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Author Topic: OutdoorPhotoOp  (Read 6699 times)

juanpizarro

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« on: June 29, 2006, 03:53:57 pm »

To say thanks for all the help I've obtained (I'm a lurker here), I've created a website to share great locations, OutdoorPhotoOp.

Several times a year I travel for continuing education (I am a veterinarian by vocation), and love to take landscape and bird photos as a hobby.  In the past I have looked for websites that organized and mapped great locations to take photographs where I was traveling to, but so far have come up empty.  Since I couldn't find one, I thought I would give back to the photography community by creating one.  (I've taken a lot   ; most of what I know about photography is from websites like this.)

The basic idea is to share locations by using a map, a search engine, etc.  I'm not sure if there will be enough interest to make the idea work, but it is something I would love to have when I travel so I thought it might be useful to others as well.

John W. Williams
« Last Edit: July 01, 2006, 11:24:34 pm by juanpizarro »
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jdemott

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« Reply #1 on: June 29, 2006, 05:04:10 pm »

Good idea, John.  It's nice to see that you've started with locations right in my back yard.   If you haven't seen it, you might want to look at a website called Northwest Hiker that does something similar to promote sales of CDs.
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John DeMott

juanpizarro

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« Reply #2 on: June 30, 2006, 12:28:53 am »

Quote
Good idea, John.  It's nice to see that you've started with locations right in my back yard.   If you haven't seen it, you might want to look at a website called Northwest Hiker that does something similar to promote sales of CDs.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=69473\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Thanks for the tip.  Northwest Hiker is an interesting idea, I'll have to check it out more.

I started with locations for this area as they are the ones I know.  If you have a favorite spot, feel free to add a location.  Hopefully  others will eventually add locations from their stomping grounds so that we can all have great ideas when traveling to new areas.

Cheers!
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Eli Burakian

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« Reply #3 on: June 30, 2006, 11:08:40 am »

Great idea.  The site looks nice and I will definitely contribute!

Eli
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Box Brownie

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« Reply #4 on: June 30, 2006, 03:10:20 pm »

A great potential resource especially internationally.  Living in the UK it is good to get pointers from around the world as to great photogenic places to visit & to share those we have on our side of the pond.

I have one to add later once I have registered ~ being a Nature Reserve location that is especially good for Dragonflies and certain uncommon raptors.

Not a true macro but cropped to share from a recent 'workshop' visit there.

 

PS I know LL is the number one site for sharing landscapes but a little variety is the spice of life  
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juanpizarro

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« Reply #5 on: June 30, 2006, 03:34:30 pm »

Thanks Eli and Box (Great photo!).  As you can tell the site is new, so please feel free to share any feedback.  I'm a bit new at this too, so I'd love to know what could be improved.  I'd especially like to know your thoughts on the submit process as you add locations.

Cheers,

John
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larryg

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« Reply #6 on: June 30, 2006, 09:43:44 pm »

I will try and contribute.  However some of this is new to me.

I did try to upload a site with information earlier today but the infomation did not
successfully upload.
I will have to read the instructions again and retry.

Very good idea.   This could develop into a very specialized resource for photographers.
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ray905

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« Reply #7 on: June 30, 2006, 10:24:49 pm »

Great idea and thanks for starting this.  I'm a fanatic about research on new locations and this type of site is just what we need.  I've bookmarked it and will add  my impressions of the Smokies as soon as I can.  Thanks again.
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Regards,
Ray Malin

juanpizarro

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« Reply #8 on: July 01, 2006, 01:36:40 am »

Quote
I did try to upload a site with information earlier today but the infomation did not
successfully upload.
I will have to read the instructions again and retry.

Larry, that was my bad.  Last minute adjustments led to a database error.  It should be working now.  Please give it another try.

Sorry about that,

John
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boku

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« Reply #9 on: July 01, 2006, 09:08:54 am »

There is a great need for this sort of thing. Even on a local/regional level, I have spend a few years just trying to acquaint myself with the hot spots. Recently I started an online resource in NE Ohio, although far less ambitious, to federate all of this information for photo enthousiasts. It consists of 3 main modules:

The main website with a calendar of scheduled shoots: http://www.neoshoots.com

A discussion forum specifically targeting NE Ohio photographers: http://neoshoots.com/phpBB/

A mailing List for those that want to be alerted of local events: http://lists.neoshoots.com/mailman/listinfo/members

In 2 weeks since its inception, the response has been phenomenal. I suggest this approach to any other community of shooters who find themselves disjointed and in need of pooled ideas.
« Last Edit: July 01, 2006, 09:11:19 am by boku »
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Bob Kulon

Oh, one more thing...[b

juanpizarro

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« Reply #10 on: July 01, 2006, 01:02:14 pm »

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...I've bookmarked it and will add  my impressions of the Smokies as soon as I can. 
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=69555\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
I haven't been to the Smokies, but hope to some day.  Having a leg up on where to photograph would be great!

Quote
There is a great need for this sort of thing. Even on a local/regional level, I have spend a few years just trying to acquaint myself with the hot spots...
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=69580\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
Well said.  This was exactly my thought on starting the website.  Personally, I've found that it takes quite a bit of time to learn where to take photos in a particular region.  When I've traveled, I've found that I spend lots of time looking for where to take a photo, with little time left to actually take the photo.  Having a head start seems like a great idea.

If the website grows and others find it useful, I hope to add the ability to track hotspots.  For example, where are the spring flowers or fall color currently doing well?

BTW, if any of you try to add a location and are unable, please do as Larry did and post a note here.  Unfortunately, the process only notifies when info is added to the database.  If there is an error prior to that, I won't be aware of it.

Cheers,

John
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juanpizarro

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« Reply #11 on: July 02, 2006, 12:25:19 am »

I'm not sure if it was discouraging some or not, but I have removed the need to register to add a location to the website.  The only difference being that if you are logged in when adding the site, it will list your username as the author.  Otherwise, the username is listed as Guest.

John
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juanpizarro

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« Reply #12 on: July 02, 2006, 10:01:42 pm »

Thanks to those who've added sites!  Maybe we'll get over the Network Effect yet.

John
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juanpizarro

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« Reply #13 on: July 17, 2006, 04:45:42 pm »

I want to say a big thanks again to those who have added locations to OutdoorPhotoOp.  The site has just fewer than 40 locations now, and hopefully will continue to grow and be a valuable resource.

There is one location outside of the continental U.S., but hopefully more will be coming in the future.  We’re still looking for someone to break the ice for outside of North America.

One final note, at the bottom of each page is a button that opens the location on a map at Topozone when clicked (only for U.S. locations).  This is handy, as a topographical map of some of the locations is much more informative than the Google maps.

John Williams
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Box Brownie

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« Reply #14 on: July 17, 2006, 04:50:52 pm »

Hi John

Sorry for not adding the location I mentioned but I have yet to find a way of finding the co ordinates without revisiting the place and noting them off of my Sat Nav.

 
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juanpizarro

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« Reply #15 on: July 18, 2006, 09:09:39 am »

Quote
Hi John

Sorry for not adding the location I mentioned but I have yet to find a way of finding the co ordinates without revisiting the place and noting them off of my Sat Nav.

 
[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Hi Box,

No problem, thanks for the note.  This was intruiging to me as I haven't tried to find lat/long outside North America yet.  I wonder if the data could be obtained by converting the coordinates from the [a href=\"http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/]Ordnance Survey[/url] using a Coordinate Transformer?  Or, maybe try the GEOnet Name Server?

If anyone else has tips on Geocoding internationally, suggestions would be appreciated.

John
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juanpizarro

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« Reply #16 on: September 03, 2006, 02:02:54 pm »

Just a quick follow-up note for those who may have visited OutdoorPhotoOp.com (photography locations on Google Maps) after my initial post.  I've made several changes in format and content.  (Most importantly, the requirements to add a location have been greatly simplified.)

Originally, I envisioned OPO to provide comprehensive information for each photography location.  With lots of good feedback and more Internet browsing I have found that there is a lot more comprehensive information in other websites/forums/groups/books/newsletters/etc., than I had realized.  However, I have not found a site that simplifies the process of organizing photography locations, especially on a map.  Rather than duplicating information that is already available, I hope to emphasize OPO as a gateway to finding comprehensive information, rather than providing that information directly.

With that direction in mind, I hope to put some work into adding more links to the links page(s).  In addition to the links noted in the above posts, if any of you have favorite resources, whether in print, video, on the Internet, etc. for photography locations, please let me know so that I may add them.

Thanks!

John W. Williams
OutdoorPhotoOp.com
FeatherPhotography.com
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