KML File from Flickr being used in Google Earth
In trying to solve an issue I’m having with Bing Maps and using the Bing Maps API to import KML for map overlays, I ended up solving a problem I had earlier, where I was trying to find a nice way to show all of the photos of my road trip across america on one map or one presentation.
Flickr’s already-excellent mapping feature lacks one major use case, where one wants to be able to take a set of a bunch of photos, and show ALL of them on a map. I.e. how I just did, where I wanted to display all of the pics of my road trip on one map.
Well, a fellow by the name of Adam Franco wrote a great script using the Flickr API to output Flickr set data as KML for use in Google Maps or Google Earth.
So now, as you can see from the photo above, I was easily able to take the Flickr set that I made for my Cross-Country trip (which is composed entirely of geo-tagged photos) and immediately export that to KML for display on Google Earth.
I’ll then be using that as a test case to see if I can get Bing Maps to import & use the KML as well!
This is a thank-you for the guys at Carr Subaru, who set us up with our 2006 Subaru Impreza that we used to haul all of our gear across the country.
I figured that most of the people who buy cars from you either (a) never hear from again, or (b) only hear from them again when they come in to bring the car into the shop for repairs. So, I figured I’d give you some feedback that the car performed perfectly despite the fact that we loaded it up to the limit in terms of towing capacity (around 2000lbs in tow), and hauled it over a 6800’ pass in the Oregon Cascades, a 7200’ pass in Arizona/Nevada, and a 10,600’ pass in Colorado.
And – I might add, we got an average of 20mpg, despite towing!
So, despite the fact that it’s the base 173hp engine and not the WRX, it performed like a champ. Here’s a couple of photos for you: [and a map of our trip is here]
So, thanks guys! The car is great!
I figured, in putting Windows Live Writer 2009 through its paces, that I’d try one of these newly-touted features, which is an instant upload of a photo album. The above photos were some shots taken at Washington Park Zoo, and around Beaverton, Oregon, picked randomly from my local hard disk. While the instant-collage that it makes is pretty spiffy, the only upload option then is to upload them to Windows Live’s photo gallery, so they can be displayed there.
This was my first exposure to their on-line photo gallery product, and being a long-term Flickr user, that left a little bit to be desired. It actually now begs for a side-by-side comparison with the other leading photo services, but my initial comparison to Flickr is:
- Photos look terrible: ‘Kay, I’m not talking about my framing or my choice of lighting or whatnot, I’m talking about the fact that Flickr very obviously does some sharpening and some brightness/contrast to the uploaded photos to make them look sharp. The same photos uploaded to Flickr and to Windows Live look decidedly better on Flickr.
As an example, here’s a side-by-side comparo with Flickr and Live.
- Stats? Well, perhaps it’s because I used to work for WebTrends, but I’m a total junkie for stats. Even the free Flickr account will let you see how many views your individual photos are getting, and the pro acct will let you get all manner of analytics on your photos. I searched and can find no such option on Windows Live.
- Full Image Download: A point in Microsoft’s favour is the generous helping if disk space you get right off the bat. Flickr lets you upload 100MB/mo, but my free Microsoft account gave me 25GB to play with, and the instant ability to upload full-rez images. That’s pretty nice for sharing full-quality images with family across the country.
- Geo-Tagging: Okay, and maybe it’s also because I’m a total map junkie and am addicted hopelessly to Google Earth, but I really dig Flickr’s ability to geo-tag photos. For example, in terms of presentation, I was able to very easily just put together a map of my recent train trip up from Los Angeles to Portland Oregon, and display it as a map on Flickr:
Perhaps that’s not a real big feature for some people, but I find it a very powerful way to present photos, and an intriguing way to browse the photos of others, or a place I’d like to travel to.
In any case, I appreciate the work that went into making the instant-collage feature for Windows Live Writer 2009. I now just think that a little bit of tweaking to the Live Photo Gallery product could make it a real winner and a genuine competitor to Flickr.
