There are three primary categories of search terms: tags, meta-tags, and orders.

Tags

Tags are the most fundamental search terms. They describe the image and what's in it. When searching, tags are separated by spaces. So to search for photos containing dogs in snow, search for dog snow. Case does not matter. Words in tags are separated by underscores; for example, front_yard. For a list of all tags in use in the gallery, click here.

Meta-tags

Meta-tags are additional data about photos, for example tag count, file size, date taken, etc. They are in the format metaname:value. The following meta-tags are available:

NameExampleDescription
id: id:45 ID of the photo in the database. Supports range syntax (below).
description: description:equipment The photo's description. Matches any part.
date: date:2014-09-19 Date the photo was taken. Dates are either in the format yyyy-mm-dd, yyyy-mm, yyyy, or a raw 10-digit timestamp. If month or day are omitted, searches entire given year or month. Supports range syntax (below).
desclength: desclength:0 The length of the photo's description field. Supports range syntax (below).
filenamelength: filenamelength:15The length of the photo's directory and filename. Supports range syntax (below).
tagcount: tagcount:3 How many tags are on the photo. Supports range syntax (below).
filesize: filesize:1M File size of the photo. 'B' at end is optional (1M and 1MB are both valid and equal). Supports range syntax (below).
filename: filename:img_ Original filename of the photo. Matches any part.
hascategory: hascategory:2 Returns photos that have at least one tag from the given category. Mostly for internal use.
width: width:1200 Width of the image.
height: height:768 Height of the image.
ratio: ratio:<1 Aspect ratio of the image. >1 is wide, <1 is tall.
pixels: pixels:<1000000 Number of pixels in the image. Matches any part.
megapixels: megapixels:1.9 Similar to above, but multiplied by a million.

EXIF data

NameExampleDescription
exif: exif:true Whether EXIF data is available or not.
exposure: exposure:1/1250 Exposure time (in seconds). Supports decimals (3, 0.5) or fractions (1/1250).
fstop: fstop:2.6 F-number or f-stop value.
iso: iso:800 ISO value.
zoom: zoom:true Zoom ratio. Generally a value between 1 and 4.
focal: focal:24 35mm-equivalent focal length.
focalorig: focalorig:18 True focal length.
flash: flash:true Whether flash was used or not.
model: model:sx30 Model of the camera used to take the photo. Use underscores to match spaces (such as sx30_is).
lens: lens:70-300mm Lens used to take the photo. Use underscores to match spaces (such as 35mm_f/1.8).
location: location:true Whether GPS data is available or not.
latitude: latitude:42..44 Latitude of the image (in decimal degrees)
longitude: longitude:-82..-81 Longitude of the image (in decimal degrees)
distance: distance:0.1,43.25928,-84.22912Specify distance (in miles) and decimal GPS coordinates, separated by commas. Returns photos that are within the given distance of the given coordinates.

Drone EXIF data

NameExampleDescription
altitude: altitude:>1500 For drone photos, altitude above the ground the photo was taken at, in feet.
angle: angle:-90 For drone photos, vertical gimbal angle the camera was at when the photo was taken. Ranges from slightly above 0° to -90° (straight down).
direction: direction:east For drone photos, the direction the drone was facing when the photo was taken. Starts at 0° for north and going clockwise. Supports either shorthand (n, e, etc.), full names (north, east, etc.), or for range syntax, degrees.

Additionally, the following range formats are available for some meta-tags:

Range SyntaxDescription
5 Equals 5
>5 Greater than 5
5.. Greater than or equal to 5
>=5 Greater than or equal to 5
<5 Less than 5
..5 Less than or equal to 5
<=5 Less than or equal to 5
5..10 Between 5 and 10 (inclusive)

Order

Order tags allow you to sort the search results. You can append '_asc' to any order tag to sort it in reverse. For example, order:id_asc instead of order:id. The following order tags are available:

NameDescription
order:id Order by the photos's ID in the database, highest first.
order:date Order by date taken, newest first. Usually very similar results to the above.
order:random Order results randomly.
order:tagcount Order by number of tags, most first
order:filesize Order by file size, largest first.
order:desclengthOrder by length of the description field, widest first.
order:filenamelengthOrder by length of the photo's directory and filename, longest first.
order:width Order by width, widest first.
order:height Order by height, tallest first.
order:resolution Order by number of pixels, most first.
order:ratio Order by aspect ratio, widest/shortest first. order:wide and order:tall also work.
order:exposure Order by exposure time, longest first.
order:fstop Order by f-number, largest/narrowest first.
order:iso Order by ISO value, largest first.
order:zoom Order by zoom ratio, largest/most zoom first.
order:focal Order by 35mm-equivalent focal length, longest (most zoomed-in) first.
order:focalorigOrder by true focal length, longest (most zoomed-in) first.
order:latitude Order by latitude, northernmost photos first.
order:longitudeOrder by longitude, westernmost photos first.
order:distance Order by distance to the location supplied with the 'distance' metatag, closest first.
order:altitude For drone photos, order by distance from the ground the photo was taken at, highest first.
order:angle For drone photos, order by gimbal angle (vertical angle the photo was taken at), most upward first.
order:directionFor drone photos, order by direction the drone was facing, starting north and going clockwise.