Tone Ag Consulting Ltd.

Geotagging is a way of adding information to photos to show where and when they were taken. 

Digital Photography School has a good Introduction to Geotagging Images.  I found the part on geotagging images using a separate GPS and camera to be particularly interesting.  The precision that a GPS brings when tagging photos for damage claims would be extremely useful.  So far this hasn’t been enough of an issue to justify buying a camera with a built-in GPS, so I’ve used very simple, very rough geotagging.  The method described looks as though it’ll bring a lot more precision without any extra cost. 

Here are the steps to geotagging using a separate GPS and camera.

1. Synchronize the time for the GPS and camera as closely as possible
2. Have the GPS record a track with points every 90 seconds or so (more often if you want more precision, less often if you want to record a longer track)
3. Carry the GPS with you as you take photos
4. Download the photos and tracks to your computer
5. Use synchronizing software to synchronize the two

The synchronizing software compares the time on the photo to the time on the GPS track, then uses the closest match to determine where you were when the photo was taken. 

I’m looking forward to trying this out over the course of the summer.  It’s always fun to learn new ways of using tools!