Geograph - photograph every grid square

There is a link at the foot of your profile 'Uses: Use of my photos around the site'. The first tab on the page is to 'Featured Images' http://www.geograph.org.uk/myphotos.php?tab=featured which will list any which have been used as 'Photograph of the Day' and show on which date they appeared on the home page.

Currently (June 2021), updated every Tuesday morning.
But could still take a few days to show due to caching.

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 ).

Geograph runs on a pretty large database, and the load is spread over several servers. That means things do occasionally go wrong, and they aren't always consistent.

If a page doesn't display properly, try loading it again (by pressing F5) _once_. If that doesn't work, navigate away from the page, clear your cache (under privacy settings in most browsers) and try again. Or just wait a while, most of the time things get cleared up automatically given time.

If you think something is permanently wrong, post a bug report on the forum http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vtopic&forum=4 . Remember to say which page is affected (best paste in its address), which browser and version, and which operating system and version you use.

If something is wrong about the _content_ of a page (description text, photo location etc.), use the 'suggest an update' link under the main picture to contact the contributor and moderators.

Just log into Geograph using your old email address or your nickname, then go to your profile http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile.php?edit=1 and change your email address in the appropriate box and save the change. You'll get a welcome message sent to the new address which contains a link that you need to click to activate the new address.

NOTE: If you are a member of Geograph Project Ltd you will also need to update your email address on the company minisite https://company.geograph.org.uk/company/? (link is on your edit profile page).

Our "Change Suggestions" allow any registered user to suggest a change of grid reference, title/comment or other information - simply view the full size image and click the "Suggest an update to this image" link.

http://www.geograph.org.uk/help/changes

Not all submissions have EXIF details attached, some image manipulation software strips the EXIF unless you ask it not too. Some contributors deliberately strip the EXIF as an easy fix to portrait images appearing sideways on the site.
Where it exists you can use a browser add-on to view the EXIF or download the photo (not the smallest version when larger ones are available - the next size up will have it). In Windows right-click on the photo in question and select 'Properties' then 'Details'. On macOS, open the photo in Preview, click on 'Tools' up in the menu bar at the top then select 'Show Inspector' and click on the 'Exif' tab. In Irfanview use the 'Image information' button.

The simplest method is just to put a place name in the search box on the top right, and then everywhere relevant comes up in distance order. If there are more than one place then add the county or other distinguishing element, it also asks you which one you want if not. The advanced search really needs a direct word search to work. Some are easier than others. Tags such as horse, cat or bridge should be the easiest, whereas user names can appear to confuse the system and more likely to raise place names again. These are for searching photos, the discussions are searched using their own search box when logged in, and besides the filtering process where you check the forums to search and dates, the word selection needs to be pretty specific to exclude lots of similar words you don't want to see.

These are the simple methods, there are many more complex but just for the basics these should suffice.

For performance reasons our search engine can only access the first 1000 results of a given search. This is in fact just like Google and other major engines.

If you are trying to view more images, there is a few techniques to use. The best one is to try to narrow your search results. Maybe adding a another keyword. Or even specifing a date range - for example limiting to only recent images.

If you order the results in date submitted (decending or ascending) order, you may be offered a link on the last page to create a new search from that approximate point forward (it does this by adding/changing the date critieria of the search) - in this way you can get though by using a number of seperate searches.

[PERSONAL OPINION OF THE AUTHOR] Geograph takes pride in taking care about accuracy of location and information content. We like to think that this sets us apart from many other picture sites on the internet.

Whether it is one of your own pictures or someone else's, if you think something's wrong, please use the 'change image details' or 'suggest update' link under the main picture. This gives you access to a form where you can amend any of the details (subject and camera position, view direction, title, description etc). After making your changes, leave a short explanation in the box at the end of the form.

Changes to your own images will update immediately. The only exception are changes to the subject grid square, which are moderated; this will typically take a day or so.

If you suggest changes to someone else's pictures, they will be alerted and have an opportunity to reply. Ideally, you should work with the original contributor to come to a consensus. Moderators will try to assist with that. Generally, accuracy is taken very seriously, but if additional information is presented, it is the photo contributor's prerogative to decide whether to accept it.

When making a suggestion, please bear in mind that you are communicating with the original author, not primarily with Geograph. Explain your changes in a friendly and civil manner, and supply sources to verify your point. Avoid making many suggestions to the same contributor at the same time.

Suggestions which are mainly concerned with geograph/supplemental* classification or seek to move positions by small amounts within the stated precision (often 100m) are regarded as a waste of time by many and can cause aggravation out of proportion with their usefulness.

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

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 .)

RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, allows you to obtain an up-to-date listing of the latest Geograph submissions for integration into another website or RSS reader. For more information, try this Wikipedia article on RSS.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_(protocol)

We provide an GeoRSS (RSS1.0) feed at http://www.geograph.org.uk/feed/recent.rss which contains links to the latest 20 moderated images.

We have recently added RSS feeds to other parts of the site:
* You will find an RSS button at the bottom of search results, useful to keep updated on local images.
* Registered users can access an RSS feed of the latest topics in the Discussion Forum, and even subscribe to an individual topic, just look for the RSS button!
* the Grid Square Discussions even supports GeoRSS.
* Get an RSS feed of recently updated Articles.
* The newer Content section has an RSS feed.
* Find out about organized meets by following the RSS feed.

(They also accept the format parameter like the main feed.)

If you use the Firefox web browser, you should be able use our feeds as "live bookmarks" - simply click the orange button in the address bar (or in the status bar on older versions).

For more technical information, see
http://www.geograph.org.uk/help/api

Yes, as with any of the information you added when submitting, this can be edited using the 'Change image details' form which is linked to just below the photo on its main page.

It's essentially the most viewed - weighted so length the image been on the site is taken into account and deduplicated so only one from any shots taken same day. The alternative selection is different, in that it carves the period up into a number of periods (by submission date!) and then just displays the most viewed in that period. For more info see forum thread.

Interior shots are not the main purpose of the site, but we do include them, ideally cross-linked to an exterior shot for context. This generally only applies to publicly accessible places and to sites of a particular interest. Interior shots are always supplemental* images, but they can add valuable information and are generally welcome.

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

All photo's that have been moderated and accepted are eligible for Photo of the Week (PotW), so long as they are uploaded by the due date for each week as follows:

The PotW weeks run from Saturday to Friday, and you need to upload by midnight the following Tuesday. So e.g. If Saturday was the 1st of the month, you would need to upload anything taken between the 1st and 7th (inclusive) by Tue 11th. NB the important thing is not the dates but the days.

If you wish to avoid your pics being in the PotW, the easiest way is to wait until the due date has passed and then upload.

The photo of the year is selected from those pics already awarded PotW.

On the bottom of your profile page, look for "Download: CSV , XML for Excel 2003 of all images".
This has links to download as Comma Separate Values (CSV) or Excel XML format.

These can be opened in spreadsheet software, eg LibreOffice or Micrsoft Excel.

The URL for these downloads looks like this:
For CSV: http://www.geograph.org.uk/export.csv.php?u=XXXX&supp=1&taken=1&submitted=1&hits=1&tags=1
For Excel: http://www.geograph.org.uk/export.excel.xml.php?u=XXXX&supp=1&taken=1&submitted=1&hits=1&tags=1

The parameters specify what is included. The contributor is u=XXXX, where XXXX is the user ID. If you use a link from your own profile, it will include your own ID.

Other options:
&supp=1 - include photos classed as supplemental
&taken=1 - include taken date
&submitted=1 - include submitted date
&hits=1 - include hit count
&tags=1 - include tags, in a list separated by question marks
&desc=1 - include description
&class=1 - include classification (geograph or supplemental)
&level=1 - include geograph points, eg 1st, 2nd, 3rd
&ll=1 - include latitude and longitude (in separate columns)
&en=1 - include numerical grid reference, in easting and northing, plus figures for precision
&ppos=1 - include photographer position, easting and northing

For more details, see the API help: http://www.geograph.org.uk/help/api#csv

Normally, maps get redrawn within 24 hours. If this doesn't happen, please post a bug report on this forum thread: http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=4&topic=13731 .

Shared descriptions are blocks of text that you can apply to a number of images. You can also use shared descriptions written by others.

This may be useful if you have taken a number of photos at one location, and want to write a paragraph about that location. Also if you make a change to the shared description (e.g. correct a typo) it will be updated on all the images it is attached to.

For example I wrote a shared description for a number of images featuring Epping Long Green, which I can re-use if I take any more images of that location. It also enables a viewer to access a page where all images using that description are displayed.

If someone else has already written a helpful description of a feature, you can re-use this. It also allows a way of grouping images from different contributors together. For example Ian Capper had written a description of Coal Tax Posts, which I was able to attach to one of my images: Anyone searching for "Coal Tax Posts" would be able to access a page where images from all contributors who had used that description are displayed.

You can find a detailed article on the topic written by Barry Hunter here: http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Shared-Descriptions

You can search for shared descriptions already written here: http://www.geograph.org.uk/snippets.php

If you know the year and/or month for certain please add these in the date field. Any fields you are not sure of, please leave them blank.
If you have a rough idea, such as 'late 1970s', it would be helpful if you mentioned this in your description.

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))

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

If an image doesn't quite fulfill the Geograph criteria above, but is still a good image, we'll accept it as "Supplemental image" - no Geograph points are awarded, but the image will still appear on the selected grid square. A square that just contains Supplemental images is still open to be claimed as a Geograph though!

Supplemental images are not inferior to Geographs, just different. For the interpretation of a square they are just as valuable as they add extra information (in the case of close-ups) or wider views (in the case of aerial shots or images taken from another square).

TPoint or 'Time-gap Point' is a new kind of point. A contributor can gain a TPoint by submitting a contemporary photo to a square that hasn't had a photo for 5 years. The aim is to increase the date range of available photos per square.

Squares available for a recent photo are shown in orange on the Recent Only coverage map,
http://www.geograph.org.uk/map/?recent=1

or purple dots on the 'TPoint Availability' layer on the Draggable OS map.
http://www.geograph.org.uk/mapper/?lat=650000&lon=350000&zoom=0&layers=BFFTFF&recent=1

Also can get listings of squares via this page
http://www.geograph.org.uk/squares.php?distance=5&gridref=SH5050&type=norecent
(change the grid-reference in the box to your area of interest)

· Read more about the various points on the Statistics FAQ
http://www.geograph.org.uk/help/stats_faq

(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.

I am guessing this is a question as to the suitability of family snaps. The general rule is the people should be the secondary element of the photo rather than the main feature, and posed shots (it can be worked out in most cases) are more suitable to other photo sites as not related to the area they are in. Having said that a discussion thread has refined this recently, and the general conclusion was if there are local events or occupations which are taken spontaneously then a person featuring as the main subject can be included although without a reasonable amount of background would normally be added as a supplemental*. But for straightforward posed family snaps then the only circumstance they would be suitable is if they were a small part of the whole scene, and as with most the older the photo the more flexible the criteria.

*From 11 May 2016 the Supplemental classification will be replaced by Image Type Tags: see http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Image-Type-Tags-update

(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.

The Photo of the Week competition is an informal competition intended to showcase some of the best images submitted during the week.

The only criterion for an image to be considered is that it must have been taken during the qualifying week, which runs from Saturday to Friday, and submitted by midnight on the following Tuesday.

Some people like to make sure that their images are submitted within the qualifying period, and other like to delay their submissions to make sure they are not considered.

What constitutes 'best' is very much subjective, because the selections of both shortlist and winner are done by different contributors each week.

As with all subjective selections, there is often disagreement with some of the selections, but that usually manifests itself by people saying which image they would have picked if it had been up to them to do so.

It all takes place in the Discussion Forum "Photograph of the Year (date)".

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!