We saw this on Bagelturf and were immediately interested. Apparently a photographer by the name of Ian Wood has been working on a nifty add-on for Aperture that allows users to embed GPS data into the metadata in Aperture.

This looks like a pretty promising add-on for Aperture users. So we will naturally continue to monitor its progress.

From Bagelturf a-la DPReview.com:

GPS2Aperture is a floating system window which can grab GPS data from either Aperture or Google Earth, let the user edit it and then send the data to either Aperture or Google Earth.

http://ianjameswood.co.uk/aperture/GPS2Aperture_beta.zip (3.2MB)

For instance if an image Version has incorrect GPS info, you can view the location in Google Earth, move around the the right location and send the edited location data back to the image Version in Aperture. Alternatively, use Google Earth to visually pick a location and add it to Versions that had no GPS data in the first place.

Note - GPS2Aperture makes changes directly to Aperture’s SQLite database as the interface gives no way to alter GPS or other EXIF data. It’s been tested on multiple computers and multiple Libraries without problems, but make sure you backup first, just in case!

Share This

Over at Inside Aperture Micah Walter (editor of this website) has posted about David Riecks’s Controlled Vocabulary Keyword Catalog (or CVKC). The CVKC is a list of over 11,000 organized keywords for Aperture.

If you have ever worked with a stock agency you will know how important keywording can be. Many agencies use their own controlled vocabulary, so it will be interesting to see how David’s list matches up with places like iStockPhoto who ask their photographers to go through a process called disambiguation for each photo they submit.

For more information on David’s keyword list, check out his website at controlledvocabulary.com

To read the post head on over to Inside Aperture.

Share This

Spitfire Photo has released SpitfireExport for Aperture. The plugin is available as a free download from the Spitfire Photo website.

Spitfire Photo Pro provides creative professionals with a powerful set of online tools to manage, proof, sell, deliver, and market their work from anywhere in the world. With the new plug-in for Aperture, images can be exported to Spitfire Photo in one, simple step.

Share This

If you have been patiently waiting for a way to share your Aperture library over a network with multiple users, you’ll want to check out PHPture.

PHPture, created by a software developer from The Netherlands has just been released as a free download and open source project. This new web application allows Aperture users to share their libraries via a web server, offering users an “Aperture-like” user interface complete with stacks, thumbnails, and a complete listing of all of your Aperture projects. By utilizing Aperture’s Previews, PHPture can make all of your image versions available to other computers on your network, or via the web.

I spent about a half hour figuring out how to install PHPture and although there are a few important pieces you will need to be sure you have installed, the installation was pretty simple. Once installed I was able to view my Aperture library in Safari. I could download the Master image file (if it was available) or a version preview image.

The interface is very similar to Aperture in that you can customize the view, hide panels, and get quick access to metadata. There is even a HUD-like view for keywords, which you can use in PHPture to search through your library.

Although PHPture is in its infancy, I can easily see this application becoming a really useful tool. Since setting up a local web server in a home is so easy now with OS X, an application like PHPture makes really good sense. And, if I want to be able to have access to my Aperture library from a remote location, or allow clients to view a project online, PHPture could easily become the tool for the job.

I really hope this application, and others like it begin to take off in the not too distant future. These are just the types of tools Aperture users are really waiting for!

For more information, be sure to check out PHPture at http://phpture.sourceforge.net

Share This

mac:method and Silvery Stars Productions have teamed up to release a series of theme plugins for creating Aperture books. While these plugins don’t exactly fit the category of an export plugin (the type you can make with the Aperture SDK) they certainly do expand what is currently possible with Aperture’s book feature set.

Prices for the themes begin at $20 and there are currently three themes to choose from.

In the not to distant future we will be adding a special section for Aperture Book Themes under Plugged In.

Share This