A new pastime
Something has been encroaching on my blogging/blog reading time. I have a new....errrr - OK let's be honest here - obsession. I was going to say hobby, but that may not be accurate. It may be a temporary passion, but its quite addictive.
Its called Geograph
I love maps. I can sit and read them happily for hours, like an ordinary person would read a book. Two of my main subjects at school were geography and art, and I very nearly became a mapmaker. TheHQ of the Ordnance Survey (see their wonderful online Get-a-map) was only a bus ride away from my home - it was very tempting. As it turned out, I did other things.
Thus when I found Geograph - a project which aims to record photographs for every grid square in the country - I was hooked. First I did the obvious, and went through my stash of digital photos to see what I could upload. Then I got greedy, I wanted to be the first to claim an image for a square.
So I looked at all the unfilled areas near my home, and planned a car journey that would go through as many as possible. OK, eventually I will put my walking boots on and go into the uncharted interior of Dorset. but in winter I shall do it the easy way. Last Saturday I spent a happy afternoon with map and camera in the Sydling Valley and on the hills above it. (see some of the results above)
Of course on Sunday that meant I had to spend the afternoon uploading them. Its great fun - you have to chart - in minute detail - where the photograph was taken. The process is moderated, by on duty geographers, and I had one rejected (too small, it was taken on my phone!) and one demoted to a supplemental status.
The project appeals to so many traits in me - the mapper; the photographer; and the cataloguer. Oh and the competitive part of me too. There is a leader board! But no way do I have the time to upload the thousands of photos that some sad people manage.
I am off to Sherborne this afternoon (another blog post probably) but I have just looked at the website and checked it out. Nearly the whole journey has empty Geograph squares!
Just charging up the camera right now, and allowing extra journey time. Me, addicted?
Its called Geograph
I love maps. I can sit and read them happily for hours, like an ordinary person would read a book. Two of my main subjects at school were geography and art, and I very nearly became a mapmaker. TheHQ of the Ordnance Survey (see their wonderful online Get-a-map) was only a bus ride away from my home - it was very tempting. As it turned out, I did other things.
Thus when I found Geograph - a project which aims to record photographs for every grid square in the country - I was hooked. First I did the obvious, and went through my stash of digital photos to see what I could upload. Then I got greedy, I wanted to be the first to claim an image for a square.
So I looked at all the unfilled areas near my home, and planned a car journey that would go through as many as possible. OK, eventually I will put my walking boots on and go into the uncharted interior of Dorset. but in winter I shall do it the easy way. Last Saturday I spent a happy afternoon with map and camera in the Sydling Valley and on the hills above it. (see some of the results above)
Of course on Sunday that meant I had to spend the afternoon uploading them. Its great fun - you have to chart - in minute detail - where the photograph was taken. The process is moderated, by on duty geographers, and I had one rejected (too small, it was taken on my phone!) and one demoted to a supplemental status.
The project appeals to so many traits in me - the mapper; the photographer; and the cataloguer. Oh and the competitive part of me too. There is a leader board! But no way do I have the time to upload the thousands of photos that some sad people manage.
I am off to Sherborne this afternoon (another blog post probably) but I have just looked at the website and checked it out. Nearly the whole journey has empty Geograph squares!
Just charging up the camera right now, and allowing extra journey time. Me, addicted?
posted by Val @ 10:52 am
4 Comments:
Lovely post, always nice to hear people getting so hooked! (I'm one of the site developers)
Sounds like an interesting hobby. Leave some time to keep us posted on what you're up to please :)
Well done Val. I discovered geograph only last week and find it absolutely fascinating. A lot of our area has been covered, however, I intend to investigate more. Marion
Hi Val - lovely to read your blog. I've been experimenting with one or two but not settled on a style or anything else yet.
I discovered the photography site -thought about it, but unlike you resisted the temptation!
Your pics around Sydling were taken about the time I was running/mountain biking around there. See the bbc.dorset site under extreme sports for my report!
Trevor
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