geotag2kml

Description

Blog post: https://forensenellanebbia.blogspot.com/2015/08/geotag2kml-python-script-to-create-kml.html

The is a cross-platform script that uses ExifTool to find geotagged files and parse their metadata. It then creates two different Google Earth .KML files to display the photos/videos found.

The .KML file will be structured this way:

• GPS points are grouped and sorted by YYYY | YYYY:MM | YYYY:MM:DD;
• the first GPS point of each date is indicated with an icon different from the other points of the same date;
• the GPS points occurred on the same date are connected with a colored line;
• placemark names contain: "Timestamp | Make Model | Filename";
• when clicking on a placemark icon, the picture preview appears.

Prerequisites

• Python v3.8+
  • geopy
  • Pillow
  • randomcolor
• Exiftool
• ImageMagick (Win/Mac) or libheif (Ubuntu)

How to install each component

#Python3 dependencies

• pip3 install geopy Pillow randomcolor

#Windows 10 x64

• ExifTool: https://exiftool.org/ (rename the executable to exiftool.exe)
• ImageMagick: https://imagemagick.org/script/download.php#windows (Win64 dynamic at 16 bits-per-pixel component)

#Ubuntu (last tested with Ubuntu 22.04.1 LTS)

#ExifTool
sudo apt install libimage-exiftool-perl -y

#libheif
sudo apt-get install libheif-examples

#Google Earth
wget -O ~/google-earth.deb https://dl.google.com/dl/earth/client/current/google-earth-pro-stable_current_amd64.deb && sudo dpkg -i ~/google-earth.deb

#Mac OS (tested with macOS Big Sur 11.0.1)

• If you're having any issue while installing Pillow, try:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)" && brew install libjpeg && pip3 install Pillow --user

• ExifTool: https://exiftool.org/ (MacOS Package)
• ImageMagick

brew install imagemagick

How to use the script

Run the script and type the absolute path of the directory to parse. Examples:

• Microsoft Windows: python3 geotag2kml.py C:\MyPhotos
• Ubuntu: python3 geotag2kml.py /home/username/Desktop/Photos

The output files will be saved under the given path.