I do the same. I have found a problem more recently where I take a trail through dense forest and can’t figure out where I was by looking at the satellite image. To fix this problem I will either periodically take a quick shot with my phone to get GPS coordinates and/or use the eBird app which can track my position and draw my path over the satellite image. I have a separate GPS but don’t use it unless I’m specifically trying to map a trail or going somewhere without trails (so I don’t get lost) since it eats batteries and doesn’t like rechargeable ones.
3 Likes
I have developed a decent system for using my phone for gps in conjunction with my Canon camera. First, for anyone trying this for the first time, I learned a trick from someone here - my phone’s camera takes a moment to figure out where I am once I open the app up. So as soon as I start hiking, I turn upon up my phone’s camera app and leave it open (just turning the screen off when it’s in my pocket/bag).
When I take a photo with my Canon (I switch on and off between each camera because each has it’s own advantages and disadvantages), I pull out my phone and take a photo in the same spot with my hand over the lens. When I go to process and merge the photos from each camera, the ‘gps’ photos are all reddish (or dark, depending on the light) and that quickly tells me A), this is my ‘geotag’ for a Canon photo and B) there is no organism in that photo I need to look for.
I also sort my photos by date so that puts those red/dark photos near the Canon photos in my files.
When I first starting doing this, I would just take a random photo for my gps/geotag photo and, later, I’d often struggle with whether there was something I meant to capture in my photo or whether it can just be tossed once everything is uploaded.
Also, I upload all my phone’s photos to Google Photos and download from there. If I take a video (from which I’ll extract audio of an animal) on my phone, once I download it from Google, it loses it’s geo location tag. So I take a photo at the same time as the video then keep the two together. The photo retains the geotag and I pair it with the audio file when uploading.
Of course, this is contingent upon my phone having accurate geo location at any moment. With my coverage, I occasionally lose it and the location shown will be way off from where I know I was. Usually I can estimate where I was by finding my location just before and just after that moment.
2 Likes
@tiwane has written an excellent tutorial for how to geotag photos taken from a camera without a GPS, here: https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/geotagging-photos/66
2 Likes
This is my main hobby. It also depends on what your subject range is. From plants alone it is easy here to get 100 obs in a half-day. Insects, birds, reptiles tend to be in shorter supply, so if you aren’t going heavy on plants you’ll probably struggle to reach any significant observation count in a single day out.
…as for finding time to process and upload…glances awkwardly at several month photo backlog.
9 Likes
I just stumbled on the 35k observation profile of a user that just placed an ID on one of my posts, and here am I back on this thread trying to reconcile the disparity with my 1k observation page.
It’s all good! Do you :)
3 Likes
Counting down to 7K species. 35 34 33 … and 20th October - 19 18 17 …
1 Like
I’ll pretend I didn’t see that 🥲
4 Likes
I’m pretty sure it’s not even a high number for Cape region per se, like, if diversity is so dense all you need is just capture everything you see.
1 Like
Wow - almost 7k? That’s crazy! What region is that, South Africa?
:0
1 Like
If you use the app but in settings take it off of 'Automatic Upload", you can make all the observations you want to, and then upload them all when you are ready to do that,
Honestly on a really good day, I might have 50 observations. Most days in the summer I have between 10-20 and that number drops to maybe 6 or so in the fall on some days. I work, and my job requires additional hours when I get home, so it’s seasonal for me with fewer things to view as the weather turns colder, the light wanes, and the workload increases. In spring, the light returns, the world comes to life again, and I can take advantage of the longer days to walk after work and then work later at night if need be. And, then, summer is glorious. :) But, even so, I’m a fussy observer. I really look and select what I want pics of and then what I put up on iNat. I don’t mind fewer observations because I choose rather carefully. I’m sure that means I miss all kinds of stuff, but I love taking a very slow look around, focusing carefully, and seeing what catches my eye specifically. And, I cannot tell you how much I’ve learned with iNat. I do not have anywhere near the skills of the experts on the site, but I started not knowing much at all. Now I walk by things thinking to myself, “Oh that’s such and such . . .” I even give myself projects–right now, I’m trying to walk almost every trail in the park closest to me (which is a lot of trails BTW), and I have some plants and animals I read up on and then try to find because they fascinate me. So I guess I’m saying a lot of what I do isn’t about accumulating observations but about challenging myself, having fun, and learning a lot. What’s great about iNat is that you can select how to use it, and then there are people around to help you as you find your way.
PS One of these days, I’m going out with an actual camera instead of my phone. I want pics of birds, but I have to find time to learn to use the camera . . . So the phone limits observations too.)
7 Likes
botaneek is a botanical consultant living in Cape Town.
His obs range across Southern Africa.
And not limited to plants either.
Himalayan tahr or sambar?
I really want to visit South Africa sometime, it’s at the top of my list. Maybe I’ll pay him for botanical tours!
4 Likes
Most species in 2021 is https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?order_by=observed_on&place_id=any&subview=table&user_id=sheriff_woody_pct&verifiable=any
who has been in South Africa - and is now back in the USA.
1 Like
But it’s a description of trail cameras that are used on iNat? You can set them up with “real” cameras too or even work on monitoring remotely, like in some birding spots they set up cameras to “watch” birds.
That sounds like the Seek app?
This topic was automatically closed 60 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.