First batch of photos added to Google Earth!

One of the things I can't stand is going to Google and not being able to find out about a place. For example, when I travel, I don't necessarily plan out the entire trip minute-for-minute. But I do like to have a general idea of what my possibilities are for when I get there; that way I don't waste time looking for something, but rather, I can enjoy myself.

One of the first things I do when I am planning a trip is go to Firefox, type in google.com, and start searching for stuff to do in the town that I am traveling to. For example, I'll type in "restaurant myrtle beach sc" and browse through the Google Business Listings or browse through a couple websites that rate or suggest restaurants. Then I do the same thing for hotels, entertainment, etc.

What really frustrates me though, is when I find something that sounds cool, or has a few good reviews, but I cannot find a website for the business, or I cannot find any photos of it in Google Images, etc. So what I decided to do was make this a personal project of mine. I decided to help others who might be in the same boat as me.

I have rigged my Toyota Tacoma with a tripod in the front passenger seat. It's a real crude setup really, but it works. On this tripod I have setup my Olympus Evolt digital SLR; it's not a wickedly awesome camera, but it gets the job done. In addition, I'll often, if I remember, bring along my GPS PhotoFinder that will automatically add the geolocation meta data to the photos.

On a nice day where I need to run some errands, I'll set this up in my truck and lower the window. As I drive down the street, I'll hold down the shutter button and start a burst of photos as I am about to pass a place of interest. When I get home, I'll upload the photos t my MacBook and quickly sort through them using Finder's recent Cover Flow method of viewing file directories. I'll pick out ones I want to use and toss them in another folder. Once I'm done, I simply trash the rest of the images.

Now that I have a set of images I want to contribute to Google Earth, I simply go to my Panoramio account, start uploading, titling, and tagging. Panoramio automatically marks the photo on the map for me because of the geolocation meta data stored with the image.

In addition to the aforementioned method of photographing, I'll also take nice, artistic photos of landmarks when I am out an about and happen to have my camera. For example, if my fiance and I go out with some friends to a game or something; I'll take my camera to snap some photos of all of us. Usually I'll also snap some nice photos of our surroundings - building, statues, fountains, etc. I'll also upload this for inclusion in Google Earth.