4 replies to this topic

[Charles Syrett]

Time to de-lurk! I hail from Nelson BC in Canada, where I run a small custom mapping company called Map Graphics. I got started in mapping at age 6 (pencil and paper, along with field checking of discrepancies in published street maps of Toronto -- I couldn't figure out why maps disagreed if they were mapping the same thing!). Then on to adulthood... ruling pens, Leroy sets, scribing, darkroom work, dye proofs, final "neg" retouching, etc. etc. Did some time at the Ontario government making geological and topographical maps, and then started freelancing....

Somehow a lot of years went by and now I work mostly on a Mac using FreeHand, Photoshop, Mapublisher, and (very occasionally) VectorWorks (CAD for Mac), MFWorks (raster GIS for Mac) and Manifold (yes, we have a Windows box too). Somehow I can't get over the habit of thinking that maps are something you *draw*, rather than the end product of some kind of data processing!

My company creates all kinds of maps, from small locator maps for web sites to full city street maps. We do a lot of maps for commercial real estate and yellow pages directories. You can see some samples on our web site, but be warned: we haven't updated the site in at least 5 years, because we're too busy making new maps!

I'm excited by the potential of GIS nowadays for cartography. Just as graphics-based computing couldn't really be taken seriously for cartography until the early 90s, I feel that it's only recently that GIS has shown potential as a serious cartographic tool. This forum is very rich with knowledge and pointers about different kinds of methods and approaches. And a lots of eye-popping maps!

I look forward to learning more from all of you.

(subject line apologies to Francis Stanton, who told me about this site )

Charles Syrett
http://www.mapgraphics.com

[Hans van der Maarel]

Hello Charles, and welcome to Cartotalk!! I would be very interested in seeing some of your more recent work

[Charles Syrett]

Well, we *are* updating our web site....but since you asked, here's a sample of a commercial real estate map, highlighting a property in downtown Montreal. We do a lot of maps like this. To anyone viewing this from Quebec -- my apologies for the English street names on this map; for some reason we were asked to them this way!

Charles Syrett
http://www.mapgraphics.com

Attached Files

•  MntrlOgilvy1.jpg   608.62K   60 downloads

[Matthew Hampton]

Welcome Charles!

It's great to see Cartotalk becoming richer with more experienced members.

[Rick Dey]

Welcome,

Its great to see there are still some of us out there that remember ruling pens, Leroy sets, scribing, & darkroom work!