

Show HN: Compass that points you to a photo's EXIF location - gohnjanotis
http://www.getphotofind.com/

======
gohnjanotis
I've been hiking and foraging for mushrooms and wild foods, so I made this
simple utility app for iOS.

It lets you pick a photo you took (or that someone sent you) and then points
you in the direction the photo was taken, kind of like a compass, based on the
coordinates stored in the photo's EXIF data. It's basically a fast and easy
way to mark locations and get back to them.

Originally I tried it in JavaScript, but iOS strips lat and lon info from
photos when they're picked with a file input field. You can still find the
beginnings of my hacked together JS version here:
[http://foodsfofree.herokuapp.com/](http://foodsfofree.herokuapp.com/)

This is just a side project I built for fun since I hadn't built an iOS app
before, so I'm not trying to turn it into a business or something, just wanted
to share it!

You can also read more about it here on my blog:
[http://gohnjanotis.com/photo-
find-v1-1-released/](http://gohnjanotis.com/photo-find-v1-1-released/)

~~~
hashtree
Very neat idea, reminds me of the Gatherer add-on from WoW
([http://www.curse.com/addons/wow/gatherer](http://www.curse.com/addons/wow/gatherer)).

~~~
colinbartlett
Ugh, flashbacks to hundreds of hours gathering herbs and ores with that add-on
during my WoW addiction.

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exogen
Cool! A few years ago I was couch surfing at a stranger's house on the
opposite side of the U.S. and found myself unable to find the house again
after a late night at the bar. Didn't have the address because we had met on a
bike trail and followed him home earlier. Eventually I remembered I had taken
a picture of his cat, and sure enough it was geotagged directly on his living
room!

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Gys
Great idea ! Has been on my list for a while as well ;-)

> Originally I tried it in JavaScript, but iOS strips lat and lon info from
> photos when they're picked with a file input field.

Yes, that is how far I got. Good you went a step further.

I think there are options for expanding: because a photo is easier to share
then a location plus it tells a lot about the location itself. Better then
some numbers of shortened url.

Combined with compass navigation the user does not need internet (Apple,
Google maps) to still be able to navigate to a location.

And why share just one photo ? Share a collection: interesting buildings in a
city, or the best places with cakes (based on just the pictures of those cakes
:-).

I still think a concept to think about more. Please continue.

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thesimpsons1022
why don't they need Internet?

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gohnjanotis
As long as you already have the app and photo on your phone it just uses the
compass and GPS, which are both sensors built in to the iPhone and don't
require internet.

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thesimpsons1022
sorry. I'm an idiot and didn't think about gps seperately from internet

~~~
gohnjanotis
It's a pretty good point actually! Because Airplane Mode disables GPS on the
iPhone.

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michaelmior
That's a little odd. Isn't GPS generally completely passive? That is, it
should not be possible to cause any sort of interference.

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mcculley
A radio receiver often uses a signal of an intermediate frequency:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermediate_frequency](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermediate_frequency)

So a receiver that would appear functionally to be passive could still
conceivably cause interference.

~~~
michaelmior
Cool. Was not aware of the usage of intermediate frequencies in radio
receivers. Thanks for the knowledge :)

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BinaryIdiot
This is a cool idea. I see it as a great utility for taking newer versions of
photos years later or even just remembering where you parked.

Curious though when I installed it I only see kilometers but the screenshot on
the website shows imperial units and I don't see any way to change it. Is
there a way?

Edit: yeah just found the swipe to change units. I'm all for supporting apps
and developers but $2 just to switch units? No thanks. Uninstalled. That's
insane.

Edit 2: the biggest issue about the price is perceived value. Making this app
cost $.99 or $1.99 itself? Not bad in my opinion. Development isn't free and I
probably would have paid that. But when you move to an in-app purchasing model
now the perceived value is a free app that is gouging you $2 just to switch
from metric to imperial. Maybe the intent was to have as many people try it as
possible and to hopefully make a little money from it but the way the in-app
purchasing is structured it makes me feel like I'm being taken advantage of.

~~~
gohnjanotis
There's actually a screen you can swipe to to the left of the main screen
where you can change the units, but I wanted to make an economic incentive for
people to try SI so it'll cost ya! ;-)

Also, I apologize for the buggyness with that swiping... I should have used a
UIPageViewController and will probably go fix it at some point.

You can read more about all this in my blog post, including the decision about
distance units.

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GuiA
Neat! An "open in maps" option would be nice to get directions.

~~~
gohnjanotis
Yeah! Awesome to hear! I was already thinking about adding that because
sometimes some driving or public transit is needed to get within walking range
haha

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devonoel
Awesome idea, very creative. I'd love to see you keep working on this.

Android version when? ;)

~~~
gohnjanotis
Haha I know, I know... you're not the first to ask about Android!

The reason I tried JavaScript first was to start off cross-platform, but when
that failed I developed for the hardware I use.

However, I've been meaning to try out some Android development, so maybe at
some point...

~~~
stoplight
If you need help with an Android port, I'd be glad to pitch in.

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josephscott
If you are searching for this in the app store, try searching for "Photo Find
Ganotis". When I searched for "Photo Find" it matched like 1,500 apps, and
gave up looking in those results.

~~~
gohnjanotis
Oh yeah! That part sucks. I should have done more name research first. I
always tell people to search "photo find hiking" (quotes not necessary)
because that's easier to spell than my last name and it's the only app that
comes up.

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sk5t
Great idea. I always take a photo when parking at the airport, but recently
learned this isn't much help in iOS when Lots D, E, F are adjacent but Lot C
is half a mile away in a random direction.

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redwards510
Not to mention the poor reception you get using GPS in a parking garage!

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seba_dos1
I remember kinda similar concept implemented years ago for Openmoko and Maemo,
but for geocaching - the app showed you just the arrow and the rest was up to
you :)

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NovaS1X
I'm assuming this works with GPS data.

So this would not work with photos taken with a DSLR without a GPS
module/attachment.

Am I correct?

~~~
sdrothrock
It uses the EXIF data, so it would use the location data in the EXIF.

> So this would not work with photos taken with a DSLR without a GPS
> module/attachment.

Depends. You can also retroactively edit the EXIF data to reflect a location.
It should work on those kinds of pictures, even though the original camera
didn't have a GPS.

~~~
NovaS1X
Correct, I should've been been more clear in my post; I meant location data in
EXIF data that has been recorded by the/a GPS module.

I think this is so. Reading the developer's post it seems he had the idea to
use pictures taken with his iPhone, which would include GPS data in the EXIF.

I think this is a fantastic idea.

~~~
gohnjanotis
I don't have much experience with DSLRs and didn't even know there were GPS
modules for them, but that makes sense and is awesome!

But yep it just pulls the lat and lon from the EXIF data, so it should work
fine. The standard for EXIF is degrees, minutes, seconds and then a separate
"Ref" value for N or S.

I have to do a little math on those values to turn everything into a decimal
format, but based on this standard I would assume everything saving location
in EXIF data would use this same format so it should all be compatible:

[http://www.exiv2.org/Exif2-2.PDF](http://www.exiv2.org/Exif2-2.PDF) (See page
53 of the PDF under the heading GPSLatitude)

If you test it, let me know!

~~~
NovaS1X
I just might do that!

My initial thought was pulling some of my favorite shots from Flickr and using
this to find the location of where the shot was taken. Great for finding those
hidden photoshoot locations!

Unfortunately most DSLRs do not have the GPS built it. It's usually an add-on
attachment.

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btbuildem
Very simple, very cool. Nicely done!

~~~
gohnjanotis
Thanks! I really appreciate hearing that!

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McNight
Very nice, downloaded :) It would be cool to have an extension right in the
Photos app.

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mrfusion
The compass isn't updating for me in iphone 6. Or is that one of the premium
features?

~~~
gohnjanotis
Haha not a premium feature! Sometimes there are calibration issues. I meant to
add some calibration checks and user feedback about needing to calibrate at
some point.

Try rotating your phone around in a circle a bunch and then see if the compass
starts moving and correcting itself.

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mrkickling
Hi! Neat project, but hasn't iOS got a similar function built in already,
where you can see all the pictures you took on a map?

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gohnjanotis
Sure, but have you ever tried navigating to a photo that way?

The map doesn't show your location, and even if it did you would still need
some kind of compass arrow, like the Google Maps app for iOS shows, to be able
to navigate to it.

Also, this works by pasting a photo from the clipboard instead of just using
photos in your library.

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LikeAnElephant
Great idea, but charging to show in feet? Ridiculous. Uninstalled.

~~~
seba_dos1
I love the idea of charging to show in imperial units. That's some amazing
pro-SI propaganda, we need more stuff like that :)

~~~
gohnjanotis
Thanks! It's about time.

