{"id":1225,"date":"2009-06-02T23:20:16","date_gmt":"2009-06-02T14:20:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2009-06-02\/1225"},"modified":"2009-06-02T23:20:16","modified_gmt":"2009-06-02T14:20:16","slug":"a-better-center-crosshair-target-for-google-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2009-06-02\/1225","title":{"rendered":"A Better Center-Crosshair Target for Google Earth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\nNOTE<\/b>: Images with an icon next to them have been artificially shrunk to better fit your screen; click the icon to restore them, in place, to their regular size.\n<\/div>\n\n\n
\nCenterTarget.kmz\nclick to download<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n\n

Over the last month or so I've added a bunch<\/span> of new Google Earth\ninteraction to my Geoencoding Support Plugin for Adobe Lightroom<\/a>.\nEspecially interesting for those without a GPS unit<\/a> or\ngeoencoding old photos without a tracklog<\/span> is the ability to navigate to a\nlocation<\/span> in Google Earth, then import that location directly to a photo.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

However, part of the problem is understanding exactly the location that\nwill be imported. It's the center<\/span> of the view screen in Google Earth, but\nunless you zoom way up, it's hard to visualize the exact spot that will be\nused. I've seen crosshairs for Google Earth out on the web, but didn't like\nany of them for choosing locations, so I built<\/span> my own and include it with\nthe plugin. (That's it in the upper-right corner.)<\/p>\n\n

Its main features are that it leaves the central area mostly unobscured,\nbut the very<\/i> center has a red<\/span> dot, to leave that central location\nabsolutely unambiguous. This all might sound like a trivial<\/span> thing, but I\ncan't<\/span> tell you how much of a difference<\/span> it makes. (But I'll try: a lot.<\/span>)<\/p>\n\n

Here's a photo of Anthony during our recent trip to\nIshigaki Island in the far south of Japan<\/a>, after our Day 2 visit to\nthe beach<\/a>...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/9, ISO 800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nBraving the Winds<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

If I were to navigate to the location on Google Earth to geoencode the\nphoto, I might<\/span> end up with a view<\/span> like this:<\/p>\n\n

\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

To be as accurate as I want to be, I'd have to<\/span> take the time to zoom\nmuch closer to get a better<\/span> feel for the location that was in the center,\nbut turning on the target makes it much easer. Click the “Center Target”\ncheckbox in the photo above, or here<\/span>, to toggle the target on and\noff.<\/p>\n\n

Unambiguous.<\/p>\n\n

Here's another example, trying to pinpoint an apartment in Paris (a\nlocation<\/span> I picked<\/span> only because the photo-realistic Eiffel Tower is\ncool)...<\/p>\n\n

\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

To get that specific corner of that specific building would normally\nrequire zooming way up, which is fine if it's just one photo, but it gets\nold quickly if you have a bunch.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Anyway, the target is included with my plugin, but I thought<\/span> I'd post it here<\/a> for all to enjoy.<\/p>\n\n