Google’s new image search is fantastic. Users can drag an image into the search bar to initiate a reverse search, combing Google’s database for similar pictures.
It’s a powerful, powerful tool for photographers and artists to track where their work is travelling on the web. Mine mostly end up at sleazy pest control companies, which is depressing, but any despair is tempered by Google’s hilarious attempts to algorithmically guess the subject matter:


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Thank you for sharing – such tool is very practical, and your post made me laugh…
I remember LiveScience used “Darth Vader” to refer to Cephalotes atratus somewhere. LiveScience was actually how I first got to your blog, so yay 🙂
I made the mistake of referring to male ants as “sperm missiles” in an interview with LiveScience a few years ago. My labmates called me “missile” for months.
Thanks for the info about the Chrome extension. I just found out that two of my cooking photos had been ripped off w/o my permission.
Alex
I just type in bull ant and over haft image are yours
Cool. Thanks, Alex. I’ve been using TinEye so far (which will now probably cease to exist in the near future), and the results were not bad. But Google’s counterpart is definitely more informative – and entertaining; I uploaded a photo of myself in the lab and got all kinds of “visually similar images” featuring managers in ties …
Yes, Alex, I’ve been using TinEye too and will now give Google’s RIS a try.
I popped in a photo of a UC Davs entomologist and what resulted? A golden labrador retriever! Something’s wrong with this picture!
Was the photo. of yourself? 😉
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