Kickstarter

Hi!  My name is Peter Stratton.  I’m a professional geospatial analyst and independent software developer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  Over the past 5 years I’ve developed dozens of small software applications for a variety of personal and professional projects.  The GeoPhoto Tracker project started as a tiny utility script to help me plot out the locations of where my iPhone's geo-tagged photos were being shot.  While I have never publicly released any of my software before, this one is just too cool to keep secret.  But, I need your help.

I'm trying to raise just over $3600 to help cover the final development costs of GeoPhoto Tracker.  I have a working proof of concept that I've been using for about a year, but it's going to take a few more months of development time to create a polished release version, set up a distribution system, and create the instructional videos and help documents.  To help do this, I'm turning to Kickstarter.  In exchange for your backing and depending on your contribution level, you'll receive my thanks and public recognition, access to the beta-testing forums and pre-release versions of the software, discounted licenses for the final release, and at the higher levels, credit to you or your organization within the software itself.  Your contribution will help me release GeoPhoto Tracker to the world and support its ongoing development. Thanks!

What's the software do?

GeoPhoto Tracker is an easy to use desktop application that helps users view and export the geographic location information about where their geo-tagged digital photos were taken.  Photos can be exported into a variety of geospatial file formats including .kmz (Google Earth) and XY event tables (ArcGIS, IMAGINE), as well as .tab files which can be opened by most spreadsheet applications. 

How does it work?

The program uses GPS metadata information embedded in special types of digital photos.  An increasing number of affordable digital cameras and most smartphones that record GPS information (including iPhones, Blackberry Devices, and Androids) can take these types of photos.  Just shoot the picture, load it on your computer, then point GeoPhoto Tracker at the JPEG image or folder full of JPEGs and export to your application of choice with a single click.

Who is this intended for?

GeoPhoto Tracker was designed to be easily operated yet fully featured and powerful enough for professional use.  It's for world travelers, field scientists, backcountry adventurers, GIS technicians, family vacationers, architectural historians, location scouts, or anyone who wants to work with geospatial photo sets.

What are the system requirements?

• Windows 7, Vista, XP or Mac OSX running a Bootcamp Windows install
• Microsoft .NET 4 Client Framework installed (already on most computers, free to download if not)
• Memory requirements vary by image size, under normal circumstances though, if you can run a browser like Chrome or Firefox, you should be able to run GeoPhoto Tracker without any problems.

How far along is the project?

A basic prototype version of the program has been produced and is working nicely.  Most of the export settings are non-customizable though.  For the release version I’ll be adding control over which metadata fields to include in the exports, placemark icon styling, image resizing values, etc.

What will the Kickstarter funds be used for?

• $2000  -  Software development, testing, optimization
• $482   -  Bug tracking and update distribution system
• $860  -  Instructions, documentation, and help system creation
• $267  -  Kickstarter and Amazon commission fees

How does Kickstarter work?

Kickstarter uses an all or nothing funding model.  Potential backers are not charged unless the project meets its financial goal.  You can read all about it here.

How else can I help?

Even if you can't contribute, it's still possible to help get this off the ground by:

• liking this project on Facebook
• tweeting about GeoPhoto Tracker
• embedding links to the kickstarter project page on your blog or website
• mentioning it to people you know

Thanks for looking!

Stretch goals to be added as necessary...