A Few Things Here

[missmod88]

Hello!

I have been a member here for a few months, but until the 7th of this month (August) I haven't done any geocaching but now I certainly have the bug,,

 

my question is "are there any geocachers from Kenora area?"

and

 

"what is appropriate for taking pics of?"

I mean I hate to give away any information on the cache itself for future searchers,, I took some of the first one I went to, but decided it wouldn't be a cool thing to post them,, so I posted a picture of the first page in the log book,, would that be considered ok?

 

Sue aka missmod88

[+dogbreathcanada]

As long as the cache isn't some specially designed camouflage cache (such as a specially designed rock or piece of bark) then it's okay to snap a pic of the cache. Just make sure the pic of the cache is a close-up and doesn't give away it's hiding spot.

 

As for taking a pic of the logbook, that's fine, as long as the logbook page you're taking a picture of is benign. If it's some multi-part cache, and the logbook has a page that gives a clue to the location of some other final cache, then a pic of that page wouldn't be cool.

 

Just use some common sense. Pretend the cache is yours and decide what you would and wouldn't mind having pictures of made public.

[missmod88]

oh yea,, ok,,

 

what I posted was the first page of the log book,, no names or hints were there,,

 

thanks!

 

[+Circle of Confusion]

Hello Sue,

 

Try this link. I count about 40 caches within 30km.

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/nearest.asp...lon=-119.422067

Also you can search by your current coordinates if you record them from your GPS or if you know the local postal code.

 

Well people don't normally take a picture of the log book, but there is nothing wrong with doing so. If the cache is in a nice area I might take a few pictures, but generally not at the right at the cache spot. Or I take a pic of something unusual. But it depends on the cache too. Just no spoilers.

 

Circle of Confusion

[+Circle of Confusion]

PS Not sure if anyone replied to your battery comment (from December). The cold weather doesn't really 'drain' your batteries, it just impedes the electro-chemical reaction. Once the battery warms up again it should start giving more juice.

 

But what I really wanted to say is that Lithium batteries suffer little cold temprature effects. Something like Energizers e2 batteries. They cost more, but have more power and a long shelf life. I know people who use these types of batteries in the cold weather, store them away once things warm up, then pop them back in next winter...

 

http://www.energizer.com/products/lithium/default.aspx

[+Couparangus]

"what is appropriate for taking pics of?"

Anything! There are often spoilers in the cache logs, on difficult finds these are an asset. If a cacher specifically asks that no pictures be posted then obviously you should respect this. I'm only aware of one cache like this (mystery cache).

 

What's probably more important is how you compose a picture. I follow some basic rules:

- candid shots catch people in their most natural poses

 

- macro photography, get in real close, make sure background is w-a-y back

 

- rule of thirds - envision a tic-tac-toe board on your viewfinder. Put your subject where 2 lines meet, not smack dab in the middle

 

- fill the frame - don't be scared to chop of heads to get a good face shot

 

I also try and keep the horizon perfectly flat. You always lose resolution when you tilt digital images so its best to get them right when you take them.

 

Hope this helps - I'm no expert photographer but you can sure improve your yield if you follow these basics.

 

C-A

[missmod88]

hey cool pics!!

check yer pm's couparangus

 

Sue

[tinkernoonoo]

Na-hice photos, Couparangus!

[+Couparangus]

Thanks! Hey, if you take lots of pictures you are bound to get a couple of good ones.

 

I just re-read my post and what I meant to say about people's faces is that it's okay to chop the top of their head off, not the whole head.

 

While I'm on the topic, I find that some people with new digital cameras run them at lower resolution settings. That is say the camera can do 1600x1200 but they run it at 1024x768 to fit more pictures on the memory card. This is crazy! You're not getting your money's worth. If you do need to crop out some garbage on a picture the results will be much better if the image was shot at full resolution.

 

BTW, the above pictures were all taken with a 2MP camera. Wait, the top one was a 5MP.

 

Other tricks I use are fill-in flash. Basically you force the flash to come on even if you are outside in bright light. This is particularly useful for taking pictures of people with the sun above or behind them, or if they have a hat on etc. I don't have a great example from my Geocaching pics, but here's one. You can see the shadows are in front yet the inside of the well is illuminated.

[missmod88]

wow very cool idea!

 

I have a 8MP camera,, it's awsome! I usually take pics at the best format,, thus good quality.

 

thanks!

[+webscouter.]

While you are at it don't forget to turn off digital zoom if you can. The camera will not do as good a job as your PC will. When buying a camera get the one with the most optical zoom.

[+logger&trail]

Wow C-A, you should be teaching a "photography for geocachers" course. I have a digital camera, and I love taking pictures, but I'm still fiddling around with it. Thanks for the tips!

 

Trail (Of Logger&Trail)

[+Couparangus]

C-A, you should be teaching a "photography for geocachers" course.

I'd best leave that to trained professionals.

 

I started noodling with photography when my wife got a digital camera 3 years ago. Its nice to be able to see the results after you've taken the picture - and delete them if they are crap, thus saving money on developing/printing.

 

Most of the time I use the camera in AUTO mode. But it helps to know when this mode is likely to get tricked. We have Canons and these are great cameras, but the light balance gets tricked if you are taking pictures with unusual backgrounds or lighting. Case in point we took a bunch of pictures of the kids playing in a bouncy castle. The flourescent greens & blues of the bouncy castle caused the camera to "guess" the wrong white balance and the kids all turned out looking a little ill (which was too bad as the pictures were otherwise excellent). To a certain extent you can correct this after the fact, which is good. It wasn't until I was reading in a hiking magazine about this phenomena that I realized what had happened. Fixing it is very easy on a Canon. Just switch to P mode and select the appropriate white balance, in this case "Cloudy Skies".

 

I also find that the auto-focus can be tricked when taking a picture of people against a scenic background where the subject comes out blurry. There are a couple of ways to fix this. Some cameras have a portrait mode that will try to focus on near-field subjects. Others have a focus box that can be moved around. Always place it on the subjects face (or if you are close in using zoom, plonk it on their eye(s).

 

Now if I could just keep my hands steady when taking low-light shots without a flash....<sigh>

 

Cheers!

C-A

[missmod88]

hey thanks again for the tips, I too, own a canon, and it's brand new, so I am still learning,, it's been a fun trip!! loads of mistakes, but got some cool ones too!

 

Sue