Good idea Don - I definitely expect entries to "fly" in!.
I've updated the themes to date, and the Sticky thread designations will soon follow.
Here are the Guidelines:
Monthly Shooting Assignment Guidelines
Here are the guidelines that a number of participants in the MSA put together over a number of cycles. They have been recently revised
MSA Guidelines
For first-timers, the following summary of standard procedures should help (we are indebted to Ken Nadvornick for putting most of this together, and not objecting when this member organized activity moderator proposed to re-use [aka borrow] it):
(1) Take note of the MSA assignment, which you will find inserted into the title of the thread.
(2a) For the NEW Category, take your photo(s) according to the assignment guidelines. You are expected to shoot something new rather than grabbing from your archives. The exposure must happen during the period of the current MSA theme - usually one month - and must of course be submitted during that period.
2(b) For the OLD Category, you can use thematically appropriate Photos that you have taken in the past.
2(c) For either the NEW Category or the OLD Category, photos must originate as something that is consistent with Photrio's Analogue only section principles - i.e. using traditional (non-digital) processes. Scans from prints, slides, or negatives are permitted, but any digital adjustments should be strictly limited to what would be acceptable in the Photrio analogue only galleries. Please be sure to label which Category (OLD or NEW) your submission belongs in. Film and exposure information plus any special technical information is also good.
(3) You can post your photo in the MSA Gallery, or you can host your photo elsewhere and link to it in the thread, or, you can post it as an attachment to a message in the thread and it will show as a clickable thumbnail.
(4) It's all for fun, there are no prizes.
(5) at the end of the MSA, the previous winner who chose the theme:
(a) is encouraged to nominate from each of the "OLD" and "NEW" categories one photo that is the best photo in that category that illustrates the theme; and
(b) in any event, will choose (from those category "winners", if applicable) the single photo that is the best photo submitted as part of the current MSA that illustrates the theme.
The member submitting the "winning photo" will be declared the MSA "winner" and will have the opportunity and responsibility to choose a theme for the next MSA, and then choose a new winner from the submissions that follow.
Additional hints about uploading your photographs...
(6) How to upload to the MSA gallery: You perform the upload in the same way you would upload to the standard gallery, except you press the "'All subscriber galleries", you find a drop-down menu and press the Monthly Shooting Assignment, thats it.
(7) You can instead, attach your image to a post in this thread. Or you can link to an image that is hosted elsewhere - please be sure all members will have access to such images, and that the links remain current.
8) Most importantly, have fun!
Matt