Find the Original Source of Orphaned Flickr JPGs

Firefox and JavaScript Make It Easy to Find Artist Flickr Pages

Oct 19, 2009 Jason Spidle

Stumbling upon an amazing Flickr photograph without attribution can be frustrating. But with a simple tool, you can find the original Flickr source of any orphaned JPG.

Flickr is a treasure trove full of stunning images and incredibly talented photographers. Unfortunately, a widespread lack of artist attribution on blogs and forums and the practice of "hot linking" to JPGs makes it difficult sometimes to find the original source of an interesting Flickr image.

Trying to track down the original photographer to have a look at other images by the photographer is nearly impossible thanks to indecipherable Flickr JPG URLs. However, underlying these Flickr image locations is a structure that can be used to identify the original source of the Flickr image, it's just a matter of using the right tools to decode those URLs.

Flickr URL Converter

The Flickr URL Converter is a tool that takes a standalone Flickr JPG URL and translates it into the full Flickr page source. With just one click, you can redirect any Flickr JPG URL to the original Flickr page where the photograph was found thus allowing you to see other photographs by the photographer. The tool is able to accomplish this conversion by use of a few simple lines of JavaScript.

Integrating Flickr URL Converter into Firefox

The Flickr URL Converter is most useful when it is integrated in a streamlined fashion into the web browser. Firefox in particular offers a number of ways to build the tool into your browsing experience so that you have fast, easy access to Flickr URL conversions.

The first method is to create a keyword search based on the form input of the Flickr URL Converter.

Right-click within the search box and select "Add a keyword for this Search..." from the context menu.
Set a name for the bookmark and most importantly, enter a keyword phrase that is easy to remember.
Once it is set, typing the keyword phrase followed by the Flickr JPG URL into the address bar will automatically convert the image.

The second method is to install the Firefox extension offered by the creator of the tool.

Integrating Flickr URL Converter into other browsers

Although it is certainly the case that the Flickr URL Converter integrates most easily into Firefox, you can also make accessing the tool easy from other browsers.

Internet Explorer 7 lacks the ability to integrate keyword searches and thus the only way to utilize the Flickr URL Converter is to visit the webpage directly.
In Opera, right click on the Flickr URL Converter search box and select "Create Search..." to add the tool directly to your Opera search options. You can also setup a keyword search exactly as in Firefox to convert from your address bar.
Google Chrome lacks the ability to integrate keyword searches and thus the only way to utilize the Flickr URL Converter is to visit the webpage directly
In Safari, add keyword searches requires the installation of a plugin called Keywurl. Once the plugin is installed, adding the Flickr URL Converter tool is a simple matter of right clicking on the search input box and select "Add Keyword Search."

The Flickr URL converter makes the process of finding the original artist fast and simple. Once the tool is integrated into the web browser, converting a standalone Flickr JPG can be accomplished in a matter of seconds.

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The copyright of the article Find the Original Source of Orphaned Flickr JPGs in Internet is owned by Jason Spidle. Permission to republish Find the Original Source of Orphaned Flickr JPGs in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Convert standalone Flickr jpgs to full pages