[kanaloa]

If you've been around the last year you've probably heard me rant about wishing I had access to a GIS application or someone who did. I have been internally bugged, excessively even, by the fact our guides were using maps made in photoshop. It just gave me a feeling of knowing I was producing something sub-par. If you know me at all, you know I HATE sub-par. I'm a perfectionist.

So... as we near the half way mark of writing this third guide, I decided to either pay up for the $1500 app or pay someone else to do it. Well at $600 a map for someone else, I decided obviously to go it alone. I need 15 maps for this guide; I didn't even want to do that math.

Right now I'm using the evaluation copy of the software I have, but I plan to buy it. I was trained in this in college, and it's been pretty easy to relearn it. Point being... GIS makes a huge difference. It's a lot of weight off my mind, getting to this point.

<b>OLD Maps</b>
http://www.hawaiianstyle.org/Hawaii-Mil ... le_old.pdf

<b>NEW Gis Maps</b>
http://www.hawaiianstyle.org/Hawaii-Mile_by_Mile.pdf


Still have a lot of work to do, so if I continue to be AWOL, I apologize. This guide is a huge milestone for Natasha and I, and so far it's coming together really well. It's our first full color product. It should really put us on the map as an travel authority for the islands.

[Grav!ty]

The difference is incredible. The GIS maps look very professional and as if they are aerial shots with the detail added

[kanaloa]

It's been exciting to see the new ones come into existance too. LOL, maybe I need a life.

What's sad is that it took me nearly 2 months to do the old photoshop version maps, the ones with the SAT image as a background. While that was neat, the DEM (Digital Elevation Model) I used for a background on the new maps is even better. It's much much more 3D.

[augie]

Very, very nice John. $1500 is a lot to spend but your time is worth money too. I doubt this is your last guide so it makes sense. Anyways, it's a business write-off, correct?

[c0ldfyr3]

The New ones are great, lots better quality.
I My self am looking into a GIS application, just so i have some proficiency in GIS.

[b_a88]

Oh wow you used DEM for the background eh. I've tried using some DEM data to make a map for a game and I did actually get it in game but never finished it. It's pretty neat stuff, I like how all that DEM data is freely available and all you have to do to access it is to register.

[kanaloa]

OK, I wish I could show you the before version of these, but why even bother, LOL. Just trying to sqeeze all this in (especially on the second map) would have been a nightmare before. Now it's sooo much easier.

Granted all the labeling still requires photoshop, but the road/trail data being in the GIS app makes this much MUCH easier.

http://www.hawaiianstyle.org/HVNP.pdf