« [YTB] The IT Crowd – How to break the internet | Home | Wordpress Theme Test Drive »
How to find the original Flickr Photo URL and User from a Static Flickr Image URL/Permalink (My priceless Flickr Tip)
Got a link like http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2085/2177060015_258bcfaff9_m.jpg and want to find out which user posted it, more images by that user, see the full-size version, etc? Seek no longer, the answer is very simple!
From the URL you’ve got take extract the image name (2177060015_258bcfaff9_m.jpg) and split it on the underscore. The first part is the photoID, the second part is the hash/salt and (if there) the third part the size (Full format: photoId_hash_size.jpg).
Now append that photoId to http://flickr.com/photo.gne?id= and *MAGIC* there you have it, the Original Flickr Photo URL (and the user) 
The example above would be transformed to http://flickr.com/photo.gne?id=2177060015
Cheers!
B!
UPDATE 2008.01.18 – In related matter these might be of interest too: Flickr Hack – All sizes for all pics & My most interesting (best viewed) Flickr pics (replace that ID with your own Flickr ID to watch yours 
)
Spread the word!
About this entry
Jan 12 2008 / 12:09 am
Best of Bram.us
Start getting used to scratching and smudging the iPhone with this Flash based iPhone Simulator
Automatically wrap/float/contour text around freeform images using CSS for usage in (X)HTML pages.
Pimp Your Firefox to be a web all-star
A look at the inc.common.php, spreading handy functions.
Photoshop Script inspired in the Chlomoscript to unobtrusively pimp photos you have taken.
Methods to adding file management options to TinyMCE (Part 1), Extending TinyFCK (Part 2) and PHP file uploads overview (Spinoff 1).
Trackbacks/Pings
[...] Zombie. The image was posted on Digg by user brown3218. If you track the static flickr URL (using this technique) you will find that it was uploaded by flickr account user brown3218 (coincidence?). Note that [...]
[...] Bram.us » How to find the original Flickr Photo URL and User from a Static Flickr Image URL/Permali… [...]
[...] [via bram.us] [...]
[...] while back I tweeted a link to an article teaching you how to find the original Flickr page of a static URL. I’ve found this technique very useful, but it’s a big hassle if you need to do it [...]
[...] How to find the original Flickr Photo URL and User from a Static Flickr Image URL If you came across a photo hosted by Flickr but only have the direct image url, you can still find the original page it was posted to. This tutorial shows you how. (tags: flickr hack neat trick url file static original) [...]
Comments
Nifty… did you figure this out yourself or looked under the hood?
@Wolf: The Flickr FAQ & some good old “gezond boerenverstand” made something rumble … a look at the sourcode of a Flickr Photo Page verified it all
coolio
Here is an idea for you:
You can’t link to your overall comments list, that works only for yourself (by using this url: http://flickr.com/photos_comments.gne), but you can link to your overall comment list by using its feed: http://api.flickr.com/services/feeds/photos_comments.gne?user_id=23767705@N04&lang=en-us&format=atom
Now is there a way to display that as html?
Wow. This is useful!
Google and Bram.us are rock-solid. I just searched for “see user behind static flickr” and bam… bram.us to the rescue once again.
Cheers, you genius you.
my keyword: “reverse flickr”
If you’re using Firefox, you can use this extension to get to Flickr photo page from context menu.
Yet another Firefox plugin–adds “View Original Flickr Image” and “Download Original Flickr Image” options to the right-click context menu for any Flickr photo.
http://snipurl.com/8v0ro
Thank you, Bram
Thanks for the tip! I took this idea and make a really simple web add that users can bookmark:
http://folksonomy.org/sandbox/findr/
THANKS! this is super helpful! I do a lot of reference image research at work and it’s great to be able to relocate the originals!
Hi there,
Very useful, BUT: I just tried this with a photo and got the page “Ooops, you’re not allowed to see this” after log-in. How can I still find out the user who uploaded this pic?
Cheers,
Jay