Even casual travelers know the
wonders of GPS. It's hard to imagine how we functioned on the road just a few years back without a satnav at our disposal, and now that our smartphones are also
well equipped to guide us from point A to point Z (and everywhere in between), having a true sense of direction isn't quite as necessary as it once was. But GPS satellites are useful for quite a bit more than just routing us. In the photography world, geotagging is becoming an increasingly attractive way to effectively track ones travels in a unique, refreshing visual fashion.
If you aren't familiar with the term,
geotagging refers to embedded GPS data on each image, which can then be read by various photo applications and mapping software. When you take a photo using any existing DSLR, a great deal of "metadata" is embedded onto each image; this data enables individuals to see what
aperture,
shutter speed, white balance setting and focal length (among other things) were used when a particular shot was composed. These pieces of information are remarkably useful when comparing shots after the fact, and geotagging adds one more vital bit of data to the mix: coordinates. Read on to find out how you can start adding GPS data to your images, and why you should make the effort to do so.
The easiest way to make this happen is to buy a camera with a GPS or Hybrid GPS module built-in. A number of newly introduced compact models include this. Fujifilm's
FinePix XP30 has inbuilt geotagging support (not to mention a rugged, waterproof casing), and Casio's
Exilim EX-H20G is a non-rugged alternative with integrated geotagging. It's an easy feature to find -- either a camera has it built-in or it doesn't, and manufacturers will generally go out of their way to ensure you know if a particular model does.
If you aren't in the market for a new point-and-shoot, existing DSLR owners can upgrade their camera to support geotagging. Nikon makes a module of their own that fits certain models (
GP-1), and if your camera doesn't have a first-party add-on, Gisteq offers a (mostly) universal solution that connects via Bluetooth (
PhotoTrackr Plus and
PhotoTrackr Mini).
Once your camera is equipped to embed geotagging data, all you need is a program that'll read that data. Apple's iPhoto (displayed throughout this post) is a great example; any image that you load into iPhoto can be sorted by 'Places.' If you have an Internet connection, you'll see pins populate the map (as shown here) in order to represent all of the locales where photos were taken. Google's
Picasa is another solid option, as is the popular
Flickr.
What you're left with is an incredibly visual way to look at a trip you recently took, all by way of photographs. In a way, these specific location points tell a story in an of themselves. Rather than simply telling friends and family that a certain group of photos were taken in Montana (for example), geotagging allows them to see exactly what routes you took on a road trip and precisely which trails you skied at Whitefish Mountain Resort. If you took multiple images at a certain place, you can easily sort those by selecting a single pin. The images throughout this article show (most) of the photos I took on my Casio Exilim EX-H20G while in northwestern Montana, including a number of shots while on Big Mountain itself.
On a grander scale, geotagging all of your images for the foreseeable future would enable you to create a lifetime travel map that visually shows where you've been in the world. It's certainly a lot easier than trying to remember every off-the-wall stop you made, and it's most definitely more satisfying than some Bucket List you've generated in Microsoft Word. On a smaller scale, sending your child off to camp with a geotagging camera would allow you to see where all the counselors shuttled your young one around -- after all, kids have a thing for not keeping a very detailed journal, and this would make their job of explaining what all they did a lot easier.
Interested in getting started with geotagging? Listed below are a few recommended GPS-enabled cameras, geotagging add-on dongles and photo applications that work well with geotagged images.
GPS-enabled point-and-shoot cameras:
Geotagging add-on dongles:
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Nikon GP-1 (supports D200, D3, D700, D90, D300, or D3X)
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Promote Systems GPS-N-1 (supports Nikon D300, D700, D3, D2X, D2Xs, D2Hs, D200 and Fuji S5 Pro, IS Pro)
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Geomet'r GNC-38 (supports Nikon and Fujifilm DSLRs)
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JOBO GPS001 photoGPS
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Columbus nGPS (supports Nikon and Fujifilm DSLRs)
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Wolverine Geotag GPS receiver (supports Nikon and Fujifilm DSLRs)
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Amod AGL3080 GPS Data Logger (universal Bluetooth solution)
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Eye-Fi Explore / Explore Video (supports SD-enabled cameras)
Geotagging applications:
Filed under: Gear, Photos, North America, United States, Through the Gadling Lens
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Chris Jan 29th 2011 11:44AM
Fabulous article - thank you so much for this great in- depth information about photography
Dana Murph Jan 30th 2011 9:59AM
Thanks, glad to hear it :)
DMC Jan 29th 2011 12:24PM
Another good way to tag your photos is to use an iPhone app to log your location and then later you can use that information to automatically locate your photos. A couple of examples of apps that can save a log of your location are GPS Tracks and MotionX GPS.
When you are about to start taking pictures you start the app. All the time you're taking photos the app is keeping track of where you are. When you're done, you can email the log of your tracks to yourself. It'll be a gpx file.
After you get back to your computer you can use software to match up the photos to your location log. The software will use the time of the track and the time of the photo to determine where you were when the photo was taken and it will then update the photo with the location information.
For the Mac, both HoudaGeo (you mention above) and Aperture can do this matching for you.
Ric Garrido Jan 29th 2011 7:35PM
This seems like a handy tool for showing hotel locations in a city. Good tip that I want to try with a city hotel tour.
Stewart Jan 29th 2011 9:29PM
Another way to geotag photos if you don't happen to have a GPS enabled camera is to use the free service from www.gobreadcrumbs.com. You need to track your day out with a GPS enabled device such as Garmin or iPhone, you then upload your photos and videos along with the track and they are automatically geotagged by matching the timestamps up on the camera with the timestamps on the GPS track.
GreatLakesSurfer Jan 30th 2011 11:41PM
I'm really into geocaching and after reading this article I now realize how convenient and handy geotagging will be. The only drawback that concerns me is that military folks should be careful, especially when using GPS-enabled phones when taking pix. You don't want to compromise certain missions and places. (http://www.military.com/military-report/af-issues-geotag-warning). Other than that, great idea.
Dana Murph Jan 30th 2011 10:01AM
Yeah, always be careful when on business. Personal trips shouldn't be an issue, though.
Lil Feb 1st 2011 3:47AM
I wish I had that in 2004. We went on a major vacation from Michigan to the Carribean. We stopped so many places, and most I could get back to with no problem. However, in Tennessee, we stopped for a potty break to find this BREATHTAKING VIEW OF THIS lake hidden from the highway at a state rest stop There was a comment that it was part of the TVA project, but that is all I can remember. I just have this sunset photo of my 3 grandchildren sitting on the ledge to for the photo. We have gone several times since then, and it was located close to Chattinooga, but I can't find that special sunset rest area. Darn.