Image Searching on Google

Do you know Carla that you can do the Google search the other way round? When on the Google homepage click on the word "Images" on the black bar. Now instead of typing in text click on the little camera icon on the right bar where you'd normally type text. Click upload an image and choose the image you want to search for from your machine. Google will then search the web for all occurrences of that image.

It's quite a clever search and should show you everywhere that image is available. Have a try with your grandfather and report back!!

 

Yes Google can only index content that it can reach which means stuff that is publicly available. The interesting thing is that in addition to just words which everyone is familiar with searching, they also index images too.

This forum is largely public so the avatar pics here will show up in a search.

What is really interesting is to search old family photos although as you say you are less likely to get a hit. What can be really useful is searching for a pic with landmarks in it. Eg: the other week I was looking at photos with my parents and couldn't recall where a set of photos had been taken one was of a big imposing castle. So I Googled it and found where it was!!

Another one was a painting I have in my living room of a Scottish view, mountains, loch, trees few sheep etc. I had no idea of where it was but my dad was convinced it was called the Queen's view at Loch Rannoch. So I took a picture of the painting with my phone and uploaded that to Google and low and behold I got lots of matches that said it was the Queen's View, Loch Rannoch.