PhotoBlitz

A collection of shell scripts for analyzing and managing EXIF timestamp data in JPEG images, particularly useful for fixing photo organization issues in Apple Photos and other photo management applications.

Prerequisites

• exiftool must be installed: brew install exiftool
• Bash shell

Scripts

extract_exif_timestamps.sh

Extracts and analyzes all timestamp-related EXIF data from JPEG files in a directory.

Usage:

./extract_exif_timestamps.sh <directory_path>

Features:

• Extracts all timestamp fields (DateTimeOriginal, DateTime, DateTimeDigitized, CreateDate, FileModifyDate, GPSDateTime, ContentCreateDate, MediaCreateDate, TrackCreateDate)
• Creates a CSV file with all timestamp data
• Analyzes ContentCreateDate formats
• Performs timezone analysis with offset calculations
• Compares filename order against timestamp field orders
• Generates detailed reports for troubleshooting photo sorting issues

Output:

• Console table showing all timestamp fields
• CSV file: <directory>/exif_timestamps.csv
• Detailed analysis sections for timezone and ordering

set_offset_time.sh

Sets the OffsetTimeOriginal EXIF field for a single JPEG file.

Usage:

./set_offset_time.sh <file_path> <offset_time>

Examples:

./set_offset_time.sh /path/to/photo.jpg "+01:00"
./set_offset_time.sh /path/to/photo.jpg "-05:00"

Features:

• Validates offset format (+HH:MM or -HH:MM)
• Preserves original file (uses -overwrite_original flag)
• Verifies the change was applied successfully

set_offset_time_bulk.sh

Sets the OffsetTimeOriginal EXIF field for all JPEG files in a directory.

Usage:

./set_offset_time_bulk.sh <directory_path> <offset_time>

Examples:

./set_offset_time_bulk.sh /path/to/photos "+01:00"
./set_offset_time_bulk.sh /path/to/photos "-05:00"

Features:

• Processes all JPEG files in the specified directory
• Shows progress for each file
• Counts successful and failed operations
• Non-recursive (only processes files in the specified directory)

check_offset_times.sh

Displays the current OffsetTimeOriginal values for all JPEG files in a directory.

Usage:

./check_offset_times.sh <directory_path>

Features:

• Lists all JPEG files with their OffsetTimeOriginal values
• Formatted table output
• Shows "N/A" for files without offset time data

Common Workflow

1. Analyze existing timestamps:

   ./extract_exif_timestamps.sh /path/to/photos

2. Check current offset times:

   ./check_offset_times.sh /path/to/photos

3. Set timezone offset for all photos:

   ./set_offset_time_bulk.sh /path/to/photos "+01:00"

4. Verify changes:

   ./check_offset_times.sh /path/to/photos

Use Cases

• Fix photo chronological ordering in Apple Photos when timezone information is missing
• Analyze EXIF data to understand why photos are not sorting correctly
• Bulk update timezone offset information for photos taken in different time zones
• Debug timestamp inconsistencies between different photo management applications

File Formats

• Supports JPEG files (.jpg and .jpeg extensions, case-insensitive)
• Only processes files in the specified directory (not subdirectories)
• Preserves original files by default