Geotagged photos are nothing new, but a new app is aiming to change the way we look at photo maps. Streetography tosses out the traditional pins-on-the-map and turns entire blocks, cities, and even states into images.
The iOS app, launched earlier this week, displays images on the map click-free, so it’s easy for users to browse and find interesting places to visit — or to find new places to go photograph themselves. Photos are laid out directly on the map instead of with pins, showing highlights that other photographers captured from that same spot.
Currently, the app uses images from 500px to create the photo-montage map, but it allows new users to upload their own shots as well.
The app is also a bit different from other location-based image services because it allows users to filter images. For example, photographers looking to find the best spot to shoot fall colors can choose to see only images taken during October. Images can also even be sorted by who took them — like filtering to show only shots taken by teenagers or an individual user.
Streetography also displays hot spots — or areas where lots of users are taking photographs. The app also allows users to save favorite locations, whether that’s for planning a trip or simply looking for new places to shoot photographs in more familiar places.
With the social element, Streetography users can follow other photographers, allowing them to see only mapped images from photographers they follow. Or, users can filter out that photo map by only the photos they have clicked that like button on.
The app currently only covers English-speaking countries, through plans for expansion are in the works. Streetography is available for free on iOS 9.3 and later devices.
