The Bob Project: Photo Guidelines

Subject requirements

The photo needs to be of an unadorned pleo: no clothes, jewelry, collars, etc. that would identify the pleo as being a specific pleo. The picture needs to be of a "generic" pleo, so we can pretend it's Bob, and so that to anyone who doesn't know the pleo, they could all appear to be of the same pleo.

The pleo needs to be in the picture with some sort of sign, marker, building, monument, etc. identifying the location. For it to look like Bob is traveling around the world, the pictures need to be of something recognizable that indicates where in the world the picture was taken.

For a place (Country, state/province/territory, county/parish/district, or city/town): the picture should be taken showing a "Welcome to", "Now Entering", or "Population" type of sign or monument, Chamber of Commerce building, City hall, town square, or historical marker. Again, the idea is for the picture to show that the pleo is at a specific geographic place, and that people don't have to "recognize", guess at, or take your word for.
For a restaurant: the picture needs to show the name of the restaurant. This can be done by posing the pleo by an outdoor sign, the restaurant's name on the side of the building or wall, or as a last resort, have the pleo standing with a menu showing the name somewhere in the restaurant or being held by waitstaff wearing uniforms with the restaurant's name on them. Again, the idea is that anyone looking at the picture can obviously say "Oh, Bob ate at . . . "
For "recognizable landmarks" (such as a park, historical site or monument, tourist attraction, or point of interest): the picture should, like for the restaurant, ideally show the pleo either with a sign naming the landmark, the place's name on a wall/building, or with the "recognizable" landmark visible in the background. In this last case (landmark visible in background as the only means of identifying where the pleo is), the lanmark should be visibly identifiable by any fifth grader (i.e., the Eiffel tower, the clock tower, Ayer's rock, etc. but not something only known to locals).

Ideally the photo should include a card, small sign, or some other scrawling that says "Bob was here" (or in the case of a restaurant, "Bob ate here"). The text can be photoshopped into the picture, but you'll get more credit if it's actually there as part of the picture.

Image requirements

Images should be either jpeg (.jpg) or .png format. TIF, GIF, and BMP are not acceptable. But any image uploaded to the Gallery is automatically converted and should be fine.

Images should be at least 1280x960 pixels or larger, preferably landscape. Most digital cameras at least 2-megapixels or larger should be fine. Many cell phones may not be high enough quality (some newer models are) and cell phones tend to be portrait (vertical) rather than landscape (horizontal).

Images should be clear and crisp; in focus. Blurry images may not be acceptable.

Awarding of Points

Each photo earns one or more points based on the following criteria:

One point for the picture if it is acceptable in quality and content (see above).
One point if the picture has the phrase "Bob was/ate here" in it.
One point if the photo is the first one submitted in that country.
One point if the photo is the first one submitted in that state.
One point if the photo is the first one submitted in that city.

Points for locations

One point if the photo is the first to feature the country.
One point if the photo is the first to feature the state/province/etc.
One point for the first photo to feature each county/parish/district/or other state subdivision.
One point for the first photo to feature each city/town/etc.

For example, Three photos get submitted. The first for a McDonald's in Paris, the second from the border crossing into France, and the third photo of a "Welcome to Paris" sign. The photo submitted for the McDonald's could get one point for being the first photo submitted for a place in France, one point for being the first photo for a place in Paris, and one point for being the first photo of a McDonald's. The second photo (of the border crossing into France) would also get one point for being the first photo to feature France. The third photo would not get a point for France, but would get a point for featuring Paris.

Points for restaurants

One point if the photo is the first to feature each restaurant (by name).
In our example above, one point was awarded for the first photo submitted for a McDonald's. If a fourth photo is submitted for the McDonald's in Dallas, Texas, it would not get a point for the McDonald's. but it might get a point for the United States, Texas, or Dallas if it is the first one submitted for that country, state, or city.
One point if the restaurant is a pizza place.
For example, McDonald's is worth one point. Pizza Hut gets one point for being a restaurant, and a second point because it's a pizza place.
Two points if the pizza place has the name "Fred" in it.
One point if the photo shows the server delivering the pizza to the pleo.

Points for landmarks

One point for the first photo to feature each landmark.
One point if the landmark has something to do with dinosaurs.
Two point if the landmark has the name "Bob" in it. (This last one automatically qualifies any business as a landmark. So, while a truck stop doesn't qualify as a true landmark, "Bob's Truck Stop" does!)

Rules & Regulations •

July 1st, 2009