Have you shot at one of the most photographed places in the world?

 

 

Sightsmap is a global heatmap showing the most popular places that people have uploaded images to Google's Panoramio website. While obviously not tracking every photo ever taken, it's a huge sample, and one that manages to paint the globe to show off the corners of the world that have the most images snapped.

As you might expect, a lot of the usual suspects seem to pop up. Most of Europe is heavily blanketed, thanks to picturesque cities jammed close together, and major cities in the USA are unsurprisingly well represented. Where things get a lot more interesting is when you start to drill down towards higher magnifications. As you get closer, some areas have street level heat maps, showing you specific regions, avenues, and neighborhoods that are home to a large amount of photography.

For instance, in my section of San Francisco, Golden Gate Park, with its museums, gardens, musical areas, and herd of bison is particularly hot. But pretty much every major tourist spot is a blast of light on the map — and as you continue to zoom in, you can view individual images from each area.

Since it's a map of popularity, Sightsmap is inherently going to show off places that are a bit more touristy and well traveled. It's not a tool for finding hidden gems for taking incredible images. But if you want to show someone the most beautiful sights of your city? It's a great way to start!

 

 

(via Gizmodo)