2017 New England Reflections Calendar

2017 Calendar Cover & October

The Crush is On

May : Reflected Spire, Park Hill, Westmoreland NH

This has been my calendar week.  As usually I am a couple of weeks behind in getting my 2017 New England Reflections Calendar off to the printer and, this week,  I have finally accepted that all my other, "critically late", tasks must take a back seat to getting the material together for the 2017 edition.






 

A Good Cause

November : Mill Falls, Weston Vt

As always, all proceeds from the 2017 New England Reflections Calendar will support Pulmonary Rehabilitation patients at Cheshire Medical Center/Dartmouth Hitchcock Keene in need of financial assistance and fund their participation in Breathe New Hampshire.

Breathing Free - Costs Money

2004 Pulmonary Rehabilitation Team
Cheshire Medical Center, Keene NH

Pulmonary Rehabilitation helps individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema, chronic bronchitis, asthma, pulmonary fibrosis and other chronic lung diseases.  Cheshire Medical Center/Dartmouth Hitchcock Keene provides a comprehensive outpatient program.  A multidisciplinary team tailors individualized education and exercise programs to help patients understand and cope with their disease and function with greater comfort and independence.

November 2016 Calendar

 Who Uses a Calendar Anymore?

I have been publishing the calendar for close to 15 years and I worry that today, with everyone depending on their smart phones, the interest in a wall calendar may be fading.  Perhaps I could come up with an alternative promotional device to gather the needed funds.  Coffee mugs, t-shirts or perhaps tote bags decorated with my images might work, but I wouldn’t be able to compete with Hew Hampshire Public Radio.  Besides, this time of year everyone I meet is asking, “When is the calendar coming out?”.  It has become part of my summer tradition and I realize that, at this point, I wouldn’t know how NOT to produce a New England Reflections Calendar.

March : Mist on the Hill, Dummerston Vt

So I have gone through the agony of picking my 12 pictures for next year, I’ve found banner images to compliment the large monthly photos and selected thumbnails to scatter through the empty date boxes.  I’ve decided on the important dates and holidays to include but, once again, “Belly Laugh Day” (January 24th) has failed to make the cut.  I have added the dates for the new and full moons and added the traditional names given to each full moon.  In 2017 the October full moon is closest to the Autumnal Equinox and therefore it is the "Harvest Moon".  September, which more often claims this honor, will have to be content with the "Corn Moon".

August : Morning Lamp, New Castle, NH
Always one image from the coast.

I used Microsoft Publisher to create the basic layout of the calendar.  I hate to surrender any part of the process, but in recent years I have come to appreciate that the refinements provided by a talented graphic designer and professional printing can provide a finished look to the final result.

The Nervous Time

November : Mill Falls, Weston Vt

This is an exciting and anxious time as I prepare to release my creation to the final processes of design and printing.   My work is largely done.  I have asked a number of folks to review the text for the inevitable errors and omissions.  The pictures have all been rendered in their appropriate sizes. Next week the calendar goes to the printers and then, in a couple of weeks, the hectic process of distribution will begin.  In the meantime, I’ll try to take advantage of the lull and catch up on some of my other overdue projects, including preparing for the upcoming "Art in the Park" and my fall educational programs.

July: Black-eyed Bee, Spofford NH

Old Saybrook Super Moon
My only chance to use a portrait oriented image.

In this article, I have included a few of the featured images from the 2017 New England Reflections Calendar.  Your feedback would be appreciated.  

 Of course the greatest help come when you support our pulmonary patients by buying lots of calendars!  Remember any errors in the calendar are NOT their fault.

A more complete collection of calendar images can be reviewed on my web site at:

Calendar2017 Gallery

Jeff Newcomer

partridgebrookreflections.com

603-363-8338

New England in All Seasons for a Great Cause

  I Actually Got the Calendar out in August!

Town Hall Rainbow
Chesterfield, NH

For years people have been telling me that it is important to publish
my New England Reflections Calendar during the summer. I have never disputed the concept; it was just that I never seemed to be able to get it together that early. Typically I would delay and dither until late September or even October, and, true to the warnings, I found that many potential customers would tell me that they had already bought their calendar(s) for the year. You would think that I would have learned my lesson, and this year I finally did– sort of. 




 



This is my yearly crass promotional blog for my calendar. For ten  years I have been publishing a New England Reflections Calendar. Over the decade, more than $40,000 has been raised, all going to support our Pulmonary Rehabilitation program at Cheshire Medical Center in Keene, New Hampshire. The money has been used to

Franconia, NH

assist patients with tuition and also to supplement activities offered to the group. The rehab program has provided help and comfort to scores of patients who suffer from chronic lung diseases and its success has always been dependent on our amazingly talented and dedicated staff. I have been honored to be a small part of this effort. After over 20 years as medical director of the program, I have handed off the reins, but I will still try to do my part by continuing to create and promote the New England Reflections Calendar.

This year, for the first time, I have actually completed the calendar at a reasonable time. Earlier would have been even better, but I'm

Newfane Village Cemetery

pretty psyched to get it out in August. Beyond just getting the damned thing done, the toughest part of producing the calendar is selecting the pictures. I browse through my portfolio looking for iconic images from our region. It is always frustrating that I can only choose landscape oriented images, but I promise myself that someday I'll have to do a portrait oriented edition to catch all those other pictures I have been dying to use. My search typically centers around my usual focus of the Monadnock region and southern Vermont, but I occasionally stray to other areas. This year, in addition to my traditional single coastal image, I included a couple of pictures from the Franconia region. I couldn't resist adding one of my shots from the Sugar Hill Lupine Festival. Twelve pictures never seems enough to adequately reflect the beauty of New England in all seasons and I always agonize over the pictures I have to leave out, but he addition of thumbnail images gives me a chance to more fully celebrate our unique corner of the globe. 




Ungraded Printing
For the last several years the calendar has gone from being

Hampton Beach, NH

produced in the hospital's excellent print shop to being sent out for professional printing. Given the limitations of their facilities, the hospital editions were remarkable, but the recent calendars have been much sharper, brighter and with excellent color rendition. My job now is to lay out the calendar in Microsoft Publisher and then submit the images to our designer who moves the project to InDesign for the printer. The addition of other touches, such as the different highlight colors, also adds to the attractiveness of the final product. As always I legitimately feel that this year's calendar is the best ever. You can browse this years images on my web site 2014 Calendar Collection. The only thing left is for all of you to buy a bunch of these utilitarian masterpieces. They make great gifts and support a great cause.

Maple Line
Westmoreland, NH

As always I have a wonderful group of partners in the community who help by featuring the calendar in there stores and businesses. I have just started my annual tour distributing the calendar throughout the region. I have more traveling to do and I'm always looking for new locations, but here is a partial and growing list of the where you can go to fulfill all your 2014 calendar needs.

• Cheshire Medical Center Gift Shop, Keene, NH
• Toadstool Bookstores in Keene and Peterborough, NH
• Heidi's Hallmark stores in Keene, Milford, NH
• Sharon Arts Center, Peterborough, NH
• Keene State College Bookstore, Keene, NH
• Leon's Auto Center, Keene, NH
• Nicole and Bonnie's Hair Salon, Keene, NH
• Hanna Grimes, Keene, NH
• Paper and Roses, Peterborough, NH
• Westmoreland General Store, Westmoreland, NH
• Gilsum General Store, Gilsum, NH
• JJ's Discount, Chesterfield, NH
• Monandnock Imaging, Keene, NH
• Monadnock Food Co-op 
• Walpole Village Market
• Alyson's Orchard, Walpole, NH
• Drewsville General Store, Drewsville, NH
• Village Grocery, Walpole, NH
   
• Vermont Artisan Design, Brattleboro, Vt
• Everyone's Books, Brattleboro, Vt.
• Harlow's Sugar House, Putney, Vt
• Newfane Country Store, Newfane, Vt
• Village Bookseller, Bellows Falls, Vt
• PutneyGeneral Store, Putney, Vt

Baker Brook AutumnNewfane, NH

You can also order the calendar on-line through the hospital web site

And we pay the shipping!

Finally you can be assured that, if you see me on the street, I will have a supply of calendars nearby and you will be hearing my favorite phrase for this time of season; "How many calendars do you want this year?"

Jeffrey Newcomer
Partridgebrookreflections.com