Keeping a log of your visited locations for later adding them to your photo’s metadata

Remember the name of that bistro in Paris?

When I travel I like to keep a log of the places visited as well as ensuring my photos are adequately geotagged. I started some years ago when I got a handheld GPS to continuously log my location and then using a desktop software like GeoSetter to embed the geolocation information into my photos EXIF metadata with the GPS location the photo was taken.

Nowadays it is much easier, as my smartphone photos are automatically geocoded with GPS location information at the moment the image is taken. Still, using GeoTag Photos Pro, I keep a track of my movements for later embedding location info to the photos taken with my SLR camera which lacks GPS functionality.

Yet, GPS coordinates alone may not suffice in keeping a log of the place where a photo was taken. So on a recent trip to Mexico, I also logged my locations using Foursquare’s Swarm app. [Read: Foursquare’s Swarm Wants to Be Your Travel Journal]

Post editing the photos at home after the trip, I added to the photo metadata the names of the places visited to the corresponding IPTC location metadata fields using the desktop app Geosetter.  You can see the image metadata of an image taken on the trip here as an example.

Here is where your Foursquare check-ins come in handy, as you can use them to add  missing location metadata using Geosetter.

GPS information and location names added to the embedded metadata of the image filem shown here using Geosetter. The metadata of this particular image which was taken at Plaza Hidalgo can also be seen here.

To add Foursquare Swarm Check-in Location names to your photo metadata:

1. Export your Swarm/Foursquare Checkins as a KML file – Foursquare’s Check-in Feeds page will allow you to export your Swarm checkins to a KML file. Just right click on your private kml feed link and save the file to your desktop.

2. Load the KML file into GeoSetter as a track file – Within the GeoSetter desktop application, click on the Tracks section Open file button. If it is not available, click on View -> Tracks, to enable.

3. The dots which will appear on your map correspond to a check-in location. It may not necessarily be on the exact location but it still provides you with the place name:

Foursquare check-in history loaded in Geosetter. Check-in locations are shown as dots on the map.

4. Select the image files you wish to add the location information and you can manually add it:

Geosetter’s Edit Data dialog box allows user to add or edit certain metadata fields for an image file.

I am also experimenting with adding the Foursquare venue urls to certain photos as Location Identifiers. I wrote a post some time ago about Using IPTC location identifiers to link your photos to knowledge bases.

Finding where a photo was taken using Google Vision

Scanning photos taken by grandparents on a trip to Europe in 1960 is quite fascinating. Seeing the places they visited, some which I have also had the opportunity to visit as well, is a nice way to remember them. However, the photos presented a bit of a challenge- while some had handwritten captions mentioning the location they were taken, most lacked this information.

Modern digital cameras embed metadata into an image file with details such as the date/time taken and geolocation. These bits of information make it easier to know where a photo was taken. So with these analog photos- I have only a black and white image of an unknown place.

1960’s photos meet Artificial Intelligence

Luckily, modern image recognition techniques can identify landmarks. Google’s Vision API can identify an image’s location by using AI smarts to compare them to a vast image dataset. As more images are fed, Google Vision “learns” more about landmarks and the objects contain within the images. While the API is targeted for application developers, Google provides a web site in which you can upload an image and it returns this information as well.

The Google Vision API provides a way of identifying landmarks from photos. In this example, the service correctly identified the photo as taken at the Buen Retiro Park in Madrid, Spain – https://cloud.google.com/vision/

In mobile devices, Google Lens also uses this technology to recognize landmarks and present relevant information.

Google Lens uses Google Vision to identify landmarks from images.

 

Adding location information to the image file metadata

After positively identifying the landmark and geographical location where the photo was taken using Google Vision, I turn to GeoSetter for adding the missing geolocation information as well as captions to the image file metadata. Adding this information allows other applications and services to use it as well.

 

Adding geolocation information to an image file using GeoSetter – http://www.geosetter.de/en/main-en/

 

Applications or services as OneDrive can use geolocation data to display the location on a map. The caption is also displayed showing the name of the monument as it was identified with the help of Google’s Landmark Recognition engine.

Geotagged photo shown in Windows Photo Gallery – the added metadata of the location taken is shown as a Geotag.

Related:

• Using IPTC location identifiers to link your photos to knowledge bases
• Around the world: landmark detection with the Cloud Vision API
• Testing Google Cloud Vision API Landmark detection with my own travel photographs

Geotag Photos with Foursquare / Swarm / Instagram and Facebook Check-Ins

Following up on my previous post on Geotagging Photos with Foursquare / Swarm Check-Ins, I stumbled upon an interesting scenario- How about a solution in which you could use your Foursquare/Swarm check ins, but the location information from Foursquare, Facebook, and Instagram.

I did some research and found possibly the best app for managing such data- the aptly named PinDrop. With Pindrop you can aggregate your Foursquare, Facebook, and Instagram locations as well as add your own. The locations, or pins you add on the app can be either shared or kept private. This is great for when travelling and if you want to keep track of the places you visited, but don’t necessarily wish to share it with your friends.

Now, for the frosting on the cake – you can export this information to a KML file which you can load into Geosetter. So far you can only export the data by visiting the website settings section. With the KML file you can more easily append the location place names to your photo’s metadata.

Now, combine this app with Geotag Photos Pro, which can record your location for easier location tagging, and you have a pretty interesting photo geotagging solution.

Happy geotagging!

Geotagging Photos with Foursquare / Swarm Check-Ins

Your are on vacation, so take a lot of photos with your camera and mobile phone. You keep your friends and family up to speed on your whereabouts by checking in on Foursquare / Swarm.

Now you arrive home and want to organize the photos you took on your PC. If you like to geotag your photos and update the photo metadata geo locations here is a helpful tip.

You can use the foursquare location names of your check-in and add them to the location fields of the photos you took.

1. Export your Foursquare check-in history in kml format  – Visit http://foursquare.com/feeds. Right mouse click on the kml feed link and select “Save As”. Save the file to your PC.

2. Load the kml file in Geosetter (http://geosetter.de/en)-  On the “Tracks” pane, click on the open track track files button, and load the track to GeoSetter. Your foursquare locations will appear as dots on the map.

3. Assign Position and/or Name to Photos – Load the photos you which to add the geographic information and click on the waypoints from the loaded locations. You can add the position information as well as the location name to the photo metadata.

If you then load the photos on applications such as Windows Photo Gallery or share the photos on sites (such as Flickr) which can read this metadata, the information will be shown.