El Capitan Photos - location problems

Question

Level 1

14 points

El Capitan Photos - location problems

I have updated to Photos with El Capitan installation on an iMac. My iPhoto events have been imported but there are problems with Locations. For example an “event” shows the Location correctly but when I select a photo within the event some show the correct Location in the Get Info box but others just stick on Looking Up Location Info and never find it.

I have tried to delete the Location for such photos but the App crashes everytime I try this.

Anyone else having these problems or know a solution?

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11), 3.6 GHz Intel Core i5

Posted on Oct 18, 2015 3:55 AM

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Answer 1

léonie

Level 10

197,785 points

Oct 18, 2015 4:16 AM in response to J G Low

For example an “event” shows the Location correctly but when I select a photo within the event some show the correct Location in the Get Info box but others just stick on Looking Up Location Info and never find it.

This can happen, if there is a problem with the access to Apple's servers. Do you have any firewalls or antivirus software installed, that could be blocking the access?

I have tried to delete the Location for such photos but the App crashes everytime I try this.

Try to export one of the photos: Export with "File > Export > Export original". Then reimport this photo. Can you update the location for the reimported photo?

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Answer 2

J G Low Author

Level 1

14 points

Oct 18, 2015 10:21 AM in response to léonie

Leonie, thanks for your reply. I have checked my security and privacy settings and given Photos full access but it has not made any difference. I exported and re-imported a photo but the App continued to crash everytime I selected Remove Location.

The mapping function in Photos works very well with text entry in some cases, I can move the pin in other cases, but in many photos where it has shown Looking for Location Information every time I have opened the App, it just remains in this mode and I cannot enter text or move the pin. All very incosistent and seems unlikely to be a server response issue as it works on some photos and not on others in the same folder with the same GPS info presumably from my camera.

Photos seems to still be nothing better than a beta App which needs a lot of work in polishing it. It is a lot less convenient in its displays of events than iPhoto was on the Mac when one has a large library - I don’t really want to see all 16,000 plus photos all in one screen - at least iPhoto collapsed them to the first photo for eash dayte. Extensions are a promising addition but in all I am so far very under whelmed by it ,as it seems many others are.

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Answer 3

léonie

Level 10

197,785 points

Oct 18, 2015 10:39 AM in response to J G Low

Have you tested the exported original in other applications, for example in Preview?

Try to open the exported original in Preview and open the Inspector from the Tools menu, click the GPS tab.

Does it work or crash?

Try also the button "Open in Maps" or "remove location information". Doe set reimported photo work better in Photos, if you remove the location information?

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Answer 4

J G Low Author

Level 1

14 points

Oct 18, 2015 1:19 PM in response to léonie

Thanks again for your reply. I opened a typical photo with the problem, exported it, opened it Preview and Inspector. I clicked on open in Maps and although no pin was dropped the centre of the map was the exact position the photo was taken in. I then clicked Remove Location Info and saved it back into Photos. The newly imported version had no location shown in the Get Info box. I typed in a nearby location as already shown on an other photo in the same event (day). The map appeared with a pin showing location but the pin could not be moved and the Looking up Location Info dialogue appeared again and just stayed there, When I went back some time later the location had been found and I could move the pin to a more precise point, howver the Looking up Location Info still persisted in the original photo.

If I select an other photo from a different event (taken in a different city) with has this static Looking up Location info, the map that appears is that from the previous photo but without a pin.

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Answer 5

léonie

Level 10

197,785 points

Oct 18, 2015 1:44 PM in response to J G Low

the map that appears is that from the previous photo but without a pin.

I had that happen, too. Whenever the pleces pin would be in some deserted spot, where there are no landmarks close.

For example, trying to enter a GPS coordinate close to the north pole (89.999°N, 10.0°W) will result in an endless "looking up loctaion info". The maps do not reach that far north.

Have you tried to remove the location data using Photos menu entry "Image > Location > Remove location"? When I try that, I can get the "Looking up... " to stop, but it is not possible to enter some locations.

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Answer 6

J G Low Author

Level 1

14 points

Oct 18, 2015 2:12 PM in response to léonie

The App instantly quits every time I have tried to use the Remove Location menu.

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Answer 7

léonie

Level 10

197,785 points

Oct 18, 2015 2:24 PM in response to J G Low

Sorry, yes, you mentioned that earlier.

It looks like a bug. Whatever the locations, they should not cause crashes. When you opened the exported photo in Preview, were the displayed GPS values in a valid numerical range? Latitude between -90 and +90°, longitude between -180 und +180° ?

You may want to send a bug report to Apple using the feedback form: Apple - Photos - Feedback

Another way to remove the location is to use File > Export, and then to disable the flag to include the locations. But it might be safer to keep the locations assigned, and simply to ignore them, until the next update.

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Answer 8

J G Low Author

Level 1

14 points

Oct 19, 2015 1:48 AM in response to léonie

I have now tracked down the problem. It looks as though the problem photos are ones which were taken before the camera had connected with a GPS satelite. Fine the file does not hold the necessary GPS references but it is a bug that the programme sticks with this “looking up location info” for such file which actually do not have any location coordinates. If there is no valid GPS info it should just not try to show a location or show in the menu that there is a location to remove. Secondly there is a bug which crashes the App when one selects this menu option. All now reported to Apple.

This must be a common problem for users of GPS aware cameras. It often takes a minute or two to find satelites and may not even find any if you are indoors so you have to take some photos without waiting for connection to GPS satelites. Its going to be a mammoth task to export all these photos removing nonexistent location info, reimporting them and then adding the location.

I have also put in a request for a feature to be able to copy a location from one photo and paste it to another.

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Answer 9

léonie

Level 10

197,785 points

Oct 19, 2015 5:39 AM in response to J G Low

It often takes a minute or two to find satelites and may not even find any if you are indoors so you have to take some photos without waiting for connection to GPS satelites.

What is your camera writing to the GPS tags, when no satellites are found? Photos from cameras that do not have GPS at all are not causing this problem.

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Answer 10

Nov 1, 2015 8:52 AM in response to léonie

Hello,

I have the same issue and I have noticed that it could be due to the location data my camera puts into the file : when the GPS has no fix, the location data shows huge numbers (viewed with an external EXIF editor) :

Latitude Longitude

17056881.6666667 17056881.6666667

When I want to suppress the location data in Photos, Photos always crashes.

My camera is a LUMIX DMX-TZ60.

The only workaround I found is to edit the pictures with and external tool like GeoTag to redefine the correct location.

I think it is simply a bug in Photos.

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Answer 11

léonie

Level 10

197,785 points

Nov 1, 2015 9:01 AM in response to Pierre-Yves 1

The only workaround I found is to edit the pictures with and external tool like GeoTag to redefine the correct location.

I think it is simply a bug in Photos.

Yes, this looks like a bug. Have you sent a bug report to Apple?

You can use the feedback form: Apple - Photos - Feedback

Can other Apple apps show the GPS for the problematic photos without crashing ? Preview? iPhoto? The Finder "File > Get Info" panel?

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Answer 12

Nov 1, 2015 9:09 AM in response to léonie

Hi,

I haven't filed a bug yet, but I will do.

I have just checked that Preview seems to ben more robust : it shows no particular location although it has a GPS tab.

When I clic on "suppress location data", it does not crash like Photos (and it seems to really remove the location data).

Thanks for your suggestion

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Answer 13

J G Low Author

Level 1

14 points

Nov 1, 2015 9:24 AM in response to Pierre-Yves 1

I sent a bug report to Apple and they contacted me to get a crash report and sample files. They came back with the response that the work around is to export the photo, remove the GPS info in Preview, save and re-import the photo, then add the location. I think it is clear from this that they recognise the bug but of course will not confirm this or that if will be fixed in the next update. Lets hope so because I have too many problem photos to do the work around and will wait until it is fixed.

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Answer 14

Dec 5, 2016 9:29 AM in response to J G Low

Having this same issue. Latest version of everything. Very annoying. App not crashing though.

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Answer 15

LarryHN

Level 10

106,124 points

Dec 5, 2016 9:36 AM in response to Apple Iceman

Update to Sierra and Photos 2.0 - it has many bug fixes and many new features and will probably solve your problem

LN

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