PycSync: 2-way Synchronize local photos with flickr

This python script is an attempt to improve my poor workflow for digital photos. I have been using iPhoto for the last 10 years, and it is terrible software. I was working at Apple when it was first released, and was a very early user. I have no idea why I have been using it for so long. iPhoto is less buggy, crashy, and slow than it used to be, but it is still incredibly bad.

I no longer try to crop or edit photos, so I really don't need photo editing software anymore. My new Canon T1i with came with several Canon utilities which I installed. The only one that seems useful is Canon ImageBrowser, which launches automatically when I put a memory card into the card reader. It automatically copies the images to a dated directory in my Pictures folder.

Workflow

• Insert memory card in card reader
• Canon utility automatically launches instead of iPhoto
• Import photos into a directory
• Use the ImageBrowser or OSX Finder in Cover Flow mode to review the photos
• Delete blurry photos
• Add PycSync.yml to directory with name of album and privacy settings
• Run pycsync.py, which creates a flickr set and uploads photos
• Edit metadata on flickr (optional)
• Add new photos to directory (optional)
• Run pycsync.py again to upload new photos and download metadata locally

Todo

• Check for duplicates using md5s of previous imports
• Create posterous post of flickr favorites
• Create twitter post of public flickr favorites
• Sync tags, descriptions, and notes
• Add flickr machine tags with hashes: http://longair.net/blog/2009/12/19/hashing-flickr-photos/

Usage

Put your flickr api keys in ~/.pycsync flickr_api: [api_key, secret]

Then, create a directory of photos. Place a PycSync.yml file in that dir. PycSync.yml should look like this:

album: Title of Flickr Set
is_public: 0
is_family: 1
is_friend: 1

Run pycsync.py in the directory you wish to sync to flickr.

Upload status will be saved in PycSync_meta.yml. Don't edit PycSync_meta.yml manually; edit metadata only on Flickr, and run pycsync.py to copy the metadata from flickr into meta.yml.

Python depencencies

• flickrapi
• pyyaml