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Introduction:
This post is all about photo contributions on Google Maps, and more specifically, about the views these photos rack up. It consists of a series of leaderboards showcasing the view counts of hundreds of Local Guides from over 80 countries and you can join in. There's a leaderboard for each Local Guide level and in this way you don't have to be a "top gun" level 10 Local Guide with a mega million views to participate! So, whether you're an entry level Local Guide or from a small country, town or village, or a top level Local Guide from London, New York or New Delhi, you can join in and it's simple to do! If you want to jump on board, then use this link to register or if you want some help then add a comment in this post and someone will jump in to help you.
Why are photo views important?
We all know that as Local Guides we don't get points for the views that our contributions generate! However, views are important as they give us a pretty good indication on how we are impacting on our communities at the Local Guide level. For example, they give us a good indication on how many people we have helped make a decision such as what place to visit or a meal to have. So while we don't get points for photo views, we certainly get an awesome feeling when we see that our photos are being viewed by many people and being visible across Google services, like Search, means that our photo view counts can increase significantly and you will see here on the leaderboards how significant this can be.
Is this just a competition?
While there is an inherent competitive element within them, the Leaderboards are more than just seeing who has the "best" photos or the most photo views, far from it! They have been specifically designed to motivate us, help us to monitor our contributions and performance, and show us how to improve and make better contributions so that we achieve better results, and all in a fun and enjoyable way! As one example of this, in his 1 Billion Views & Counting post @Mikeinthefalls wrote:
"I've become a better LG and photographer, thanks to the sharing of ideas and resources on Connect. One of those resources is the Top 100 Leaderboards. The mastermind behind those Leaderboards @AdamGT Without your vision to create that platform, myself and many others would have likely lost interest long ago. They're a great tool to motivate, as well as analyze & forecast trends & views."
So now it's your turn. Are you interested in improving the quality of your Maps contributions so that you can achieve better outcomes in terms of views and impact on your community? Hit this link and join the high Local Guide achievers.
The cover image:
The feature image on last month's Photo Views Leaderboards post was that of Parque Nacional Cañon del Sumidero (Sumidero Canyon National Park) in Chiapas, Mexico taken by @LightRich. This month the featured cover image is a beautiful sunrise taken on the beach at Hancock Point, ME, United States by level 8 Local Guide, @Rednewt74. This is Alfred's story about this photo.
In October of 2023 we spent 5 days in Maine. Our home base was the Crocker House, nestled near the tip of Hancock Point. A huge thanks to my wife, whose gentle nudges often encourage me to push my photographic boundaries.
This photo is an example of the benefits of going out of your comfort zone. First, as I mentioned above, I don’t like getting up early. Second, when I shoot land or water scapes I tend to zoom in because I usually think I can get a more interesting shot. On October 27, 2023 at about 7 am we walked down to a nearby beach. After having shot my typical zoomed in photos while the sun rose, I took a moment to notice how beautiful the full view was. My eye was drawn to the clouds and distant land on the left, forming natural leading lines towards the sun. Wanting to find a complementary perspective, I looked for foreground elements that echoed this flow. The linear play of light and dark on the rocky beach to the right proved to be just what I was looking for. My Pixel 7 pro has a ultra-wide angle lens and the meta-data indicates I was shooting at the equivalent of a 2 mm lens. I think this super wide angle really adds to the dramatic effect of the photo.
I don't know about you but when reading Alfred's story I felt I was there adoring and immersed in the beautiful sunrise view. Thank you Alfred for sharing this beautiful photo and the story behind it with us.
