Since 2007, Google Street View has taken panoramic shots of 5 million miles of roads, covering 45 countries and about 3,000 cities around the world.
Canadian artist and filmmaker Jon Rafman has spent many hours culling through these images. He takes screen shots of the best ones and displays them on his blog (though never reveals their location). Called “9-Eyes,” his Tumblr is named after the nine cameras that Google’s Street View cars use.
The photos portray how weird and beautiful the world looks. Take a look at some of our favorites.
Caroline Moss contributed to a previous version of this article.
Rafman searches through Google Street View's archives for hours, he told The New York Times.
Source: The New York Times
In order to find the most interesting images, he's been mining through Google's footage for years. He says he enjoys being a "virtual explorer."
The photos he collects are taken all over the world.
He finds beautiful, serene landscapes ...
... action-packed scenes ...
... and even some photos that seem slightly eerie.
Remarkably composed, the angles Rafman selects makes the images look like they were captured by a human photographer rather than by Google's robots.
The Street View images feature many interesting characters. Here's a superhero who needed a nap ...
And a man popping a sideways wheelie.
Wayne and Garth even make a sly appearance in the photo below.
And here's Pluto having a grand time.
Animals appear in many of the photos as well.
Here's one in which a bunch of monkeys are hanging out.
Rafman never reveals where on the map the images come from.
So wherever this cop arrested the man pictured below remains a mystery ...
As does the address of this home that got TPed ...
... and the location of this rusted, industrial factory.
The images leave viewers with a lot of unanswered questions. Like, is this driver okay?
Why was this dock flooded?
Why was this girl sitting in the middle of the road?
Who is this masked figure?
And why do these kids look so pleased with themselves?
Many of the images look surreal.
The photo below shows an estate and a woman that both look straight out of a Jane Austen novel ...
... while this building looks like it's from the future.
The images Rafman uncovers show just how strange ...
... yet breathtaking the world can be.
Check out all of the images and Rafman's other work here.