[yoda]

Which type do you prefer drawings or pics,Which do you think is the best and worst (ie Northumberland),

[Phil D]

Drawings, don't know why just do!

[dom]

drawings are pointless, thats what they did in the olden days before cameras were invented

but seriously, whats the point in debating which line is which on a pencil drawing when you can just take a photo then superimpose lines over the top.  I'm making a guide at the moment and its so much simpler and clearer just taking a few photos.

[Phil D]

Guess I gave my age away, now how do I work this diggie camera thingy, n' whats a pixel anyway 

[wannaclimb8a]

i think a drawing for each sector works good although with google earth etc now you can have it as a photo.i think in general you dont need phots with lines on for every problem unless its a hard to pick line.



rich

[dave]

the problem with photo topos these days for route crags is that they are all taken from ground level (unless theres a convenient adjacent hillside) so invariably show the crag forshortened, whereas the old-style drawings can show it as your mind thinks it aught to look, with the perspective corrected. There are ways of course of taking photos like this (i.e. photoshop the perspective out, or use a PC lens, or use a large format camera like the Peak paul nunn guide) but no-one seems arsed to do this these days.

the 1980s peak guides did have a certain charm to them, i.e. you felt like a bit of work had gone into them, for phil gibson to go out and draw the whole roaches. I like the human touch in a guide.

[SA Chris]

I generally prefer photos, but some line drawings, like the ones in the old Pembroke Guide, were works of art and conveyed much more information than a photo ever could.

[tc]

Worst: Rockfax Lakes Bouldering Guide

Best: N Wales Bouldering Guide or "Stone Country"


Stone Country:
“This is perhaps the best bouldering guide I've ever seen. It is entirely literate (somewhat at odds with a great deal of what is published...), there is a lack of grading emphasis (how refreshing!), there is much interesting philosophy woven into the fabric of the text (unusual and highly appreciated), and the B&W photos are among the best I've ever seen - sharp and clear, showing form over mere image. A marvelous book.” John Gill (my italics)

The standard to aspire to before we all forget and accept sub-standard shite