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Example time stamp: 2020:09:05 12:54:44<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Up to 5 photos can have this exact time stamp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The EOS 77d has sub-second time stamping, but google photos seems to ignore this when sorting. Here’s the exif data(metadata) from a picture, note the sub second time stamp<\/p>\n\n\n\n This leads to the out of order sequences at the per second level and generally confusing slide viewing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Most of the game is in rough time order, but there are out of order jumbles. Notice that picture #3 in the sequence should be picture #1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Solution from googling<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n “You can hand sort the albums!” I take 600-800 photos per game. Hand sorting the sequences side by side with the original filenames(image_001, image_002) takes a large monitor and over 3 hours per game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The last game of the 2020 season was a great game, and I was willing to spend the time. I nearly lots my schnitzel near the end. Sorting photo 600-ish out of 800-ish I grabbed a single image and slid it into proper sequence order.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n This was a breaking point. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Like any good IT nerd, when I’m annoyed my thoughts turn to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Solution:<\/strong> Re-write time stamps to preserve shot order. Look at directory of files, sort files by filename(image_001, image_002, … image_799) For every subsequent photo, image_002, add 1 second to the start time, then write the time stamp to the file<\/p>\n\n\n\n image_003 add 2 seconds<\/p>\n\n\n\n …<\/p>\n\n\n\n image_800 add 799 seconds Then re-upload the album to google photos -> Viola.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Code for altering the exif time is on github<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Now I just need to re-upload 6400 images to the 8 albums from this year. Please hold while I saturate my broadband uplink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Games 4-8 were corrected and uploaded and generally look as I’d hope. Deleting the album doesn’t delete the photos, so I deleted the photos in the new albums, and immediately started the lengthly upload with confidence the new photos with good names and timestamps should sort properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Paging through the images, some of the images had their ‘old’ names, most had new. Most were in order, many were not. Google didn’t actually delete the data … it somehow had a memory of the old images with their presumably old and uncorrected time stamps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I deleted the images from google photos(or so it says) and waited several hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I re-renamed the images from image_001 to newimage_001 and uploaded. New file names, new time stamps…this should work right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n 99.5% sorted. Almost completely sorted. Are they absolutely sorted? <shrugs shoulders, looks at feet, shuffles, begins to whistle><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I found on one of the games with about 600 images, newimage_590 was chosen as picture #1 in the album, despite having the correct names and properly sequenced time stamp. No album edit\/sort would get image_590 back to its proper place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At this point, I’d spent a few days worth of spare time fixing games 1-3 and they are really really close to having the order I’d want. Panning through the images, there is a proper sense of the gameplay and I think I’ve learned enough to realize I’m at the mercy of Google’s opaque sort\/retention algorithms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Next time, re-sequence everything PRIOR to their initial upload and the pictures will be in proper time order from the jump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do not taunt Happy Google Photos. Google photos has your photos they have their algorithms and you will not speak badly of Google Photos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I appreciate what Google Photos is and have enjoyed it for years, but … we’ve had a running disagreement on how to order photos for some time. The rub Google photos uses a proprietary sort algorithm which uses photo metadata(embedded … Continue reading
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Sorta, but FALSE, and SHUT THE HELL UP!!!!<\/strong>
Hand sorting may work for a few dozen images, but things break down at scale. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The browser\/Google photos\/my mouse somehow grabbed many photos from the album, some many many rows up and moved them.<\/em><\/strong> This single action randomly un-ordering the 600 I had just spent hours wading through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
GOD DAMN #$!#!#!#!#!$@%@^!^@^@^@ …..KHHHHHHAAAAAAAANNNNNNNN!!!!!
<\/h2>\n\n\n\nI can code my way past this bullshit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Algorithm<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Take the time stamp for the first photo(image_001)\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nUpdate, I fought Google Photos and at best it’s a draw<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
For games 1-3, I used a program called ‘gwenview’ to import the photos. It has an ‘interesting’ naming convention rather than keeping the camera’s naming of image_001, image_002 etc.
I wrote something to sort\/rename\/re-time stamp these and uploaded the images and …CHAOS.
Despite having the correct names(image001) with a properly sequenced timestamp, google photos somehow realized the image itself was the same and it already had it<\/em><\/strong> from previous uploads.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWRONG->CLANK <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
-> MOSTLY sorted<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Thesis<\/h2>\n\n\n\n