GPS data as part of the metadata in photographs is a relatively new addition to my workflow. I increasingly value this as part of the ‘worth’ of my photographs and would just like it to work automatically – as iPhone photos do. Sadly, not all cameras provide this data as standard (nearly all do not). Top end DSLR’s do have this facility – via an add on device and unsurprisingly, these are expensive add-ons.

I had 2 systems of getting this data onto my photos and now I have a third.
The first or basic one was to use Aperture, select a spot on the map where I think I took the photos and then ‘pin’ the photos to that location. This has the advantage of making you think about the location of your photos, but it is not automatic and therefore, falls down pretty much at the first hurdle.  There is also a tendency to lump photos together and although the general location is clear, the GPS data is not too helpful if you want to go back to that exact place to take more photos, or even to find the place again.
The second system I thought about was to use my iPhone. I would religiously take a photo with my iphone and therefore tag the location and therefore all the photos I then took with my DSLR could be tagged by a process of copy and paste of GPS data. Great system, but I have forgotten to take photos of new locations with my iphone – especially when moving around or between two adjacent locations. It is also labour intensive and not automatic – it requires a lot of phaffing around in post process –  this system was ok-ish until I found my latest solution.

GPSPhotoLinker Help
www.earlyinnovations.com

This is a program that runs on the Mac.  The process is to start your GPS tracker on your iPhone or similar when you go out on a photoshoot, when taking the big camera out (Canon 7D for me).  At the end of the trip (I use Motion X – gps on the iphone – but you can use dedicated GPS trackers eg Garmin)  stop the tracking program. You then save the track. On Motion X, you can email yourself a .gpx file which is an xml file with your timings and geolocation.
Then download the photos from your camera to your computer – I put them into folders – Photoalbum/DVD_27/130616 photos folder for example. Read the workflow from ‘The Dam Book’ by Peter Krogh ( a must buy – go out and do it now)  ‘DVD’ for me is a superfolder and I keep it to the size of a DVD to help backup to DVD storage.
You then load the .gpx file and the photos into the GPSphotolinker program – click on auto convert and the geolocation for the photos is matched up between the times on the .gpx file and the camera time (make sure that your camera time is up to date and the same as the iPhone)
It writes the gps data to the photo metadata on the original photo files .. in my case .CR2 RAW files and then you can upload your photos to Aperture or Lightroom for further processing.
Automatic and so far, works a treat.
Here are some geolocated photos from our walk this am in the sunshine.

So NEMS Market research thinks that the TPS (telephone preference service) does not apply to them as they are not sales, but ‘market research’ – go figure

If this invasion of the home telephone continues, then this device will go the way of the Dodo.

I jealously guard my mobile number and do not give it to all. A call for sales or other such spam would be a grievous blow against me personally. I can see that coming, especially as spam text messages come in from time to time. No I have not been missold PPI and If I have had that accident in my car, it must have been a bad one, as I seem to have lost my memory of the tragic circumstances.

Technology allows these cold callers access to our lives. Me I can’t wait until autumn and the arrival of IOS 7 and the ability to block phone numbers from bothering my iPhone.

Perhaps we should bring back this punishment for the owners (not the hapless employees) of these firms?

A change of direction in this blog post. I’m going to look at new directions in technology and how we communicate. It’s all too easy to trudge down the old paths, deepening the ruts in the dirt and never straying from this comfortable path. Our prejudices are reinforced by the information that we allow into our lives.

We should widen our horizons. The Internet age can result in headline skimming and short attention spans (see The Shallows – http://www.theshallowsbook.com/nicholascarr/Nicholas_Carrs_The_Shallows.html)

It can also give you the freedom to dive deeper and deeper into the reality behind the headlines. 
The choice is yours.

I’ve been a subscriber to The Magazine since the start (on the iPad and iPhone via the Newsstand).  Started by Marco Arment (of Instapaper fame), it proposed a different way of publishing. The scope has grown from a geek look at the world to a considered collection of thoughts and memes.  It presents the articles in a way that is easy to read and dip into, yet possesses hooks and links to enable you to go down the rabbit hole if you so wish.
Take a look at this article on vaccination and how we make decisions. A subject close to my heart.
http://the-magazine.org/15/give-it-your-best-shot

Back home, and more busy than ever. Lots of photos to process with Aperture on the Mac.  Oodles of music and apps to sort out and put in their right places.  The joy of unlimited and fast broadband still brings a smile to my face. The sheer convenience of data synching across all devices makes my life simpler.
More on Chile and Rapa Nui to follow and then to find out how to start new blog subsection
In the meantime , views of Tynemouth – ships waiting to enter the Tyne and trees on a Glorious Saturday – hot and bustling by Tynemouth Station

Falklands blog for Wednesday May 15 2013
Not in the Falklands, but on Easter Island aka Islas de Pascua or Rapa Nui
Home of the Moai which stand on the Ahu.
Most were toppled in the wars that coincided with European discovery and ended with the Birdman cult.
The island and culture are held up as an example of profligate use of natural resources, but as always, the truth is more complicated.
Today, things that stand out are the feral dogs (they bark and howl all night long), the cockerels which take over from the dogs in making gratuitous noise and the shear peace of this land which has seen so much human endeavour sidetracked into the pursuit of status.
To cut out a 60 tonne Moai from the living rock with stone axes and move it kilometres away from the quarry is an astonishing achievement.  To do this in the pursuit of power and status perhaps brings to mind the construction of cathedrals in the Middle Ages – great for the aggrandisement of nobles and a shortening of their time in purgatory – but it did not help the peasants much.
Are we so much advanced and clever?  Just consider our prestige national projects (and local ones such as the Edinburgh tram system)

Falklands blog for Sunday May 12 2013
Wildlife in the Falklands will always be an abiding memory. An empty landscape with howling winds and yet, on the post over there….
a variagated hawk, clinging onto the wood with a fierce determination. A very short spook distance (but a longer one for me) the claws relax and he is off speeding over  the tussock.
We are off too .. on our way home.
A good trip out to MPA for the LAN flight to Chile. The incoming flight was early so the staff rushed off to process them and we were left waiting in limbo. Not many on the flight and with good legroom, we settled back to our journey to Santiago via Punta Arenas.

Santiago airport – modern efficiency, bright lights and our hotel 200 metres across the road – bliss. Fast, free unlimited wifi – more bliss!
Off to Easter Island tomorrow

Falklands blog for Sunday May 12 2013
This blog was not written in the Falklands, but sort of qualifies as it is about our last few days and a farewell to the islands
Friday and a visit out to see the beached false killer whales. Not really sure about what sort of whales these are but I am sure that one can google it. (They are a member of the dolphin family, are friendly to humans, and prey on other smaller cetaceans). A beach is never still, constantly shifting; disappearing and then coming back, sometimes years later.
The whales were there, but almost completely buried in the sand. The turkey vultures were looking disappointed at the slim pickings. This beaching of whales on shallow beaches is not an uncommon event. The proof is there to see – scattered and bleached bones as far as the eye can see.  Though of enormous size, they are surprisingly light. All the meaty goodness has been leached from them years ago, and today, they crumble to the touch.

Then on to see the Elephant seals up the hill past Pleasant Roads. A fierce wind made the chill factor an unpleasant force. The seals, covered in thick blubber, looked cozy and comfortable. The spooking distance was not great, but a long lens took care of the pictures. Best not to get between the bulls and their passage to the sea or between them and their harem. If you do intend to focus your attention on close up shots, then best to keep a spotter with you for close protection. The bulls attack in two ways:
By biting – pretty unpleasant
By rearing over you and then landing on your body – universally fatal and not to be recommended.  When they recover your body, they can probably slide it under the door.

Falklands blog for Wednesday May 8 2013
Off to Goose Green via MPA.  The road signs only seem to indicate directions from one side only, so off we toddled down to Mare Harbour – wrong way.

Goose Green, a photographers dream as always. Before we popped in, we stopped off at the Argentine Cemetery. Very peaceful – little wind on the hillside. What a waste of young men’s lives – the fallout from the “Conflict”

We visited the school – combined nursery, infant and junior school. A warm and sunny building, jam-packed with pictures, paintings and low slung fractions – a hazard to people of my height as cards bearing fractions and percentages were pegged to clothes lines across the room.

The jetty with resident night herons was visited as we searched for the settlement nanny goat – boy was she Not only strong but also had an unfortunate predilection  for head butting.

Back up the road to San Carlos and Blue Beach Cemetery. Then back to Stanley – the lorry driver called it doing the Round Robin – travelling back along the unpaved road on the other side of the mountains – “No Man’s Land”
At last to Estancia farm (literally farm, farm – look up the meaning of Estancia in Spanish) and to the fabulous stone runs. Lumps of quartz (actually enormous boulders) deposited by ice sheets after the tops of the mountains had been scoured by the last ice age.  The stone runs off the mountains and is almost impossible to traverse without serious orthopaedic trauma to your ankles. It is beautiful though and is commented on by Darwin after his visit to the Islands.

Over the range and we joined the MPA road, a quick left turn and off homeward.

A sense of achievement and a realisation that to understand these islands you need to know their geology.

Guest blog for Tuesday May 7 2013
Food shopping here in Stanley is both a pleasure and a shock to the system .. choice is limited (that is sometimes a good thing) and you have to be alert to the different prices of your every day goods. Salad is a luxury – high quality meat so cheap – 300g of steak mince for 80p
Life is not all shopping fun though. As Winnie the Pooh says we went on an Expotition.

My first expedition with Ian was to Cape Pembrook lighthouse and the Atlantic Conveyor Memorial – the wreck is 90 miles off the cape. Gypsy cove was next .. penguin sighting was exactly zero that day but fortunately we returned at dusk to see one lone straggler on the beach. The local diddle-dee berry and the tea berry were in abundance under our feet – the locals do make jam with them but I will never complain about berry picking at home after seeing how painstaking it is to gather these. The jam has a tart flavour and is definitely a luxury and probably does not suit all palates.
Great food for all the local birds. Upland goose is tastiest at this time of year as they had their fill of the berries.

Falklands blog for Tuesday May 7 2013
Busy photographing penguins

Thanks to Nobby Clarke for the driving