Where do I place my co-ordinates...

[+RandomPrecision]

Hello.

 

Have decided to give Waymarking a chance and put up with some of the 'Clunky' aspects of the site.

 

Actually planning on posting a number of interesting Waymarks in my area, being a newbie I have a BIG question... and there does not seem to be an answer for me in FAQ.

 

Say I want to post a waymark - for example an unusual building. I will have my camera with me and my GPS. Is there a hard and fast rule for the placement of my Waymark/Waypoint ?? Obviously with Geocaching its the cache itself. With Waymarking what is the done thing ?

 

For a tiny benchmark on the ground or a Trig point I would obviously act as if placing a cache and aim to publish co-ords that take you to the point of interest. My query is for say a station, building or cemetary etc... Is it the usual thing to give Co-ordinates of where the posted photograph was taken from - i.e the view of the bridge rather than the bridge itself to give another example ?

 

Hope you can help this newbie. I have just ordered a GPS unit for my Digital SLR camera so a bit of guidance on the matter would be a big help

[+fi67]

As usual with Waymarking this depends on the category. You choose an appropriate category for your location, or as many as you like. In the expanded category description you will likely find the answer. It is often as close as possible to the actual object - say the main entrance e.g. - and not the viewpoint of the picture you took, but there are exceptions.

[+Max and 99]

Be sure to read the category description, since the coordinate specifications DO vary. I believe water towers, for example, need the coords from almost right under the water tower, and the officers DO check. Once you start submitting to your favorite activities, you'll remember what they want.

[+silverquill]

This is an important question.

 

The generally accepted guideline is that the coordinates should be as close to the actual site/object as is reasonably possible, NOT from a distant viewing point or from where the photo is taken. That means you usually CANNOT rely on the coordinates from your camera.

 

For buildings, coordinates should be at the entrance, not from across the street or from the parking lot.

 

Larger sites such as parks, cemeteries, campgrounds, etc. are more problematic. Sometimes the category may specify where to take coordinates, so do check that. (Outdoor Basketball Courts specifies coordinates taken at center court, for instance). If there is an obvious entrance, as with a cemetery, then that is a logical choice. In these cases, though, I think it is helpful just to state exactly where the coordinates are recorded. So something like, "Coordinates are for the south entrance" will be useful for someone who might want to visit the waymark.

 

In case where coordinates are allowed from a distance, it is especially important to say where the coordinates are. Or, if one is unable to get to the exact physical location for some reason, say a sculpture in a traffic circle, then just state that. Then, we have to admit that some things just may not be waymarkable because we can't get to them.

 

There may be other opinions about this, but this is what I've strived for in my 7,000+ waymarks.

[+Bear and Ragged]

 

For a tiny benchmark on the ground or a Trig point I would obviously act as if placing a cache and aim to publish co-ords that take you to the point of interest. My query is for say a station, building or cemetary etc... Is it the usual thing to give Co-ordinates of where the posted photograph was taken from - i.e the view of the bridge rather than the bridge itself to give another example ?

 

For the category Moving Bridges, the coordinates for submitting a Waymark need to be on the bridge itself...

For posting a visit you need to add coordinates of where you took the photograph/s.

 

However...

If the bridge has no public access, coordinates taken at where the Waymark submitter took the photographs from is acceptable! (So long as the fact is mentioned in the description)