Friars Head

167 days ago

I was having so much fun with Bruce’s logger (!) that I took it on one of my daily Rufus walks around Friars Head land.

The photos are all taken on my iPhone and here is a screenshot of the route as provided by the Holux logger output:

When matched with the photos using GeoTag again and uploaded to Picasa – the photos are plotted on Google Maps. (The side thumbnail link launches the slideshow viewer, but from there you can go to the map overview and there is a ink for the Google Earth kml file.)

Think I’ll keep the logger for the weekend – off to Glyndebourne (Carmen) – promise I’ll send it back after that Bruce, honest

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Holux

169 days ago

Bruce appeared from the internet, along with his better half Simone, and equipped me with a Holux M-241 logger for our little jaunt around Malham Cove on Sunday.

 

Up till now my GeoTagging has been by finding positions on Google Maps by either MapMaker or dragging images onto a Google map within Picasa, which also gives you the chance to save a kml file for Google Earth, but the chance to automatically log the positions of my photos was not to be missed.

Bruce has left the Holux with me for a short while and so for the purposes of having a bit of fun, I also set out on my daily Rufus walk yesterday, with logger on-board and my iPhone.

To get all this logged data actually embedded in the photos, I will be using an open source Java application called GeoTag by Andreas Schneider, which runs on a Mac, but only if you have 64-bit Intel Mac with Mac OS X 10.5 – it needs Java SE 6 runtime. (Following on from our GeoTagIcon exploits, Bruce, Frank and I were asked to come up with an icon for this.)

Note: This GeoTag application is launched (in Mac OSX) usually from the geotag.jnlp file, which resides within the GeoTag folder – being a java application you don’t get the normally compiled application – and you will see com.sun.javaws.Main in the Menu Bar, instead of the more usual application title. In some of my screen shots, you may see GeoTag in the menu bar – this is because I’m running it as an application proper from a test file that Andreas sent me – this method of building the application has so far not been able to be replicated with the downloads you get from the GeoTag site.

BT747

Before you begin with GeoTag however, you will have to get the log out of the Holux; for this see Bruce’s work-through and this How-To don’t forget to use the latest BT747 (I initially ran into trouble by using an older version). The transfer worked just fine over Bluetooth and the Holux’s single AA battery did both outings and data transfers.

GeoTag

Using the GeoTag application is actually very straightforward and there is a very useful and pertinent What next? under the Help menu:

You will now have a panel full of image data which displays the selected image below and a hover-over image.

 

Map

I dumped the whole lot across to the map (which comes-up in your default browser) and now we see the general accuracy, and the fact that due to my lack-of-knowledge in using the Holux, both days tracks are displayed with a time link between the two.

Now, I have (I think) a time related problem with the iPhones’s photographs, so they’re all stacked just before I set out. I have tried to alter the photographs time setting in GeoTag, but I can’t seem to be able to alter that – the time-offset yes – but not the photos time. So, it’s been a manual reposition here.

There seemed to be quite a variance of positional error, one of the largest was this example (before and after correction):

However, it is easy to move markers and easy to identify them (see popup image window shot below) – within your default browser window – once moved by click hold and drop, they are automatically updated within GeoTag.

Direction

There is a nice feature whereby you can show the direction that your photo was taken in. I was hoping to see this materialise in some way within Google Earth after export as a kml file, but that export seems to be a little disappointing in that none of the images actually show automatically in GE, they have to be selected form the side list and only display individually.

and on the map you drag the Camera icon to show direction:

Saving

When you are happy with the positions – but, be careful, once saved, they cannot be undone – you have to delete that entry and import the original image again and load the track for it. (Slightly annoying that the finder is more Windows orientated and does not have an image preview to identify it by – especially if your images are fresh from the camera and just a number string.)

To check the images have taken the geo data, open in Preview and show the Inspector from Tools menu, or simply open in iCab – if you have it.

KML

I couldn’t get the Google Earth > Show in Google Earth link to work and as I said before, I was disappointed with the output of the saved kml file;

so, I’ve prepared the same using Picasa and saved that kml file for comparison. Interestingly, the Winterburn Wood photos automatically got attached to the Google Map in uploading to Picasa, whereas the Malham Cove ones didn’t – must have inadvertently altered a setting somehow(?)

Malham Cove

kml Malham Cove.kml kml Malham Cove Picasa.kml

Winterburn Wood

kml Winterburn Wood.kml kml Winteburn Wood Picasa.kml

It’s very useful being able to log your photos and have them geotagged so easily and I will be acquiring some kind of logger/GPS device soon, but I think with my up and coming requirements – I’ll be going for something like the Garmin GPSMAP 495 – thanks for the loan of the Holux Bruce, I promise to return it soon!

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Rummaging

252 days ago

Finally got hold of a reasonably priced 35mm scanner and so I am rummaging around in the trays of old snaps, and unearthing some long lost moments and the odd photograph of paintings completely forgotten about.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to bore the pants off people with the vast majority of them (and some of the early paintings are certainly not going to see the light of the lcd), but I am steadily adding to my photos section and did find one of a small painting I actually quite liked. This is mainly because it’s of an old packhorse bridge and the local heron, at the bottom of Headlam village green – a great little hamlet of a place I lived in for 6 merry years.

The Green was the biggest thing about the village, I say was, not because it’s been built-on or anything like that, it’s just the hotel there has increased in size and facility quite tremendously. Profit in these (repeat) weddings.

We’ve both left the village, the painting moving a little further than I, it now resides in Salzburg. Maybe I will return one day, to that region of largely unspoilt greens and their villages, you never know.

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The Carphone Wherehouse?

381 days ago

They are confused…

When I bought my iPhone from The Carphone Warehouse, I was given a 3-line whip on the insurance package and naturally, there ensued some discussion surrounding their claims that a) my present (mobile phone) insurance did not cover the iPhone, and b) their insurance was the only one that would prevent me from having to enter into another 18 month agreement, with a new phone and new number – should the old one be either stolen or damaged.

Needless to say, I told them exactly where to put their insurance – which rather soured the whole iPhone shopping experience. However, iPhone was duly purchased and I set off home with my proud new possession. Whilst doing the activation bit (the servers wre very busy – so dog-walking broke up the seamless process), I did a bit of Googling around and found various comments on people’s blogs about this insurance scam.

So, it is with great glee that I read in today’s correspondence from The Carphone Warehouse that

We are aware there has been some confusion recently around how to replace a lost or stolen iPhone so wanted to take this opportunity to make sure you were aware of the process.

ie We dropped a bollock and are desperately trying to cover our behinds.

In the unfortunate event that your handset was lost or stolen, you would need to purchase a new phone at the retail price (currently £269).

Good job I’ve got mobile ‘phone insurance then…

You then need to contact O2 directly on 0870 607 2302 with your new iPhone details so your existing contract could be transferred to your replacement phone.

I’ll do that then – you betcha – like I said…

Whether or not you have insurance cover you do not have to enter into a new network contract.

Methinks, you’d better start those staff training days again then…

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K10D

613 days ago

I’ve got a new camera!

After waiting for a long time for Pentax to bring out a good camera for those K-mount lenses I’ve got, I’ve taken the plunge with a K10D.

First shots taken on a cloudy, breezy day – so not ideal for the Hawthorn May Blossom or great contrast. However, I’m very pleased with it so far.

I was in Nottinghamshire yesterday and everywhere the Hawthorn was in blossom, it’s just started to come out here.

although we do have a good showing of Primroses on these woody banks.

These shots were taken using a Sigma 28-105mm f2.8 lens, which although a couple of years old, somewhat to my surprise works with the auto-focus of the Pentax. I really wasn’t expecting it after my ancient rusty Program A.

In my travels over the last couple of days, I’ve seen Red-Tailed Kites, a Great Crested Grebe and my first Swift of the year.

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