Two Flickr eye-candy tools for your Monday
.jpg)
Here's a mosaic we put together using Image Mosaic Generator and the Webware 100 logo.
The Flickr API has opened up a lot of fun tools over the years. This morning we got a tip about Image Mosaic Generator, a free service that creates neat-looking picture mosaics of uploaded images. The service uses Flickr images to make up each mosaic and lets users save the end result to their hard drive. Images have a fair bit of variation, although you're likely to see a few repeats close up. The service doesn't link back to the original Flickr images, which is a bit disappointing, but as a result, handles the conversion from image to mosaic in just a few minutes.
This is by no means one of the first tools to do this, but one of the simplest Web-based ones I've run into. Also worth checking out if you're playing around with Adobe's Apollo runtime, is Developer Derrick Grigg's mosaic creator, which lets you use Flickr shots that match search criteria. This could come in handy if you have a beach picture, as you could run it through the tool using public photos related to beaches.
Flickrvision shows you newly geotagged shots on Flickr using a Google Map.
(Credit: CNET Networks)The one thing these Web-based services still can't do is pull local photos on your hard drive to make up the mosaic, something that's not easily accomplished without software and a hefty photo library.
Flickrvision is a fun mashup that shows you real-time photos people have geotagged on Flickr using a Google Map. Mousing over them will display a larger preview and information about the shot in a lightbox pop-up. You can also click the thumbnail to go straight to the original shot.
Flickrvision was created by the same developer who made Twittervision, a similar service that shows the latest Twitter posts and where they originated from.
Flickr has its own mashup of geotagged photos, although it doesn't show real-time results like Flickrvision does.
Josh Lowensohn writes for Webware.com, CNET's blog about Web applications and services. E-mail Josh, or follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/Josh. 
I'm also seeing pix on Flickrvision which make me doubt the alleged geotagging (palm trees in Belgium, amazing seafront scenes in Minsk, Far Eastern waterfront scenes in London).
Photos from http://www.flickr.com/photos/visuellegedanken/ none of which seem to be geotagged
There was one photo of the Eiffel Tower from Milwaukee and another from Omaha
Arc de Triomphe in Germany?
An unusually large number of photos from Minsk, Belarus including dramatic seashores, many signs in English
Very many photos from the same people
A photo of black barefoot children (who look very African to me) from Aachen, Germany
Many photos which don?t make sense to be to be geotagged i.e. their content is totally location insensitive e.g. a picture of a gun
Can someone tell me what's going on?
David
We use geotagging data from the actual photos where it is available, and then rely on the user's profile location in cases where it is not. Because less than 1% of photos are geotagged, we rely on user profile location heavily.
This explains the pictures of the Eiffel Tower from Milwaukee and Omaha.......and all the other discrepancies.
The idea is great and I guess we shouldn't worry about any misrepresentation. I'm sure that FlickrVision can find a way to show which photos are geolocated and which merely indicate the Flickr member's home location. If Flickrvision encourages more folks to geotag, then we'll all be happy...
- Flickrvision bugs or fraud?
- by dlisbona May 15, 2007 8:28 AM PDT
- I can't get how Flickvision is working......when I clicked on several of the Flickrvision displayed pix to see the original photopage on Flickr, I don't see location information. Some of the posters have other geotagged photos, some don't have any geotagged photos.
- Like this Reply to this comment
-
-
- 99% are not geotagged....
- by dlisbona May 15, 2007 12:22 PM PDT
- I just received a clarification from David Troy (the developer of FlickrVision)
- Like this
-
(4 Comments)I'm also seeing pix on Flickrvision which make me doubt the alleged geotagging (palm trees in Belgium, amazing seafront scenes in Minsk, Far Eastern waterfront scenes in London).
Photos from http://www.flickr.com/photos/visuellegedanken/ none of which seem to be geotagged
There was one photo of the Eiffel Tower from Milwaukee and another from Omaha
Arc de Triomphe in Germany?
An unusually large number of photos from Minsk, Belarus including dramatic seashores, many signs in English
Very many photos from the same people
A photo of black barefoot children (who look very African to me) from Aachen, Germany
Many photos which don?t make sense to be to be geotagged i.e. their content is totally location insensitive e.g. a picture of a gun
Can someone tell me what's going on?
David
We use geotagging data from the actual photos where it is available, and then rely on the user's profile location in cases where it is not. Because less than 1% of photos are geotagged, we rely on user profile location heavily.
This explains the pictures of the Eiffel Tower from Milwaukee and Omaha.......and all the other discrepancies.
The idea is great and I guess we shouldn't worry about any misrepresentation. I'm sure that FlickrVision can find a way to show which photos are geolocated and which merely indicate the Flickr member's home location. If Flickrvision encourages more folks to geotag, then we'll all be happy...