diff --git a/image_classifier/image_classifier.py b/image_classifier/image_classifier.py
index 0e36ac3..3b36918 100755
--- a/image_classifier/image_classifier.py
+++ b/image_classifier/image_classifier.py
@@ -117,6 +117,7 @@ class image_classifier:
         ''' Obtain the file date from EXIF metadata or the file name. Return None
         if it's not accessible or 'unknown-time' if it can't determine the date'''
         file_date = None
+        dirname = os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(file))
         filename = os.path.basename(file)
         if not os.access(file, os.R_OK):
             self._log.error(f"The file '{file}' is not readable.")