Not so fast, Oahu demands a recount
If you look at the number of photos posted on Flickr by their tags, as in our first version of the Photo Tag Match, you'll see that Maui has a comfortable lead over the other islands. But, there is more than one way to skin this cat.
Another way to determine where a photo was taken is a process called geotagging, which of course, Flickr supports. Geotagging is a method for storing latitude and longitude coordinates within the metadata (information) stored in the file of a digital photo. In fact, most of our photos are geotagged, and you can see links to photos taken in different parts of Maui on our Maui Island Guide map.
Since Flickr allows users to geotag their photos by dropping them onto a map or uploading files with GPS coordinates stored in a photo's EXIF data, we can use this data to count photos by island (at least the ones that are geotagged). And when we do it this way, the numbers come out a little different, with Oahu taking the top spot. See for yourself.
The Numbers by Flickr Geotagging
| Island | Total Photos | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Big Island | 177,044 | 3rd |
| Kauai | 130,941 | 4th |
| Maui | 190,671 | 2nd |
| Oahu | 431,749 | 1st |
| Lanai | 4,678 | 6th |
| Molokai | 18,026 | 5th |
If you haven't yet, check out the original version of the Photo Tag Match, which is based on photos tagged with individual island names instead of geotagging.