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How
do you plot or project a "geotagged" photo onto a map?
Well,
this is the harder question. Although the tech has been
around for a while to input coords into a picture, mapping
companies are slow to hop on the band wagon. The easiest
way I have found so far is to use Google Earth. You'll
also need to install a plug-in to Google Earth called "Red
Hen - IsWhere". The real consideration is where the
map data is. Do you use TOPO, ArcGIS, MapQuest,
Google? I think that it is easier to use a service that
provides the map data for you. This means that if you send
your photo to a friend or put it out on the internet, they don't
need to use the same mapping program on their computer that you
have. The map data is web based or network based.
There
are several ways to plot your photos:
1.
Google Earth and Red Hen Iswhere.
2.
Upload to Flickr.
3.
Create a Google Earth KML or KMZ file.
Google
Earth and Red Hen Iswhere
1.
Download and install Google Earth. (Go
to Google Earth install page).
2.
Download and install Red Hen. (Go
to Red Hen IsWhere install page).
3.
Go to your folder of Geotagged photos and right click.
4.
You'll see a new icon on the drop down list. See below.
5.
Click this and Google Earth will open and go to the photo.
Upload
to Flickr
I
started by doing it this way, but quickly I decided I didn't
like this. FLICKR has a quota of how many photos you can
add each week on their free account. The good side is that
if you have a yahoo address, then you already have a FLICKR
account.
1.
Create your account.
2.
Upload your photo.
3.
Click Map It, below the photo.
Create
a Google Earth KML or KMZ file
Google
Earth has been very progressive with geotagging photos.
Google Earth was originally called Keyhole Server. Thus
was created a proprietary file format called KML or Keyhold
Markup Language. It is a very simple HTML format with
special tags for geospatial referencing. In a KML file the
photo is referenced, but not included in the file. Here is
an example of the HTML text.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<kml xmlns="http://earth.google.com/kml/2.0">
<Document>
<name>Snyder the Cat</name>
<Placemark>
<description><![CDATA[By Stefan Lofgren<br/><table><tr><td><img
src='C:\Documents and Settings\Stefan Lofgren\Desktop\New Folder\NKN_1208.JPG' width='640' height='430'></td></tr></table>]]></description>
<Snippet/>
<name>Snyder the Cat.JPG</name>
<styleUrl>#Photo</styleUrl>
<Point>
<altitudeMode>clampedToGround</altitudeMode>
<coordinates>-121.952166666667,44.7446666666667,624.999989284375</coordinates>
</Point>
</Placemark></Document>
</kml> |
If
you know a thing or two about HTML you could try scripting your
own code in Notepad/Frontpage using the above as a template and
saving as a .KML file, or you could use a simple program like
RoboGeo that does it for you. By the way, I have found
that replacing the image source tag above with a hyper link tag,
you can reference and plot any type of file you want, like an
excel, word, or even an email file!
You
can also create a KMZ file, which is just a zipped kml
file. It is possible with a KMZ file to embed the photo in
the actual file making it a compact image file that Google Earth
is able to read. ArcMAP can also read KML and KMZ files.
Currently,
ArcMAP 9.2 will read and layer-out KML and KMZ
files! ArcMAP 9.1 requires a plug in to do the same.
Using
RoboGeo:
1.
Download and install RoboGeo
$39.95. (Go
to the download and install page).
2.
This is a super easy program to use. So follow their
instructions to create a KML or KMZ file.
3.
Save it to your desktop.
4.
Double click and Google Earth with open and go to your photo!
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