Question about logs and photos

[Kondase]

I've looked around and I'm not sure if this is answered somewhere else or not. I had a silly idea that it would be fun to create a gallery with my traveling companion (a bearded dragon) posing with the cache containers I find. I am worried now that maybe this would not be allowed since the image of the container might help others locate it. Would this be giving too much information away?

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Usually (but not in ALL cases) a photo of the cache and contents is OK. Use your judgement if the cache is uniquely camouflaged.

 

Photographs of the cache should not be of the cache "in situ" at the hide spot.

[floridabiker1]

Usually (but not in ALL cases) a photo of the cache and contents is OK. Use your judgement if the cache is uniquely camouflaged.

 

Photographs of the cache should not be of the cache "in situ" at the hide spot.

I agree with that entirely.

[+Bear and Ragged]

Usually (but not in ALL cases) a photo of the cache and contents is OK. Use your judgement if the cache is uniquely camouflaged.

 

Photographs of the cache should not be of the cache "in situ" at the hide spot.

I agree with that entirely.

 

And be aware of what you show of the area, if the cache is the final of an Unknown/Puzzle or the final of a Multi-cache.

[+T.D.M.22]

Geocachers are a smart bunch. What is just a photo of the container could be a dead giveaway-I found a cache just because I saw a picture that it was a black nano.

 

Why not take a picture of the logbook?

[+vw_k]

I think with alot of caches this won't be a problem, for example if the cache page mentions that the cache is a "lock & lock" box and that the cache is in woodland a photo of the cache on a forest floor isn't going to give anything away.

 

As has been mentioned already, use your judgement. If the container's colour, shape or camoflage would spoil the hunt for others or if a photo could give away a final location then I wouldn't post it. I've recognised final locations for mystery caches and multis that I hadn't yet visited because of photos posted in logs.

[xnixtechinc]

As the others say, your judgement is key, Try not to give any specifics away, but taking a picture to hold the memory of a find for a long time is a great idea! If its Pertaining to specific containers tha twould give it away, just keep those pictures in a personal Gallery. I Geocache for the thrill of the hunt, if pictures give it away ... It loses its fun of the hunt.

 

Happy Caching.

[+hzoi]

If you make your bearded dragon pal a trackable, you can visit the trackable to each cache and post the photos to your trackable's log, rather than the cache's. That keeps it off the cache pages.

 

Does it completely eliminate the potential to create a hint for cachers in search of a spoiler? No, but it makes it less likely to be an issue. And if a particular cache owner has an issue, they can always ask you (nicely, I hope) to delete it.

[SuperDintheD]

I just started geocaching last week and this was one of the first questions I wanted answered. After reading the forums, it seems that uploading photos to the site can spoil searching for others.

 

So my solution is to upload the photos on a separate photo storage/sharing site like Flickr.com. There you can keep pictures of the GC's actual location for your own use and it doesn't run the risk of giving away the location to others.

 

Just my 2 cents for what its worth.

[+justintim1999]

I think it's ok as long as you don't give away the location of the hide. Try to take the pictures away from gz or close enough that you can't make out the surroundings. There is a local cacher known as tiny superman who uploads some creative pictures of his finds. Check out his gallery at

 

http://www.geocaching.com/profile/?guid=1e6fb4e5-b654-4b46-bd27-93a5bb21799b

[Kondase]

Tiny Superman does have a cute gallery and some of those photos are basically similar to what I have taken so far (extreme close ups of just the lizard with the container). I also like the idea of using just the log in the photo. That's a great idea too.

 

If you make your bearded dragon pal a trackable, you can visit the trackable to each cache and post the photos to your trackable's log, rather than the cache's. That keeps it off the cache pages.

 

I'm not sure I understand this. The bearded dragon is a living lizard and I didn't think animals could be trackable. Or do you mean I assign a trackable to the lizard?

[+hzoi]

Ah. I had assumed it was not a living creature. Even so, you could dedicate a trackable in your collection to your lizard and post the photos there. As long as it's in your collection, doesn't matter if it's actually attached to your lizard or not, though if he/she has a collar that might be easy enough.

[+dprovan]

I'm going to disagree with the concensus building here and say, no, you should not generally post a picture of the cache container. If the CO hasn't posted a picture of the container in the description, you should assume it's because they want to container's nature to be secret. Sure, some COs might not care about a picture for some caches, but why do you want to risk upsetting the CO that does care?

 

One cacher in my area takes a picture of their snail companion at each cache, but they are very careful to make the picture about the area, not the cache itself. When I've been to one of those caches and I look at those pictures, I almost always amused to recognize something unique about the location. But for caches I haven't been to, I know better than to expect any hints in those picture that will tell me anything about what I'm looking for.

[+dprovan]

The bearded dragon is a living lizard and I didn't think animals could be trackable.

Sure animals can be trackable. If it were a dog, you could just put a tag on its collar. For a lizard, you might have a harder time, but you could just assign it a number and not actually tag it if it's too small for dogtags. This would only be a problem if you wanted your lizard to meet other caches who could then log a discover on it, and even then you could just pull the tag out of your pocket and tell them that's its code. Your lizard would be a real hit at events.

[+NanCycle]

I've looked around and I'm not sure if this is answered somewhere else or not. I had a silly idea that it would be fun to create a gallery with my traveling companion (a bearded dragon) posing with the cache containers I find. I am worried now that maybe this would not be allowed since the image of the container might help others locate it. Would this be giving too much information away?

 

OK. I didn't read far enough to see that somebody had beat me to the TB idea.

Edited April 15, 2013 by NanCycle

[+ipodguy]

I love the idea of photographing your bearded dragon while geocaching. If you're concerned about giving away the container, you can usually find a photo opportunity or two on the way to the cache - a stream, a neat clump of moss or a weird stump. Your beardie could pose on those instead.

 

I do this a lot with Travel Bugs.

 

Also, beardies make great pets. I used to have one and he'd just chill on my shoulder for hours. Definitely a mellow type of lizard.

[2BAG's]

I was just told by a cache owner to post a photo of the cache (forgot my pen) to prove I was there before marking it as found but to me that seems to defeat the point of hiding the cache.

[+TeamRabbitRun]

I was just told by a cache owner to post a photo of the cache (forgot my pen) to prove I was there before marking it as found but to me that seems to defeat the point of hiding the cache.

 

He or she didn't mean to post a picture of the cache's hiding place; just a picture of the container. Take it some distance away so there's no chance of people recognizing the exact spot.

[2BAG's]

I was just told by a cache owner to post a photo of the cache (forgot my pen) to prove I was there before marking it as found but to me that seems to defeat the point of hiding the cache.

 

He or she didn't mean to post a picture of the cache's hiding place; just a picture of the container. Take it some distance away so there's no chance of people recognizing the exact spot.

 

Its quite a distinctive camo container though so I feel it would ruin it for other cachers who haven't come across it yet. The rude email I received about it was quite offputting as nowhere in 'Geocaching 101' does it recommend to take a photo of the cache if you forgot your pen. Rookie mistake forgetting the pen but it makes me wonder if other cachers who write that they didn't sign because they forgot their pen get told they didn't earn their smiley face.

[+hzoi]

I've signed with mud before. I've seen where others have used a splinter to poke holes in the log and basically sign by needlepoint. But the best advice I can offer is, always have a pen -- multiple pens, really.

[+VegasScotty]

I think it's ok as long as you don't give away the location of the hide. Try to take the pictures away from gz or close enough that you can't make out the surroundings. There is a local cacher known as tiny superman who uploads some creative pictures of his finds. Check out his gallery at

 

http://www.geocaching.com/profile/?guid=1e6fb4e5-b654-4b46-bd27-93a5bb21799b

 

Wow. I've seen other discussions where people say don't take give-away photos (and some here have made that comment). I've never really understood... if I take a picture of the area, well, you still have to go there to look. Plus, you have the exact GPS coords... I didn't think that pictures were really give-aways....

 

Until now.

 

That is crazy! Did anyone else go look at his pictures? If I was a CO in his area I'd have a cow. Just saying.

[2BAG's]

I think it's ok as long as you don't give away the location of the hide. Try to take the pictures away from gz or close enough that you can't make out the surroundings. There is a local cacher known as tiny superman who uploads some creative pictures of his finds. Check out his gallery at

 

http://www.geocaching.com/profile/?guid=1e6fb4e5-b654-4b46-bd27-93a5bb21799b

 

Wow. I've seen other discussions where people say don't take give-away photos (and some here have made that comment). I've never really understood... if I take a picture of the area, well, you still have to go there to look. Plus, you have the exact GPS coords... I didn't think that pictures were really give-aways....

 

Until now.

 

That is crazy! Did anyone else go look at his pictures? If I was a CO in his area I'd have a cow. Just saying.

Ha, Awesome! Guess I'll chalk my experience up to rookie mistake and a grumpy CO. Cheers

[hisgal2]

I take pictures of my littles in the area the cache was found. I usually place them away from GZ...especially if I know the cache is one that is meant to be harder. I keep a log book that is basically a geocaching journal and I also have a personal album that I post the pictures to. I do have a couple of pictures of just the cache containers...those were caches I found without my littles with me, but I never put the name of the cache itself in the information for those.

 

I also think you need to read the description of the cache. Some ask right in the description that you not post spoiler pictures (ie: the specific place the cache is hidden, the cache itself, etc.). When you are reading the description and even the logs for a cache, you can get the feel of what the CO had in mind....did they want the cache to be a really hard cache?...or is the primary purpose of the cache to get people to a place that means something to the CO and is just for fun??

[+hzoi]

That is crazy! Did anyone else go look at his pictures? If I was a CO in his area I'd have a cow. Just saying.

Interesting. If I was a CO in that area that owned a run of the mill guardrail hide or LPC, I'd be flattered that they bothered to take a photo of what would otherwise be an unassuming cache.

[+rainbomoms]

As a cacher (rather than a cache owner), it would not bother me a bit if someone posted photos of the cache or the area since I have the option to choose not to look at the posted photos before my find. It would be different of the photos showed up without us having to actually click on them.

[+hunter259]

Geocachers are a smart bunch. What is just a photo of the container could be a dead giveaway-I found a cache just because I saw a picture that it was a black nano.

 

Why not take a picture of the logbook?

 

Good idea - I agree!