Geograph - photograph every grid square

If it has both question and answer, it should appear in the 'list' within a few hours.
However, it may take 24-36 hours for a search to find it.
A new question may take longer than this, moderators are alerted to its existence but may not know the answer.

The answers given by Barry have been on the site for a long time, and they form the basis of what the site is about. Yet many good Geographs do not fulfil any of those criteria, and two are almost contradictory (at close up and being useful in interpreting a map).

It is important to realise that the site has grown way beyond what was first envisaged, and so the site's definition of Geography is now very wide, incorporating a lot of social history, ecology, geology and other allied subjects. This is encouraged but it means that the definition of a Geograph has become broader.

So a Geograph is any photograph, accurately geoloacted, that depicts the Geography of a square, or any aspect of the Geography of the square, shown in some form of context. A description is useful and encouraged, especially for photographs in which the geography is not obvious, but it is not essential.

Some other photographs are still extremely welcome and contain useful geographical information but may not be classified as Geographs*, and listed below:

Firstly, it was felt that it was very important that every square should be actually visited and not just 'view-bagged' from a distance. So, Geographs must be taken within the square. Nevertheless, certain views can only be seen from outside a square. These cross-grid shots are classified as "Cross Grid".

Secondly, some photographs don't have much context. These are usually details of large objects, but they may just be very small objects or they could be large objects that are not shown completely. Most mods would agree that the smaller the object the more context that is needed to make it a Geograph. These close-ups are classified as "Close Look"*. The largest objects that tend to be classed as shown in close-up or incompletely are buildings. Most mods believe that to be a Geograph a building photograph should the whole building or some context, although some mods would prefer both.

Thirdly, indoor shots are classified as "Inside". They can add useful information, but indoors, being an entirely human environment, is on the fringe of the site's definition. Only public indoor areas are acceptable.

Fourthly, shots taken from the air are classified as "Aerial". They are often useful, but they approach the subject of Geography in a different way than was originally envisaged.

Finally some shots are classified as "Extra" these include:
Silhouettes
Sunsets and sunrises
Cloudscapes, sky, auroras, celestial bodies etc
Things in the sky such as birds, aircraft, balloons etc.
Things on the sea that are not permanently fixed to the sea bed for extended periods of time such as boats, windsurfers, inflatables


*(From 11 May 2016 the Supplemental Classification is replaced by Image Type Tags:
see http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Image-Type-Tags-update ).

The most thoroughly photographed grid squares are listed and linked on http://www.geograph.org.uk/statistics/most_geographed_gridsquare.php .

(This question was asked on the forum http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=2&topic=15697 by Hugh Chevalier and answered by Oast House Archive.)

The Hamsters! Each time the page loads 5 random images are selected, from the last 250 photos moderated.

(For the hamster reference see this http://www.nearby.org.uk/geograph/answers/faq.php?q=geographism )

Create a search that only find images in the given square, in reverse date submitted order using the search form http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?form=advanced . This one is an example for SN5881: http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=23416804 . Copy the GeoRSS link at the bottom of the search results page. You can either read the feed in an RSS reader such as Google Reader http://www.google.co.uk/reader by adding the link as a new subscription, or you can use an RSS2email service such as Feedmyinbox http://www.feedmyinbox.com/ to receive updates via email.

There is also a link at the bottom of your profile page giving access to a special search showing images uploaded in the last 30 days in any square that you've submitted to.

Finally, you can subscribe to the grid square discussion of a square you're interested in by going to the grid square discussion page and ticking 'notify me of new posts'.

(Inspired by a question asked on the forum by tuppence and answered by barryhunter http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=18&topic=13038 .)

It depends on how closely your painting resembles the photograph. I can't see any problem with using the information gleaned from any Geograph picture to inspire your painting. On the other hand, if you were to trace the photo and paint it over, you should credit the photographer for their contribution.

If you are in any doubt, just email the contributor (there's a link under the main picture) and ask them; I'm sure most will answer in the same way. You could offer to take a photo of your finished painting and send it to them as a thank you - many would appreciate that.

The Creative Commons licence applies to the text supplied with a photo as well as to the photo itself.

If you are copying their text, it should be credited.

(Asked by robinstott and answered by barryhunter on the forum http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=18&topic=13068&dontcount=1&page=0#1 )

It probably depends on the nature and tone of the complaint you've received, and on where you've taken the picture from. You've got three options: respond to the complainant, pass it on to Geograph, or ignore it. In any case, remember that there's nothing wrong with taking pictures from places with public access as long as it doesn't infringe someone's privacy in a very specific manner.

If the complaint is a reasonable request, you may wish to discuss the matter with the complainant directly - they may well be happy with your picture and text once they get to know you a little and realise you're a friendly if slightly excentric square bagger rather than a horse-rustling paedophile terrorist.

If the complaint is irate or makes unreasonable claims for privacy, you may prefer not to let the complainant have your email address. If you don't respond, they can always complain to Geograph. Alternatively, you can forward the complaint to support@geograph.org.uk , who will deal with it on your behalf. It helps if you present your side of the story and say whether you've taken the picture from a public space, a Public Right of Way or from private property without statutory access. Please make sure that the email address of the complainant shows in the body of the forwarded message.

On the other hand, if you do want to deal with an irate complaint by replying directly, it is usually a good idea to wait a couple of days to diffuse the heat of the moment.

If the complaint is about the text rather than the image, it is often possible to find a wording which will pacify the complainant without distorting the meaning of your text.

(Based on a question asked on the forum by Roger Jones http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=14&topic=14020&dontcount=1&page=0#1 and answered by Evelyn Simak.)

Accounts cannot be deleted - see this answer http://www.geograph.ie/faq3.php#103

If you have submitted no photos the only way anyone can find your account is by trawling through every account number - in November 2015 there are around 122100 of them.
If you are still concerned about your name or email address being available you can edit your profile to anonymise your name and introduce an error into your email address (which is not visible unless you have set it to be so).

Short answer - please don't!
Editing out what is there by stamping another part of the image over in order to produce a 'prettier' picture is not what Geograph is about. We aim to record what is there, not a prettified version of it.
If people happen to be in your photo and you think they may object to the image appearing on the internet, consider if you are prepared to deal with any objections they may raise. If not, best not to submit. That said, I can only recall 2-3 images being removed from view because of objections raised by people (known to the photographer) who appeared in them - in the 11 years since the site started.
Some submitters do blur out legible vehicle registration plates. Opinions vary as to whether this is necessary or desirable but it is not a reason for rejection if subtly done.

If you've had any front page pictures (a.k.a. Picture of the Day), they're listed on http://www.geograph.org.uk/myphotos.php?tab=featured - the tabs at the top also show where else on Geograph your pictures have been used, e.g. in articles or galleries.

[Question asked on the forum by Martin31 http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=18&topic=14253 and answered by Barry Hunter.]

It's usually best to paraphrase information from other sources and then add a reference (or hyperlink) to those sources. If you want to quote something verbatim, you need to ask the author for permission to use it and to re-licence it under the Creative Commons licence - which essentially means they not only allow you but the whole world to use their text, provided credit is given. If you have their permission to re-use their text, you should still acknowledge that it's theirs.

It doesn't matter if the text you wish to quote is from a commercial printed work, a website or just a handwritten note the original author wrote just for your information.

(Inspired by a question asked by Jon2 and answered by barryhunter on the forum http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=18&topic=13068&dontcount=1&page=0#6 .)

Short answer: you can't. But please read on...

You can't revoke the Creative Commons licence you have given The World when submitting your photos, and we would like to ensure as best as we can that you continue to get credit for your images wherever they are used. If you stop submitting, your existing photos remain visible and credited to yourself for this reason.

If you would prefer no longer to be identified as the photographer of the photos you have uploaded, you can change your real name in your profile http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile.php?edit=1 to show a pseudonym, or you can ask us http://www.geograph.org.uk/contact.php to anonymise your account. In either case, your decision is reversible should you change your mind - which of course we do hope!

It depends on which kind of points you're chasing. If it's good old first-geograph points you're after, the answer is probably 'Ireland', although a handful are still left on the big island too. Many of them are mudflats and military installations, though, so good planning and potentially letter writing for permission may be involved. First-geograph points are available in squares shown in green or orange on this map http://www.geograph.org.uk/mapbrowse.php - zoom into your region of interest. Occasionally, squares that have become 'green' again because a mislocated photo was moved are announced on the forum at http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=2&topic=8428&page=0 . Expect an imminent mass pilgrimage of Geograph-ers to these, though!

There are also other points that you might like to collect. Personal points are awarded for _your_ first geograph for a square. This map http://www.geograph.org.uk/mapbrowse.php?mine helps you find your personal green squares.

If you are the 2nd, 3rd or 4th visitor to a square and submit a geograph for it, you also get a repeat-visitor point for that. The best way to find which squares have had few visitors is the draggable map http://www.geograph.org.uk/mapper/ . You need to change the data overlaid on the Ordnance Survey map by clicking the blue '+' sign top right. Then select 'contributor depth'. This shows the number of different contributors to each square, so if it shows a '2', then you can get a 3rd-visitor point if you upload a picture for that square.

Finally, there are TPoints. They are awarded for geographs which were taken at least five years earlier and later than any existing ones, so you can get a TPoint for a current geograph if nobody has uploaded one taken in the last five years before you. If you enable the TPoint layer in the draggable map (again, via the blue '+'), you can see to which squares this currently applies. You can also get a TPoint for an archive shot which falls outside the periods five years either side of any previously uploaded geographs, but the map doesn't show this.

The statistics section offers limitless opportunities to generate leaderboards that suit every possible feti^H^H^H^Hspecial interest. You can generate one by filling in this form http://www.geograph.org.uk/statistics/groupby.php - best of all, you can refine the criteria until it is just specific enough, but no more! The 'keywords' box understands the same syntax as the general site search (for details see the link next to the box).

Copy the URL (address bar) after filling in the form and paste it into your profile ('about yourself' box in http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile.php?edit=1 ), so anyone can see how well you're doing in your speciality.

For example, a pubs etc. leaderboard could be generated like this: http://www.geograph.org.uk/statistics/groupby.php?groupby=auser_id&distinct=&q=%22public+house%22+%7C+inn+%7C+pub&ri=0

(inspired by a question asked by galgo23 and answered by barryhunter on the forum http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=2&topic=13608&dontcount=1&page=0#1 )

[the beginnings of an answer]

Put simply, photographs are made of light. In good light, today's digital cameras make it difficult to take a technically poor photo. Sometimes, though, photos unavoidably come out dark or grey because the subject was in shadow, or it was getting late; worst of all, a cloud appeared overhead and followed you round while the distant landscape was bathed in sunshine. There are ways of making these photos reveal their subjects better.

This isn't a highly technical answer. It refers to features of commonly-used image editing or image enhancement software.

[to be continued]

On submit v1, select "Locate on Map" tab
or
On submit v2, "Find square on map" tool

Enter the coordinates into the box under the map. Separated by a comma, and prefixed by loc, eg:
loc:N51.7252,E0.5905

Click the button at above the map to then continue.

(Much of the text based on an answer given by Barry Hunter in the link below)

Geograph is primarily for documentary photographs, not works of art. If your photos clearly show the subject, are well-lit, straightened-up, in focus and if possible visually appealing, you're doing fine. In the Collections area of the site there are many examples: see any of the 'Stellar examples' in Themed topics and illustrations of Geographical context at http://www.geograph.org.uk/tags/primary.php

Light
Generally speaking, sunshine gives best results, but time of day and time of year impart their own qualities to a photo. In bright summer light in the middle of the day, subjects are unavoidably top-lit, often reflective, while shadows are short, intense and below the subject. In the early morning and from late afternoon the sun is lower in the sky, subjects may be side-lit, the light is less harsh and shadows may be attractively long, revealing the form of objects they lie across. Similar conditions prevail in the middle of the day in the winter months. Photographing into the light is not recommended. 'Contre-jour' effects are expressive but may not convey much geographical information. Sometimes, however, you should ignore advice such as this and just respond to the subject and the conditions. For very bright surroundings such as snow, beaches and expanses of rock or concrete, consult your user guide.

Shadow
Subjects and scenes in shadow may sometimes have to be photographed "ready or not". The sun goes in or clouds merge. Pointing the camera more towards the ground will make auto-exposure adjust for a darker subject. If you prefer more control you can change the camera settings: look in your user guide for topics such as 'ISO speed', 'Metering mode' and 'Exposure compensation'. There may be less control with a camera phone: photos taken in poor light are likely to be dark or dull. To salvage something from a disappointing photo, see the answer to the question 'How can I improve a photo?' On the other hand dull days provide opportunities for photographing other subjects, such as details. Exploit the 'flat' light with zoom shots of distant subjects.

Night photography
Photographs taken at night are often classified as supplementals. That is fine; they can reveal geographic and cultural realities not evident during the day. There may be multiple light sources. Again, consult your camera's user guide. Experiment — and stay safe.

edited by Robin Stott

Most GPS receivers allow you to change the datum and display format to OSGB36 and British National Grid, the convention used by the Ordnance Survey of Great Britain. If you're using a GPS built into a mobile phone, this may not be possible, and your coordinates will always be in WGS84 lat/lon format. If you also use your GPS phone to take your geographs, it should store the positions in the GeoExif header, which Geograph should interpret correctly as camera position (via the Geotagged Image option).

Otherwise, you can use the map part of the submission routine ('locate/find on map') and enter your lat/lon coordinates in the format the 'Search' function, in decimal degrees like 56.45657,-4.54675 . This will look up the grid reference for the location and insert it as _subject_ position into the submission dialogue. You may have to adjust this unless the subject was right in front of you.

Alternatively, there is a conversion tool here on Geograph Tools http://www.nearby.org.uk/coord.cgi?f=conv from which you can copy and paste. Or one built into geograph at https://www.geograph.org.uk/latlong.php

(Question asked by Roga and answered by barryhunter, oasthouse and DHL on the forum http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=18&topic=13483&dontcount=1&page=0#1
Later updated, as conversion tools have changed over time))

Yes, there is! And also for many other sorts of time series analysis you may be interested in: http://www.geograph.org.uk/statistics/overtime.php .

You've got the choice of analysing data for Geograph as a whole or just for yourself.

You can download the table in comma-separated value format for further analysis and plotting in external programs.


(Inspired by a question asked on the forum http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=18&topic=13062&dontcount=1&page=0#1 by Anthony V and answered by barryhunter.)

(From 11 May 2016 the Supplemental Classification is replaced by Image Type Tags:
see http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Image-Type-Tags-update ).

The short answer is "Yes": Whilst in the past there was some degree of discretion if the camera position was close to a grid-line, current guidance (2016) is quite strict.

One of the aims of Geograph is to encourage people to visit all possible land squares. If there was not a general rule requiring the camera to be in the same grid square as the subject a photographer could go to the top of a mountain or tall building and use a telephoto lens to "bag" a number of grid-squares without having to visit them.

(From 11 May 2016 the Supplemental Classification is replaced by Image Type Tags:
see http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Image-Type-Tags-update ).

see also http://www.nearby.org.uk/geograph/answers/view.php?id=16

Supplementals are all photos that are not Geographs.

Any photographs that show close up details without sufficient surrounding context to be deemed geographs are classed as supplemental as are photographs of the insides of buildings. Also photographs taken from outside the grid square are commonly referred to as cross-grid supplemantals.

Aerial and underground shots are always classed as supplementals as are "all-at-sea" photographs with no land or permanent structure (such as a fixed navigational aid) in the square.

The distinction may be "borderline" in some instances and different moderaters' decisions might fall another side of the border but such decisions are initially based on their interpretation of the guidelines and generally without reference to other similar images.

The "aesthetic quality" of the image is irrelevant.

Go to the Advanced Search page http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?form=text . In the limits section, click the 'you!' button and tick 'geograph only'. In the 'finally' section, select 'at most one image from each grid square' and hit Search. This will show all your images holding persoanl points.

As a by-product, you can see in the search results how many geographs you have in each square ('')n images in group').

Asked on the forum by Adrian Cable and answered by Barry Hunter.

There are a number of forum threads where knowledgeable Geograph members help out identifying a variety of things. Just upload your picture (with the usual geographical information) and post it on the appropriate thread, then update your description when you get a satisfactory answer.

- insects: http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=18&topic=10511
- fish: http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=2&topic=12115
- birds: http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=2&topic=7307
- deer: http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=2&topic=13388
- livestock breeds: http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=2&topic=7733
- trees: http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=2&topic=12362
- orchids: http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=2&topic=11958
- crops: http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=2&topic=7530
- plants in general: http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=2&topic=4791
- fungi: http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=18&topic=12620
- geological curiosities: http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=6&topic=1910
- clouds: http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=6&topic=14038
- ships: http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=2&topic=12872
- phoneboxes: http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=6&topic=12931
- pillboxes: http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=18&topic=12600
- tractors: http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=2&topic=11962
- farm machinery: http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=2&topic=3366
- locomotives: http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=2&topic=11550
- railway paraphernalia: http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=2&topic=12095
- mystery objects: http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=2&topic=3736

If none of these fits your identification problem, try searching the forum (entry box top right on any forum page) or start a new thread, ideally using the word 'identification' in the title. And please edit this answer and include a link to it!