This topic contains 21 replies, has 12 voices, and was last updated by 
hack1of2 11 years ago.
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I like to take pictures. Geocaching takes me to great locations to take pictures. I think it is a great way to combine hobbies. Lately, I have been adding more. It is much easier now than back in the dial-up days.
Goldie Diggers once told me to treat my logs like a journal entry. He thought it was fun that he is able to go back and see what he was doing years ago at different stages of his life (Yes, I have said this before). Pictures just enhance it.
I admit that I post more to FB than to GC.com.
For Mr Greenthumb:
Early image 10/7/07
Last image 8/28/14
@Trekkin and Birdin wrote:
Are there more efficient approaches? I don’t want to just dump a whole SD card onto a site, either.
Like BBG said, it’s a great way to combine the two hobbies of photography & geocaching. I take a picture of almost every cache, even the lame ones. And like Sandlanders mentioned, I don’t post spoilers.
Why take/post pictures with my logs? 1. It’s a journal, going on 5 years now, of many, many adventures. 2. Pictures are my field notes. I’ve noticed some people I cache with write notes in the field in a small notebook on the caches they found so when logging them they won’t miss any and can presumably recall essential details. I essentially do the same with pictures. Every cache (usually) and every waypoint. It helps me to recall the cache, and more importantly the adventure, both when writing the log online, and years later. It only takes a few seconds to take a picture; it doesn’t have to take up a bunch of time to digitally capture that memory. BTW I also use the field notes feature on my GPSr to keep cache finds in order. 3. Very handy for when I get those PAF calls. 4. It’s a thank you to the cache owners so they are able to see pictures of the adventure that they helped create. Sometimes I’ll email the CO a fun spoiler picture of their cache that I cannot post with my log.
As far as organization goes, here’s what I do. I upload the pictures to a folder on my computer. I have a general geocaching pictures folder for each year. They go in there unless it was many pictures from an outing. If many pictures (let’s say 25 or more) then I create a subfolder (e.g. “Geopicnic 2014”). By organizing them by year and sometimes by topic they’re easy to locate at a later date. After placing them in a folder I use photo software (see below) to delete some, possibly rename all, and possibly resize a copy of those that are to be uploaded online (to 600 pixels wide for optimal fast uploading). While logging my experiences online I’ll switch back and forth to seeing the pictures and upload the pictures immediately after sending the log.
The software I primarily use:
1. Faststone Image Viewer: My main “workhorse” default photo program. It’s free, it’s awesome, and I’d buy it if I could. My top recommendation to others. Quickly see thumbnails of all pictures, double click to see single fullscreen image, batch rename (Highcliff_001, 002, etc.), batch timestamp adjust, simple interface, numerous editing tools. The only minor drawback is that it won’t batch resize (only does one at a time). For resizing multiple images with one click they have the Faststone image resizer (also free). Why not combine them into one program?
2. Photoshop Elements: When I’m serious about editing with precise or creative controls. $79-$99. I use it often. But it’s not for everyone. A bit of a learning curve but not too bad. You can do almost anything with it.
3. ACDsee: It does everything great. Sort of a combination of the other two, it’s a photo organizer, it has more editing tools than Faststone and almost as many as Photoshop. It batch converts size, exposure, format, etc. But does cost $29-$129 depending on the version.I often try to take a non-spoiler pic for posting and a spoiler pic that I won’t post; again those are my field notes. It should also be noted that we’re more into adventurous caches. If we were more numbers driven and looking for mainly park & grabs and powertrails (not that there’s anything wrong with those), then taking pictures at each wouldn’t be happening.
Kind of a bottom line summary after all of these ramblings: Take some pics on the trail, maybe quickly resize or rename if you want to (with Faststone Image Viewer?) when putting them in a folder in your computer, and upload if deemed appropriate. If you make your routine too complicated however, you may never get around to it.
John, could you elaborate a little more just in case you missed something?
I know my “issue” is the extra step of organizing the folders. They go on my computer by date uploaded and never move past that point. I think if I ‘d developed a system when I went digital, I’d be in better shape. Now it’s just too overwhelming; I should at least try to move from here forward. Most often, if I’m trying to locate some photo, I’m cross checking other record keeping to figure out…when did I take that photo? Bird checklists, geocache logs, family events.
Organization is not my thing, I’m afraid. I like to see broad strokes, not little details. Those are Trekkin’s specialty.
A cache has to be memorable and/or have a view of some sorts to warrant a picture from me. The one I regret not taking any pictures on was Consolidated Fire Tower up north of Laona last year, man that was a great cache and so worth it in the fall. Perhaps I’ll make a pit stop there just for pictures, thanks for the reminder.
@hack1of2 wrote:
Like BBG said, it’s a great way to combine the two hobbies of photography & geocaching. I take a picture of almost every cache, even the lame ones. And like Sandlanders mentioned, I don’t post spoilers.
Why take/post pictures with my logs? 1. It’s a journal, going on 5 years now, of many, many adventures. 2. Pictures are my field notes. I’ve noticed some people I cache with write notes in the field in a small notebook on the caches they found so when logging them they won’t miss any and can presumably recall essential details. I essentially do the same with pictures. Every cache (usually) and every waypoint. It helps me to recall the cache, and more importantly the adventure, both when writing the log online, and years later. It only takes a few seconds to take a picture; it doesn’t have to take up a bunch of time to digitally capture that memory. BTW I also use the field notes feature on my GPSr to keep cache finds in order. 3. Very handy for when I get those PAF calls. 4. It’s a thank you to the cache owners so they are able to see pictures of the adventure that they helped create. Sometimes I’ll email the CO a fun spoiler picture of their cache that I cannot post with my log.
Thanks so much for those pictures on Cache Cow several weeks ago. Believe it or not, you guys were the first to post a picture with Babe the Blue OX – emphasis on ox for you city slickers. 😛 I believe you were only the third caching party to post pictures on that cache in the five years it’s been there.
-The Happy Hodag!
The buck stops here. . .and gets entered into Where's George.
Where's George? Stimulating the economy one EMS'ed dollar at a time.
Hey John, could I cut and paste your post for the newsletter? Looks like a nice, thorough story.
As for how I organize my photos, I have folders for every month of the year. I dump photos on to the computer often so they just go into a folder named for the event into the monthly folder.
Not all who wander are lost. -J.R.R. Tolkien
@beccaday wrote:
Hey John, could I cut and paste your post for the newsletter? Looks like a nice, thorough story.
As for how I organize my photos, I have folders for every month of the year. I dump photos on to the computer often so they just go into a folder named for the event into the monthly folder.
That’s essentially how I organize my photos too.
And sure, you can copy/paste away.
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