Nothing frustrates me more than the hundreds of orphaned digital photos files on my computer. I can't remember where I took them or when. Luckily, my latest gear find, Sony's GPS CS1, clears up that little problem.

Leave it to Sony to incorporate GPS with digital photography technology. GPS devices have helped me get out of the woods, track my jogging schedule and now they're helping me organise my photo collection. Who would've thought?

Just before leaving for a recent road trip through New England, I threw Sony's GPS into my bag to test it out. I soon found it's a breeze to use. All I did was turn it on, wait for it to connect to the satellites overhead, hook it on to my backpack and forget it. As long as it was facing the sky, it was taking GPS readings of the area.

Then with my Cybershot camera, I clicked away as usual. The GPS and the camera were never connected so I didn't have to worry about becoming tangled in a bunch of wires. I enjoyed my trip confident I would finally have a digital album worth showing off.

When I got back home, I downloaded the data from the unit and pulled the photos off my Cybershot. The computer instantly matched the photos with the waypoints.

Instead of viewing my photos as the usual boring slide show, the software opens a map of North America and traces the exact route I took in my car according to the photos I shot.

When I move my mouse over the waypoint on Niagara Falls, the photos from that area pop up and likewise all the way to New York City. I love that I can see where I traveled and didn't have to bother taking a bunch of notes of where I took the pictures or worse still, try to remember months later where I had visited.

If you're like me and take thousands of photos on your outdoor adventures but are often unsure of where you are, there's hope. The only problem; I can't backtrack so I'm still stuck with thousands of photos without any home.

James W. Coates,
National Park Expert