Here is my personalised "geograph" map. The red splattering effect reveals where I have taken photographs for the project since my very first contribution back in September 2009. There are other drips of red paint elsewhere - Cornwall, South Wales, Fife, Sussex, London and Essex for example but these are off the main map.
As you would expect, the biggest red splash is centred on my home. I have taken pictures in every square kilometre of The City of Sheffield and like a blob of red ink that central splash has leaked out over most of The Peak District and into Nottinghamshire and various parts of Lincolnshire.
Taking pictures for geograph is a hobby that I find very enjoyable and it suits me down to a tee. It involves map reading, walking, historical research and posting pictures on the internet for all to see. Mostly I hope to take good pictures that will interestingly represent any particular square kilometre but occasionally I snap dull pictures that are just about "bagging" a square. Of course I have blogged about this hobby before. Here for example.
So far I have uploaded 8004 photos to geograph but that is less than 20% of the total number of pictures I have taken whilst out rambling. It's slightly shocking to estimate that I have in fact taken over 50,000 pictures in the last six and a half years and of course many more during my two working stints in South East Asia and on various holidays.
Taking pictures can be like writing poems or songs. You're looking to make the best poem you have ever written, the best words n the best order or you are looking to capture an image that is special - perhaps in its simplicity or in its quirkiness or because the weather and the light conspired to perfectly enhance the scene in front of you.
If my currently sore hip or a future debilitating injury or the creakiness of old age prevented me from getting out there to explore the world around me I should feel like a bird without wings but at least there'd be all those photos to remind me of the wonderful places I have been and the splendid things I have seen.
England is a fantastic and beautiful country, rich in history, filled with surprises and any fellow countrymen or women who dispute this must be stupid, blind or both.
Agree with your last comments YP. Often it's easy to despair, when reading about yet more large areas of land being used to build thousands of houses, and wonder where it will all end. Then we look at your photos, and know that there's still a lot of England's green and pleasant land still there for our enjoyment.
ReplyDeleteExactly CG. Still plenty of green fields for frolicking in. And "frolicking" is not a euphemism for what John Gray was doing by the hedge on Gop Hill!
DeleteI often read your blog YP and think how rich in history your country is and how visible that evidence is to prove the point. On the other hand your scatter map resembles some kind of target practice and could be labelled ~ 'Shooting the heart of England'. Sad to hear of your hip injury. I do wish you a speedy recovery Sir.
ReplyDeleteThank you for dropping by once again Carol. Rest assured that after taking photos in the kilometere squares, I do not then call in a tanker filled with red paint to spray over the greenery.
DeleteAgree about the Chippie YP, but friends keep The Pantry (upstairs above the Spar Shop) and serve their own beef and lamb (they are also farmers) - most of it has spent quite a lot of time in our fields, so we feel we have an affinity with it. If you are in Hawes, give it a try.
ReplyDeleteI have heard about farmers who have "an affinity" with their animals but I thought that they were mostly in the hills of Wales and on remote sheep stations in New Zealand. Personally, I have always preferred women.
DeleteI wish that I didn't have a curious streak but I have to ask where the reference to the 'Chippie' is. A previous post perhaps? Certainly the search facility doesn't mention the existence of the word since, I think, 2006.
DeleteLike Graham, I am curious enough to wonder about Weaver's comment. Maybe something on her blog?
DeleteYes GE and MR. Mrs Weaver was planning to go out for lunch with friends and mischievously I suggested a fish and chip shop in Hawes called "The Chippie".
DeleteWe are the fortunate recipients of the products of the hobby you love; and for that, we thank you.
ReplyDeleteI hope your hip recovers quickly, Yorkie...take care.
Funny isn't it Lee. We're always just one step away from being incapacitated. Come on you bloody hip! Get better!
DeleteI can see why you would be very satisfied with your photography and hiking.It's challenging and there's always more.
ReplyDeleteAlways more Red... and yes, it never ends. No bears to worry about over here!
DeleteAnd, yes, England is a fantastic and beautiful country, rich in history, filled with surprises.
ReplyDeleteSometimes people cannot see what is in front of their eyes... like my brother in France who is constantly taking potshots at the land of his birth.
DeleteI think the tanker with the red spray might be called in to thoroughly wipe out the minute green specks in the big red blob.
ReplyDeleteMs Soup
There are a few in there Alphie. Well-observed! Some can be a little awkward to bag - say a big industrial estate with "KEEP OUT!" signs and snarling dogs.
DeleteI am glad you took up this hobby, and decided to share your picturs and descriptions of your walks on here, Neil!
ReplyDeleteIt's always a great start of the day for me when I sit here with my mug of steaming hot coffee (strong, black and very sweet) and indulge in one of your posts. I know we feel very similar about walking; we really need it for our sanity as much as for our physical health.
Hopefully your hip soon stops causing you discomfort and pain, and you'll be out there again with your camera!
It's been four days now and it's still sore - though not painful as I sit here wit a big Homer Simpson mug filled with Yorkshire tea. As you say, alking is good for one's mental helth as well as physical well-being.
DeleteBy my reckoning, that works out at more than three photos a day over seven years which is a very impressive record by any yardstick.
ReplyDeleteAt least that Ian - when you count in the foreign travel pictures.
DeleteWell, you already know how much I enjoy walking with you over hill and dale...even tho it is at my computer and with Google maps handy. Methinks you should pen another book, with lots of pictures, of course.
ReplyDeleteMoist heat on that hip, my friend. You will be better in no time.
Thank you for your continuing interest and kind concern Mama Bear.
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