MyTracks offers efficient way to track where you took photos

    My first tip on this blog was using an old cellphone to generate a GPS tracklog for tagging your photos.

    At the time I wrote it, I was using GPSLogger II on a BlackBerry Bold.

    Since then, the BlackBerry finally got to the point where it won't run most apps anymore because its operating system is antique (in computer terms). I switched to using my regular phone, until my wife upgraded our phones and I retired my Samsung Galaxy J3 to GPS logging duty, which it does quite well.

    But in recent months I switched over from GPSLogger II to MyTracks.

    MyTracks, by Daniel Qin, is available on both Android and IOS, and has a companion desktop app for the Mac. I've found it better than GPSLogger for a few reasons.

    First, starting and ending a track is a one-click operation. I've lost a few tracks on GPSLogger because I forgot to click the dialog box asking for the track name. Likewise, GPSLogger asks if you really want to stop.

    Second, I found it has tracked well, whether I'm inside a building or outdoors. I've been able to generate decent tracks in the basement of the county jail.

    Finally, exporting the track file is much simpler with MyTracks.

    I can simply export the track directly into Google Drive, where I can access it from my photo-editing software.

    GPSLogger, on the other hand, did not offer a simple export to my Google Drive. Instead, I had to email it to myself, then transfer the file from my email account to the drive and extract the track from the zip file before I can use it.

    It's a lot of work.

    The only drawback is that if you use the free version of the program, you have to watch a video ad before you can export once the trial period is over. But the features still work, and it's something I can live with for the time being.

   

Looking for a cheap way to geotag your photos?

    If you use sites such as Flickr or Google Photos, you know about geotagging.

    It offers you and your audience a chance to see where the photo was taken. This is helpful if you want to go back to that location, or a way to remember a particular trip.

    If you take pictures with your smartphone, the GPS data is already embedded in your metadata. If it's not, you can adjust the settings to allow this.

    But most DSLR users don't have this option. We have to either enter it manually using Lightroom's or Flickr's drag-and-drop editing to place the photos on the map. This can be tedious if you have hundreds of photos from a vacation or a shoot. And if you forget where you were exactly when you took the photo, you could be off in your placement.

    There are easier ways to do this. You could buy a dedicated GPS logger that keeps track of your location, and the log file can be compared to the time stamps on each photo to insert the geographical data.
 

    The main problem with this approach is the price. A dedicated GPS logger starts around $100 on the low end.

    Another option is to use a phone app, which is usually free and utilizes the GPS receiver already incorporated in your smartphone.

    There are two drawbacks with this route, though.

    First, the GPS logging can increase the load on your phone battery, especially if you're using it for other things, such as making phone calls.

    Second, some people don't have, don't want or can't afford a smartphone.

    Well, there is a solution. Get a used smartphone without a phone plan, and use that as your GPS logger.

    What many people do not realize is that even if you do not have a plan for your cell phone, some of its functions, such as the GPS system, still work. This is because cell phones are required, by law, to be able to call 911 regardless of whether they have a plan.

    (I spent an evening at a 911 dispatch center, and actually saw a couple calls come in from "disconnected" cell phones. The number that comes up on the caller ID looks a bit funky, but the caller's position comes right up on the map display at the dispatch console.)

    You can find used smartphones online, at thrift stores or in other places. In my case, when I was laid off, my former employer allowed me to keep my company-issued Blackberry Bold, which had reached the point where Blackberry was no longer issuing updates for its operating system.

    The phone plan eventually lapsed, but I found it did a great job as a GPS logger. Even without phone service, it is possible to download software onto the phone through wifi. For the Blackberry, I use GPSLogger II from Emacberry, which I have found is reasonably accurate.

    Since I'm not using the Blackberry for phone calls, the battery can keep the GPS logger running longer. I was able to get about six hours off it while at a state fair, allowing me to track my travels throughout the day.

    Getting the file off the phone's easy. You can either hook up the phone to the computer with a USB cable or take the micro SD card out and use a reader.

 

    From there, you can use either Lightroom or some of the other programs available to attach the GPS data to the photos. Then, when you upload them on services such as Flickr or Panaromio, they will automatically display where they were taken. Or you can convert it to a KML file and let others see  the photos in Google Earth.