I recently purchased the GPS Log iPhone App because I was about to do a one day photo workshop at Point Lobos State Natural Reserve on the Central Coast of California. The specific purpose of this workshop, run by photographer Doug Steakley, was to show photographers the great photo locations at Point Lobos. The GPS Log App allowed me to use the iPhone’s GPS to save the exact location of each great photo site, give each a name, add notes about the sites, and take one or more photos at each location with the iPhone’s camera. The App saves the longitude and latitude, and date and time of day the log entry was created. It also provides ways to upload your location and notes to Twitter. You can include the photo when you upload to your Facebook account, or send your location and the photo by email to friends and family.
The workshop was great and now that it’s over, I can easily return to all those locations I stored in my GPS Log to photograph there again.
Here are some screen captures from GPS Log:
Some other features noted on the GPS Log website include:
“GPS Log preserves your battery life. Unlike some tracking tools, with GPS Log you power it up when you want want a log – then you power it down immediately. Saving your precious battery for more important things (such as calling for help if you are lost!).
Log the cities you visit, rate the restaurants in your city, geotag your photographs, remember where you parked your car, or where you went out. Record the mountain, river, or run you conquered, and much much more. With GPS Log, you can log just about anything.”
I gave this App 5 stars for its usefulness, ease of use, intuitive features and its completeness. I can imagine many other uses for this app including sending locations and photos back to family and friends while taking a driving trip. You can try a free Lite version first if you want. It will only save 5 locations, but it gives you a chance to see how easy it is to use. It’s definitely worth $9.99 and it’s currently on sale for $7.99 until June 30, 2010.