your portal to more fun in scale model railroading
your portal to more fun in scale model railroading
The NMRA Calendar is one of the crown jewels of NMRA membership. It features 13 stunning photographs of railroad models, each taken and submitted by an NMRA member, and selected by a team of media professionals. Submissions for the next year's Calendar are only accepted between January 1 and July 15.
The Calendar is mailed to all U.S. NMRA members in late fall and has become the Association's top fund-raiser.
Any NMRA member in good standing may submit up to four digital photographs. Photographs may be taken with a digital camera, smartphone, or may be a scan of a film slide or negative. (Scanning is up to the submitter.)
Obviously your submission should include the photo(s) you shot...up to 4 photos. But please include the following in a text or .doc file:
Once you have completed the above information and saved it in a text or .doc file, submit that and your photo(s) at www.wetransfer.com. This is a free service that specializes in emailing large files. You don't need to sign up for an account to use it.
At WeTransfer.com, you should see the "Upload files" box shown below. If you don't see that, click on the "I just want to send files" link at the bottom of the page you're looking at. Then follow these steps:
Fill in the form following these steps:
PLEASE NOTE: By submitting images for the NMRA Calendar, you are giving permission to the editors to alter them as needed (cropping, smoke and lighting effects, etc.). Please indicate if you do NOT want your photos altered. Your photos may also be used for NMRA promotional purposes. However, you do retain ownership of your images.
Photos must be submitted between January 1 and July 15, 2025 to be considered for the 2026 NMRA Calendar. Please don't submit photographs before January 1.
Generally speaking, no. The editors literally receive well over 100 photographs for each Calendar, and because they're volunteers, they really don't have time to critique every photograph submitted...
However, see below for several links to videos that will give you "how-to" advice for taking model shots.
You should try to edit your own photos before submitting them. However, by submitting images for the NMRA Calendar, you're giving permission to the editors to alter them as needed (cropping, smoke, lighting effects, etc.).
If you do not want this to be done to your photo, please indicate specifically on your caption text document that you do not give permission to alter your images.
No. Because you're not getting paid for usage of your photo, you retain all the rights.
We want to keep the NMRA Calendar new, fresh, and exciting. So if your photo has appeared in another national publication it won't be accepted for inclusion in the NMRA Calendar. However, if it's appeared in an NMRA Region or Division newsletter, it's ok to submit it to the NMRA Calendar.
The answer to both questions is "yes." However, the best thing to do is contact NMRA Headquarters with your request. They can tell you the cost of a Calendar and postage to a U.S. address, and the Calendar and shipping costs to other parts of the world.
The Headquarters phone number is: +1 423 892-2846.
We’ll answer with a reserved "yes." Today's cell phone cameras are head and shoulders above those in phones just a few years ago. Today you have much more control over many of the parameters you need to consider (like focus, lighting, length of exposure).
But not all cell phone cameras are created equal. Some have features that others don't have, and it often depends on the brand and model. So we can't give you exact guidelines for taking a good model photo with your particular cell phone.
However one of the links below will lead you to a YouTube video about using cell phones and other amateur equipment for taking photos. You can also search for "cell phone photography" on YouTube and you'll get dozens of links to videos.
In addition, Pelle Soeberg, an extraordinary modeler and great model photographer, did an article in the November 2017 issue of Model Railroader magazine about how he uses his cell phone to shoot models. You may want to find that issue in the archive on Trains.com or at a train show.
Contact Gerry Leone, MMR®, at calendarphotos26 [at] nmra.org
Please note that this email address will change to "27" next year, so if you save it to your contacts now, it'll only be good for the 2026 Calendar.
For those members who may want to hone their photography skills, we have links to several "how-to" model railroad photography videos.
Joey Ricard has two outstanding photography videos on YouTube geared toward amateurs using cell phones and non-pro equipment.
Kalmbach Media and Model Railroader Video Plus have generously donated a 5-part series, "Easy, Realistic Model Railroad Photography" for NMRA member use. The series talks about equipment, camera settings, lighting, composition and much more. The series is hosted by Gerry Leone, MMR, the co-manager of the NMRA Calendar.
Episode 1: Introduction and a look at some photos
Episode 2: Equipment and Terms
Episode 3: Depth of Field and Lighting
Episode 4: Bounce Cards and Software
Episode 5: Helicon Focus, Experimentation and a Real Photoshoot
