Encoding geotags in pictures

Finally, it appears that we’re closing in on a universal (a.k.a. GPS-optional) solution to embed geographic information in photo EXIF tags. It’s courtesy of the oddly named HoudahGeo which can read in GPS track files or bring up a Google Map chooser and then write out the proper EXIF tags into the files. I have hundreds of photos that I’ve scanned that have no geotags and I want to be able to embed the tags directly in the photos instead of relying on Flickr’s after-the-fact geocoding tools.

Of course, there’s the usual caveats. You have to insert the tags before you import the photos into your iPhoto library and if you want Flickr to recognize your EXIF location data you need to change your Flickr permission settings. But even with the early beta 4 of HoudahGeo, it worked!

And remember, if you go to the Sierra Vista swap meet, leave your sidearms at home.