One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that facilitates automatically organizing digital images using metadata which is embedded in the digital images. The system operates by receiving a digital image with embedded metadata, wherein the embedded metadata includes Global Positioning System (GPS) data. The system uses the embedded metadata, including the GPS data, to identify additional metadata associated with the digital image. The system then saves the digital image on a storage medium. In addition, the system saves the embedded metadata and the additional metadata on the storage medium in a searchable format.