Are you Geotagging?

Geotagging is simply adding the exact latitude and longitude of a photograph’s location to its metadata so that the location can be used by database software. Its uses can be seen most prominently when using Google Earth or Picasa2, where you can see photos from the location you are browsing.

ATP has announced Photo Finder (~$150US), a cool new tool that lets you geotag your photos without a computer, which makes the process much easier. The Photo Finder is a small GPS receiver with a build in card reader. You carry the receiver with you when you photograph, and it logs your location every 5 seconds. When you are done, you plug in your flash card, and Photo Finder syncs up your photos with their location by using the time stamp on the photos, and then automatically adds the location to the metadata. It couldn’t be more simple.

As programers provide us new ways to search, organize, and share our photographs, I expect to see geotagging become commonplace, and a valuable tool for many photographers.