Caribbean Sailing Pictures on an Interactive Google Map

[Zanshin]

In recent days the weather here in Europe has been less than optimal and I've spent a few cold and rainy evenings inside in front of my computer -- painfully learning about php, JavaScript, Google map APIs and CSS.
The result of this effort is a Google maps interactive map with my geo-coded pictures from sailing Zanshin I around the northern Caribbean. While there are over 800 photos in the map, I've used a Google widget to cluster pictures together so that the map doesn't get too cluttered and it works quite well, showing more detail as one zooms further in.
I'd like to get some feedback on the page (not the pictures, I can't change those) as this weekend looks like it is going to be rained out again. At least when I'm playing around on the web site I won't be spending money on ebay or helping put my local bartender's kids through school...
Just click on the image below to get virtually transported to the warm Caribbean.

[sailingaway221]

Very cool... My boat is in the google map for st. martin... didnt know that before!

[Zanshin]

Sailingaway - You mean I got a picture of your cat and didn't realize it?

[sailingaway221]

Zanshin... its actually on the google map itself.... but I really liked the map you made.

[Zanshin]

Cool about being on the map - I've always wondered if my boat were on any picture in Google but doubted it. The only vessel I've positively identified from Google in the Caribbean is the William Thornton´.

[Zanshin]

I've got Version 1.1 up on the site now - a couple of minor fixes and I've added a compass where the needle points in the direction that the photo in the thumbnail was shot in; while that doesn't sound like much, it took several hours to get working correctly despite all the photos having the information embedded in them.

See Interactive Map now with compass

and a moving

[Vamonos]

I first tried with Google Chrome and it was quite annoying. Chrome treats the pop-up pictures as pop unders. The open in a new tab but the new tab does not get focus. IE and Firefox acts nicer. Could you use something like Shadowbox to pop the pictures up in the same tab, requiring less "mousing"?

Richard

[Jerry Woodward]

Very cool. I like the way you can see a preview of the picture with a mouse-over, and then decide whether you want to open the full size pic.

[Zanshin]

Originally Posted by Vamonos

..Chrome treats the pop-up pictures as pop unders...Could you use something like Shadowbox to pop the pictures up in the same tab, requiring less "mousing"...

I'm trying to figure out how to make popups on the same page, as just opening up the big .jpg image also has the disadvantage that I can't display the title/comments either. Because of the way Google maps works, it is a tougher thing to do than it would seem.

[Vamonos]

Originally Posted by Zanshin

I'm trying to figure out how to make popups on the same page, as just opening up the big .jpg image also has the disadvantage that I can't display the title/comments either. Because of the way Google maps works, it is a tougher thing to do than it would seem.

Here is one site that has an interesting solution, displaying it in an infobox.

http://www.pomona.edu/tour/

Richard

[Zanshin]

Vamonos - I had that method on my earlier version, but it had the restriction that an automatic display of the thumbnail on mouse-over wasn't possible; but I'm playing around with an alternative solution for a window that I think might work. Unfortunately, the pomona page doesn't work under IE9... Man, this browser incompatibility really sucks when trying to use nifty html feature since they have so many rendering problems.

[Palarran]

Hello Zanshin,
When I use Google Earth and zoom out it groups the photo's together like yours. But when you click on the photo folder, you can page through them all one at a time. When I click on yours in zooms in and doesn't show the photo until it's fully zoomed. I'd prefer that it allows viewing from a distance.

[Palarran]

Had to make one more post in order to hit 1000 - Bingo

[speciald@ocens.]

Hey - I found my boat sitting in Captain Oliver's Marina in Oyster Pond, Sint Maarten. Google must have recently updated the photo. My boat looks small sittin next to a 72 foot cat.

[Zanshin]

Palarran - a picture of your boat is in my list, while you were anchored off Gustavia in St. Barths.

I am going to play around with the formula for grouping, I think I can change that behaviour.