Photo Metadata

New Site Launched to Encourage Embedding of Metadata

2011-12-12T21:11:00.000-08:00

A major initiative to encourage the direct embedding of descriptive and rights information into all manner of digital media has just been launched. Photometadata.org endorses the effort and is helping to spreading the word.

“A picture may be worth 1,000 words, but permanently attached descriptions are worth a lot more as photos travel through the digital world. A campaign has been launched now to embed descriptive and rights information in digital media and to retain it during the whole life cycle.

The initiative has been launched by the International Press Telecommunications Council (IPTC), the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A's), and the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), with the support of trade organisations representing visual arts and photo agencies. It aims to establish the practice of applying descriptions and the copyright status of the content as metadata, and to embed it permanently during the electronic exchange of digital photo, text, audio or video files.

This practice is based on the principles defined by the Embedded Metadata Manifesto on the web site www.embeddedmetadata.org which invites organisations and individuals to support the campaign.”

Why can't I insert metadata at the capture stage?

2011-10-26T21:06:00.000-07:00

Mike Ashenfelder from the Library of Congress interviewed me recently for an article on their website Titled "Mission Possible: An Easy Way to Add Descriptions to Digital Photos." He was asking why adding information (metadata) to images is so difficult. I told him that this was an issue I had raised at the First International Photo Metadata Conference in 2007. I noted that photographers need ways to insert metadata as early as possible in the process; and asked why it wasn't possible to have some device that could be used to input information and tag it to the images I was shooting at the time of capture. There were engineers from Canon and Nikon in attendance, and it seemed that they understood the question, but I'm not aware of any progress in this area.

However, since manufacturers and developers do seem respond to input from those who purchase their products, perhaps what is needed is a grass roots appeal? With that in mind, I've included details on how to contact several of the larger digital camera manufacturers. If a number of you contact them, asking if they are working on improvements on how metadata (information) can be added to the Exif or IPTC at the time of capture, perhaps something will change?

Nikon:
In the section labeled "Inquires" select your country and region for a listing of who to contact. In the US you can call Nikon Technical Support from 8AM - 2AM (Eastern) 7 days a week at 1-800-645-6687.

Canon:
To contact Canon by email
In the US you can you can call Customer Service 1-800-385-2155

Sony:

Pentax:
In the USA call Toll Free: 1-800-224-6767

Olympus:
In the USA call Digital Camera support Monday-Friday, between 9am-9pm Eastern at 1-888-553-4448

Let us know if you find anything out by adding a note in the comments below.

Running the Sidelines: Finding a photo's photographer

2011-01-03T17:57:00.000-08:00

Adding Photo Metadata to Your Images

Can Embedded Photo Metadata Help Your Website SEO?

2010-12-07T21:53:00.000-08:00

There have been a number of recent articles pushing the idea that embedded photo metadata can boost your search engine ranking. However, while the practice of adding embedded metadata to increase findability and to protect the intellectual property of an image are both good ideas, there is a hitch to this concept from the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) perspective.

That is, while it is possible for automated search bots to be configured to read the embedded photo metadata embedded in digital images, there is no evidence to suggest that the search engines are currently doing this; nor is there any evidence that it will help with the SEO for your images or your website — at least not without some additional work. That doesn't mean that embedding metadata in your images is not a good practice. It's just at this point in time that it has little value for Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Read more about what can be done to leverage your metadata work in the article "Why Embedded Photo Metadata Won't Help Your SEO."

Myths about photo metadata?

2010-12-01T21:46:00.000-08:00

How savvy are you about photo metadata? There are a number of myths or misconceptions that surround the practice of embedding copyright, contact information, and other types of “metadata” into digital image files — like JPEGs, TIFFs, Photoshop, DNG and other Raw files.

Take a look at the list of the Top 12 myths about embedded photo metadata and see if you can tell which are fact and which are fiction.

Here are the top five:

1. Embedded photo metadata is something that is hard to read unless you have Photoshop or some other professional software application.
2. Embedding photo metadata adds a lot of disk space overhead to an image file.
3. Removing embedded photo metadata is against the law.
4. Images that I upload to my social media or photo sharing sites will still retain my embedded photo metadata.
5. Images that I upload to my social media or photo sharing sites will still retain my embedded photo metadata.

Read the other 7 statements in the list as well as all the detailed commentary on the Controlled Vocabulary website.

facebooks new photo sharing fails Photo Metadata testing

2010-10-04T21:33:00.000-07:00

I heard on CNET's "Buzz out Loud" Podcast last week that Facebook had updated their photo sharing to accommodate "High Resolution" images.

You can now upload images up to 2048 pixels on the long dimension. Note that I said "upload" -- not view. Your facebook friends (or other viewers if the album is made public) can download these larger sized images, but the online viewing is limited to a version that has been resized to a maximum of 720 pixels wide. I had hoped that this integration of Divvyshot's technology might mean that facebook would finally stop their "stripping" of embedded photo metadata, but that apparently is something that facebook users will still have to lobby for if they expect to see a change.

I've made a facebook album page available for public viewing using the CV Social Media Testbed image, which was fully loaded with embedded metadata. The actual image (now sans metadata thanks to facebook) can be viewed at this link. http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs316.ash2/59589_455012177944_532727944_5452967_4191590_n.jpg

As noted in the latest report on the "Survey regarding the Preservation of Photo Metadata by Social Media Websites" no metadata from the image is exposed on the facebook site. While there is an option on your facebook page to "Tag This Photo" the system does not pick up any of the embedded metadata tags such as those in the keyword field, like both flickr and Picasa Web Albums can do.

In addition, while the images that can be viewed online are now up to 720 pixels on the long dimension, they are still being "stripped" of all IPTC, XMP, and Exif metadata (ICC profile information is retained). The option for others to download a 'high resolution" version, only prompts a download (you can not view the image online). I downloaded this larger version and tested as well. The only difference between the "high resolution" version and the online 720 pixel wide version, was the resolution -- both are stripped of any information beyond the pixels and the ICC profile. Since all descriptive photo metadata is missing, this would mean that even the "original" is being modified before it is stored on their system -- and potential orphan works are being created, each time you upload an image to facebook.

For those that are concerned about retaining their intellectual properly, facebook receives a failing grade in our book. For now, our recommendation is to stick with Flickr or Picasa Web Gallery.

Photo Metadata Utility Developer Gets "The Big Picture"

2010-09-21T12:09:00.000-07:00

The SuperUtils company is one of the first software developers to spell out both pro and con arguments for the removal of embedded photo metadata. It is nice to see developers moving in this direction, as too many are intent to spread FUD (Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt) regarding "privacy" in terms of the information that may be divulged in the metadata of a digital image. It would be great if more developers took a similar approach.

Until we have tools that allow for the selective removal of metadata, the prudent approach would be to preserve all the information that is present in the image. If metadata is to be removed; then, at minimum, the person processing, saving, or uploading the image should be warned that this removal is about to happen and/or be informed about the consequences of their actions.

IPTC-PLUS Toolkit released by IPTC & PLUS

2010-07-15T08:29:00.000-07:00

The International Press Telecommunications Council (IPTC) and the Picture Licensing Univeral System (PLUS) have jointly developed a plug-in metadata panel for use in Adobe Bridge (CS3 or higher) which allow users to read/write the full set of fields included in the IPTC Core, IPTC Extension and the PLUS metadata schemas.

Metadata are considered as being critical to the photo business as they are used for searching pictures and to indicate the rights and terms of their use. The tools are, as all IPTC and PLUS applications, free of charge and can be downloaded from the IPTC or PLUS websites.

The included tools help photographers, image libraries and photo agencies to store detailed descriptions of their content and data relevant for managing image copyrights directly in the images.

"IPTC was instrumental in the development of the PLUS Standards, and our active collaboration continues today with the release of the IPTC-PLUS Metadata Panels, allowing image creators, distributors and users to benefit from the full scope of image metadata, all from within a single tool," said Jeff Sedlik, President and CEO of the PLUS Coalition.

The release of this free IPTC-PLUS Toolkit means that anyone with compatible versions of Adobe Bridge will now have the means to easily embed the full set of IPTC fields as well PLUS metadata to digital images. Power users will love the fact that with this IPTC-PLUS Metadata panel you can now export out a full set of metadata fields into a Tab Separated Value (TSV) plain text file. In addition, you can modify that data and then import the resulting information through the same Metadata panel so that it is embedded directly into the file.

Also included in the download are comprehensive user guidelines, mapping charts and example images. The user guidelines define each of the fields available in the Adobe CS5 File Info dialogue, as well as those in the IPTC-PLUS Metadata Panels (IPTC Core, IPTC Extension and PLUS Schemas are covered). The field mapping charts will help those that are used to working with other image metadata tools, and the provided images are preloaded with embedded photo metatadata so you can test if the value of a field is shown in the expected field in the user interface.

Read more and download the IPTC-PLUS Toolkit -- the download file is in the olivey-green side bar at the right (a 9.1 mb download).

Having Metadata Export Issues with Aperture 3?

2010-02-24T17:04:00.000-08:00

Photographers need to be aware that there are some real concerns regarding how Apple Aperture 3, is writing metadata; especially when these files are viewed by other applications in an imaging workflow.

Those using Aperture to write metadata to files that will be used with other programs at some point in their workflow need to do some testing. Those sharing images with others directly, or via the Internet may find that even basic fields like the Caption/Description and Keyword fields are not visible after exporting from Aperture 3.

You need to understand what is happening if you do additional work in Photoshop or Lightroom, and then archive your images using other programs. Otherwise you risk having some or all of your metadata disappear. This is because other programs may not see (recognize) the information you are adding to your images with Aperture 3. In addition, if you are importing images that have been worked on in other programs, some of that metadata may not be recognized or stored within Aperture.

You should really be concerned if you are fully using the various metadata fields, such as the Rights Usage Terms, Location fields, or geo-tagging your images, as many of these fields (and others), are not showing up in Photoshop, Adobe Bridge, Photo Mechanic, or Expression Media, after being exported from Aperture 3.

Visit the "Apple Aperture 3 Metadata Issues" article to find out more, including access to a chart that maps out what is seen and what is lost or hidden in JPEG, TIFF, DNG and proprietary NEF files.

Do Social Media Websites Preserve Photo Metadata?

2009-12-03T19:00:00.000-08:00

Do the social media websites or other image sharing services you use preserve your embedded photo metadata after upload? The members of the Controlled Vocabulary forum are attempting to answer that question by conducting a survey of the various services to find out.

Most readers of this blog know what we mean when we talk about photo metadata, such as the photographers name, copyright notice, captions, and keywords that can be embedded into image files. It takes effort and time to add this to each digital file, but does provide a way for those wishing to use the file to contact the owner, or know what is going on in the image.

It seems hard to imagine that simply by uploading an image to a website that all this work could be undone. However, from reviewing the preliminary results of the survey it appears that many services are doing just that.

If you don't find your favorite service in the list of preliminary results, there are instructions on the Controlled Vocabulary Survey regarding the Preservation of Photo Metadata by Social Media Websites web page if you want to help out with the survey. You can download the testbed file seen here, and use it, or test with your own images. Full instructions on using a simple online tool to view the metadata after upload are included. What you should be seeing in the image is something that includes IPTC, XMP, and Exif metadata as in the testbed image on the site. However the image that was uploaded to the Blogspot platform to accompany this post has had all of it's metadata removed.

It appears that even Google has left room for improvement.

A Big Game Safari of a Different Sort

2009-09-05T10:29:00.000-07:00

In a post titled "Tracking the Mac OS X Snow Leopard Photographer" on the Photo District News (PDN) blog, Daryl Lang details the steps he took to track down the origin of the photo of the big kitty on the cover of the new Apple OS X release.

In brief they were:

Step one: Poke around on the Internet.
Step two: Tineye.
Step three: Twitter.
Step four: Ask Apple.
Step five: PACA OrphanSearch.

David Sanger points out in a reply, the obvious step they missed -- checking to see if there was any metadata in the image itself, since there is a version of the cover image distributed with the new OS. In this particular instance a search would have also resulted in a "fail" as well. However, anyone that followed the results of our SAA "Meta Survey" of stock image distributors, would know that the image which Apple licensed from Corbis would have had this embedded information when it was licensed. So the real question is, at what step in the process was it removed and why?

Enquiring minds want to know and absent any answers, the hunt will have to continue.

Riecks named Pioneer of Digital Preservation

2009-07-27T17:15:00.000-07:00

David Riecks, project leader for the Stock Artists Alliance Photo Metadata Project is the most recently named Library of Congress "Pioneer of Digital Preservation." The award reflects his work with photo metadata standards through efforts such as the IPTC Photo Metadata Working Group, and the Stock Artists Alliance PhotoMetadata.org Web site.

This Library of Congress program has only existed since 2000. The relatively new field of digital-information management is thus reliant on individuals and organizations that are willing to embark on cutting-edge programs that will lead others to follow their examples.

The profiles of these digital preservation pioneers feature how each individual's or organization's work enriches the work that all libraries and other repositories are doing to collect and preserve our digital heritage. You can view the complete list of digital preservation pioneers for some other interesting stories.

Get yourself to getMETAsmart!

2009-06-19T18:37:00.000-07:00

The getMETAsmart tour is well underway. In the past month, David Riecks has traveled to Dallas, San Antonio, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Space is still available for this series of free evening seminars. Upcoming stops include New York City (June 22nd) and Washington DC (June 25), as well as Chicago, Atlanta, and Tucson in the upcoming months.

You will learn how using standard metadata can help protect your copyrights, support your licensing efforts, smooth your workflow, and help you manage ever-expanding digital archives. There have been a few reports about the getMETAsmart program so check them out if you want to see what others have to say, and be sure to sign up today.

The Secret Life of Photo Metadata

2009-05-21T23:58:00.000-07:00

David Riecks presented a key paper on photographic metadata May 7 at at the Archiving 2009 conference in Crystal City, Va. Riecks produced and shared the paper - titled "The Lifecycle of Embedded Image Metadata within Digital Photographs: Challenges and Best Practices (or The Secret Life of Photo Metadata)" - for the Stock Artists Alliance under the group's award from the Library of Congress' Preserving Creative America, National Digital Information Infrastructure Preservation Project. This year's Archiving conference drew about 150 attendees from some dozen countries. For details on the conference visit the Imaging Science and Technology website.

Riecks focused on how museums and libraries can use text information many professional photographers embed in their digital images, much as researchers use handwritten notes on the backs of prints.
This information can speed cultural heritage institutions' efforts to make those same images (once they become part of their collection) available to patrons in a digital format.
For details on the Stock Artists Alliance Photo Metadata Project visit PhotoMetadata.org.

Hearst 8 x 10 Biennial requires photographers to make orphans of their images?

2008-12-20T13:14:00.000-08:00

The publisher that brings you Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, The Oprah Magazine, and Town & Country is holding their 8 x 10 Biennial photo competition this year, seems intent on having photographers making their submitted images potential "Orphan Works" by requiring them not to include their name within the metadata of the image.

My question is why?

There is no entry fee, and applicants may submit up to 16 images as part of a single entry, however, the requirements for the digital images submitted include this note:

"Important note: To ensure a fair and unbiased selection, entries are to remain anonymous. Submissions that contain a photographer’s name and/or contact information within the file name, caption field or metadata will be disqualified."

The judges include a number of professional photographers, and unlike some other "contests" this one doesn't seem to be a rights grab, as Heart Corporation is only stating that they reserve "...the right to use the award recipient’s name, likeness, biographical information, and project images in perpetuity for publicity and promotional materials related to the Hearst 8x10 Photography Biennial and Hearst Corporation."

That seems fair enough, the photographer isn't giving up the rights for them to use their photos for anything they wish, or allowing them to license them to others. So again, I have to ask: why is having metadata in the image that identifies the photographer an issue? Are the judges going to be sent a CD, or directed to a website where they will view the images independently...and the folks from Hearst are afraid that someone will show favoritism if they can determine who took the photo?

However, wouldn't it be easier to simply process all the images that are shared with the judges and remove or replace any identifying information with a code that only they will know? This way, one set of the images has the photographers copyright and contact info for future reference. Besides, if they don't have some identifying information in the images, just how are they going to keep track of who has actually won?

Major Publishers Adopt PLUS Standards

2008-11-12T16:47:00.000-08:00

A press release from the PLUS Coalition today announced:

"Representatives of McGraw Hill, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Pearson each announced that they will adopt the Picture Licensing Universal System (PLUS) Picture Licensing Glossary definitions in their contracts, and that they encourage image suppliers to begin embedding PLUS license metadata in all images within one year."

The publishers voiced their support at the "PLUS Takes Root in the Publishing Industry" event hosted by the Picture Archive Council of America, during their recent International Conference in New York City.

Some of you may be aware of the work of PLUS, but for those of you that aren't aware; here is the elevator speech: The PLUS coalition is an international non-profit organization dedicated to simplifying and facilitating the communication and management of image rights. It includes all of the groups involved in the picture licensing industry (publishers, picture archives, photographers, illustrators, designers, advertising agencies, museums, libraries, artist representatives, educational institutions, manufacturers and their associations ) which have jointly developed a standard for describing (PLUS glossary and Media Matrix), recording (PLUS License Definition Format), embedding (PLUS License Embedder), and reading (PLUS License Reader) licensing information for images.

Today's announcement shows that the movement is finally coming to fruition, as the biggest publishing companies are adopting the PLUS standards, and recommending image makers to start using these standards as part of their workflow.

Details including the full press release can be found on the PLUS website.

When you visit the site, take some time to learn about the PLUS Embedder, an application that can be used in tandem with the PLUS website to generate licenses and define licensing terms that can be added to each image provided to clients and third parties as embedded metadata.

The PLUS Coalition includes participants in thirty countries, and receives significant support from Leadership Circle members Adobe, Adbase, Adobe, Pentagram, Jupiterimages, Digimarc, Belay Development, Getty Images, IDEAlliance, ImageSpan, Photo District News, IPTC, NAPP, PACA, StockPhotoFinder, Swan Turton, WongDoody and Capture.

iView Multimedia Web Site End Of Life

2008-11-11T17:38:00.000-08:00

Douglas Norton, SSDE for Expression Media with Microsoft Corporation passed along the following to the members of the Controlled Vocabulary Forum yesterday.

It is now over 2 years since iView Multimedia Ltd. was acquired by Microsoft, and in that period we have been able to keep the iView web site available for those that needed the resources it contained.

Very shortly (in a week or so), that site will be removed from service. The future plans for its content are being discussed, but you should treat this email as a warning that the information may cease to be available.

If there is any information that you frequently access on that site, you should take whatever steps you need to secure your continued access to that information. You should act now.

In particular, you may wish to make backup copies of the iView MediaPro installers should your current copy become unserviceable. Additionally, information in the online guides and the forum may be of particular interest and you should ensure that you have a copy or printout.

Useful links:
iView Multimedia website
Expression Media website
Expression Media forum

Regards,

Douglas

Jeffrey Friedl releases Geotagging plug-in for Lightroom

2008-11-07T17:31:00.000-08:00

Jeffrey Friedl, yes, the same Jeffrey Friedl that put out the Online
Exif Metadata reader, has now released a
Geotagging plug-in that works directly within Lightroom.

His plug-in reads a GPS unit's track log, then extrapolates the
location for each specific digital image based on the time it was
taken. Although that's the same basic mechanism many other geotagging
programs employ, Friedl's plug-in allows you to move move the process within Lightroom, minimizing the steps it takes to geotag your images.

Read his full blog entry on the Lightroom Geotagging Plug-in for a link to the download.

Q&A: Converting Keyword Catalogs between Photo Mechanic and Lightroom

2008-11-05T18:16:00.000-08:00

Q: I have a custom controlled vocabulary set that I use for keywording in Photo Mechanic. Is there any easy way to use it in Lightroom?

A: Those are two of the easier formats to share as both understand and can use both synonyms and excluded category headers.

Some differences between the two are addressed in the CVKC-FAQ page.

For members of the Controlled Vocabulary Forum there is a document in the Files section about editing a Photo Mechanic style Keyword Catalog using a plain-text editor. This explains a bit of the underpinings of the format if you want to amend your version in a text editor before importing into Lightroom.

Depending on whether you are on Windows or Mac, it may be possible to simply save out the file from Photo Mechanic and then import into Lightroom. The Controlled Vocabulary Keyword Catalog Support pages for both applications have basic
directions on how to export / import a Keyword Catalogs such as the Controlled Vocabulary Keyword Catalog.

The only issue might be that Lightroom is expecting a Unicode "UTF-8" file with Mac carriage returns, and Photo Mechanic may save out the file as Unicode "UTF-8" but with Unix Line Feeds.

If you need to handle those types of conversions, utilities such as TextWrangler, TextPad, or Jedit can be very useful.

Adobe CS4 Bridge Extensions

2008-10-29T18:44:00.000-07:00

Adobe engineer, David Franzen has released a few new scripts that Bridge CS4 users might find useful.

* Bridge Export to JPEG Extension allows you to create JPEG files quickly using the cached previews and thumbnails already in Bridge’s cache. This is a major update to the script Franzen made available for CS3, and includes options for image sizing and naming, metadata options based on the new options in Save for Web, and the ability to save all of these as presets.

* Bridge E-Mailer Extension allows you to E-mail files directly from Bridge (using a Mac desktop E-mail client, or by sending directly to your ISP’s POP or SMTP E-Mail server).

* Preview Latest File Extension enables an "auto preview" mode in a Bridge window that selects the latest file in the folder which should be very useful for photographers that are interested in tethered shooting.

In addition, all the extensions now use the Extension Manger for install, so they should be easier to install and uninstall since you no longer need to locate the correct install folder.

The scripts can be found at The Adobe Exchange

Multilingual Contextual Keywording

2008-10-20T17:43:00.000-07:00

Karsten Risseeuw, of Kursiv has posted a screencast of the presentation he made at the recent MILE (Metadata Image Library Exploitation) seminar titled "Multilingual Contextual Keywording."

Kursiv uses this multilingual approach in the development of their keywording software "KIM Keywording" and Risseeuw gives some insights into how one can use their software to apply keyword tags in multiple languages at one time.

Guidelines for Handling Photo Metadata

2008-09-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

The "Metadata Working Group" made a major announcement at Photokina on September 24th, 2008 and released a document designed to help developers by providing best practices on how to create, read and modify a set of core metadata values within digital images that use Exif, IPTC-IIM (legacy IPTC) and XMP metadata. The groups involved in this initiative include a number of long-standing digital imaging and metadata advocates you might expect, such as Adobe Systems Inc., Apple Inc., and Microsoft Corp.; as well as a few you might not: Canon Inc., Nokia Corp. and Sony Corp.

The primary thrust of the Metadata Working group is to reveal issues regarding how metadata is exchanged and preserved as it moves between applications and processes (devices, platforms and services), file formats and metadata standards. Their whitepaper, titled, "Guidelines for Handling Metadata" discusses the use of a small number of current metadata fields which are part of existing standards which deal with what they feel are the key questions that most consumers have about images:

-Who is involved with this image (who took it, who owns it, who’s in it)?
-What is interesting about this image?
-Where is this image from?
-When was this image created or modified?

Their goal is to provide best practices on how these nine critical data fields (Keywords, Description, Date/Time, Orientation, Rating, Copyright, Creator, Location [created], and Location [shown]), should be synchronized so consumer don't face the kinds of interoperability issues professionals have been dealing with for a number of years.

This includes things such as how, when and where metadata should be changed in popular consumer still image file formats using existing industry metadata standards. A wide scale adoption of these best practices should solve many current problems that plague the photo community.

While this initial effort targets consumer still-imaging metadata, rather than those of the professional; they expressed plans to expand their efforts. Josh Weisberg, chairman and founder of the Metadata Working Group and director of Microsoft's Rich Media Group said that, "We've chosen to address the most common issues photographers face as we feel this will make the biggest impact for the average photographer," noting that "Down the road, we will expand our work to include other metadata issues relevant to photographers."

Details are available from their http://www.metadataworkinggroup.org website.

IPTC Core 1.1 & Extension 1.0 released

2008-07-02T20:41:00.000-07:00

The IPTC has approved a new specification of their Photo Metadata Standards.

These include the the slightly updated IPTC Core 1.1 Schema, and the the brand new IPTC Extension 1.0 Schema which complements and extends the set of IPTC Core metadata properties. Download the new IPTC specifications to see the new options available, which include a set of PLUS fields that are shared with the IPTC Core.

The IPTC photo metadata working group will be working over the summer to develop an updated version of the User's Guide and custom panels that can be used in the Photoshop Creative Suite. After reviewing the specifications you are welcome to send comments and views to the IPTC Photo Metadata Yahoo group.