entry, again, was in a dramatic setting and the stark white of his Saab 9-5 looked just magnificent against the background of the Hawaiian countryside.

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I’d like your car to be shown in the best possible light, so please give some consideration to the setting in which you photograph it.

Submissions close November 10, so please get out there!

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With the announcement of the upcoming Pride of Ownership publication, I’ve finally had the incentive that I need to actually produce something worthwhile in the PoO category. I could also use a little help to determine the final entry from among the pictures that I’ve taken. I’ve seen your entries, and I must say that the bar has been set very high!
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In the original Pride of Ownership competition, I abstained because it simply didn’t seem fair for me, a site author, to enter the competition. Now that it’s for everyone’s consumption, I felt that I could add a little something to the mix with a little effort on my part.

As I’ve mentioned before, I live in Franklin, Tennessee, a town about 15 miles from Nashville, Tennessee. I’m a Nashville native as well. I’ve included pictures from both towns in this group.

The raw photos are on Flickr.

I’m open to input on these; if you see a picture that’s better, than another, I’m all ears. At the moment, I’m partial to the 1st Avenue shot because it’s got interesting depth and the lines are well arranged toward a common vanishing point — the street, roof tops, flags, car, etc.

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The Parthenon, located in Nashville’s Centennial Park, was built for the state of Tennessee’s Centennial celebration in 1897. It is an exact full-scale replica of the original Parthenon in Athens, Greece, complete with a full-scale replica Athena Parthenos sculpture inside. It was inspired by Nashville’s identity as the “Athens of the South” due to the numerous universities and colleges located here.

The likeness of the Parthenon is frequently used as a symbol for the city of Nashville, and Centennial Park is certainly the major city park.

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Nashville, Tennessee is known as “Music City USA”, a reference to the city’s place as the world capitol of the country music industry. Nashville gained this status in the early days of radio broadcasting in the early part of the 20th century. The Grand Ole Opry, broadcast from Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium since the 1920′s, is still a country music mainstay and one of the world’s oldest running broadcasts of any kind. It created an entire entertainment district in downtown Nashville that includes the Printer’s Alley, lower Broadway and Riverfront areas. Tourism and entertainment is Nashville’s single largest industry by revenue.

This picture shows the Riverfront area along 1st Avenue in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. The Saab is parked in the riverboat tour terminal on the banks of the Cumberland River.

Also in the entertainment district, the Ernest Tubb Record Shop is a local icon. Formerly owned by the celebrated country singer/songwriter, his record shop is known for hosting a clear-channel country music radio program on Saturday nights that featured a single performer, historically the up-and-coming artists in country music. They pioneered mail order music to fill the vast number of requests from outside the immediate area for recordings produced by the weekly guest. Plus, they’ve preserved the cool old-school 1960′s-era sign.

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Franklin, Tennessee is a small town just outside of Nashville, Tennessee on the Harpeth River. During the War Between the States (aka the American Civil War), Franklin was considered a strategic location for two reasons: its was a major agricultural center that controlled a great portion of the region’s economy and it is surrounded by a ring of hills that could serve as defensive positions. The Battle of Franklin was a major event in the War Between the States, resulting in over 8,000 deaths and innumerable wounded.

The town square pictured includes the traditional monument for the Confederate war dead — a spire topped with a Confederate soldier in the uniform of the region facing towards Richmond, Virginia, the former capitol of the Confederate States of America. The canon on the monument mound are the real thing — 1860′s brass canon barrels with concrete pedestals in lieu of the original cast-iron stands.

I’m going to be preparing a book on the pride of owning a Saab. It’ll be based on the Saab pride of ownership competition I ran here at TS late last year, but I’m also accepting new entries so I need you to clean up your cars, get out there and get snapping.

Autumn in the north (or spring in the south) is a great time for taking photos. The light is clean and soft and the colors can be fantastic. Here’s a few tips, references and inspirational ideas to get you started.

1. Don’t be afraid to put yourself in the photo.

Cars are good, but people are good, too. It makes the car story much more personal. Getting the face is best, but it can even be something subtle:

2. Check the references

Check out the entries in the Saab Pride of Ownership Competition
Check out previous tips on car photography
Check out previous features on great photos, like this one.

3. Strobe

It’s tricky, but photographing stuff at night can work out really well if done correctly.

4. Either fill the frame, or go wide

An old teacher called it “dancing the three step”. Before you take your shot, take three steps back and have a look again. Go to your original spot then take three steps forward. Try different focal lengths.

Filling the frame excludes some of the extra scenery, but it focuses on the details of the car and accentuate certain elements.

Going wide allows you to get the car and the breathtaking bit of scenery in the background.

5. Don’t be afraid to play a little

This is that some photo, cropped and tweaked a little. It’s a little less grey, a little colder. What you want to convey is really up to you as the photographer (and forgive me Wulf for tweaking yours, but it was a great base shot for this tip)

We live in the digital age, and whilst I think the photo should always remain believable, there’s no harm in pushing a few buttons in photoshop or iPhoto in order to finish it off.

6. Get sophisticated

For the advanced photoshopper, there’s the new world of HDR. It’s not for the inexperienced, but the results and the level of detail can be absolutely stunning

7. Get simple

The beauty of black and white – also easily recreated in this digital age. Black and white tends to work better on higher contrast cars. It’s going to work better for a dark or light car, more so than a silver car.

Here’s one that’s HDR and black and white and does both of them pretty well.

8. Get creative

It’s mentioned in one of those references linked above, but try some different angles. Get up high or down low.

While Stu was taking this shot:

I was taking this shot:

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So get out there and start clicking.

It’s the digital age so a bad shot doesn’t cost you anything. Try things out and send your best in for the Saab Pride book!

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