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I'm curious how this would look if it were somehow "divided by" population density. It wouldn't make sense for somewhere in the middle of the ocean but it migh

I'm curious how this would look if it were somehow "divided by" population density. It wouldn't make sense for somewhere in the middle of the ocean but it might highlight more remote, scenic places. edit: For example I noticed that southern Utah is significantly brighter than you would expect from population density.

crazygringo 13y ago
That was my first reaction too. But zooming all the way in (to Manhattan, for example), it's clear that the heat map corresponds to actual scenic tourist spots, it goes all the way down to street level, pretty amazing. And since these are "panoramio" photos, not selfies snapped for Facebook, it would seem to be a pretty accurate reflection of tourist destinations, as opposed to population.
- altrego99 13y ago
  When you zoom in, you do in fact control for differential population density to a lot of extent.
  - blueblob 13y ago
    Not for the markers though, they are mostly for cities with high densities of people.
wtvanhest 13y ago
Southern Utah is Arches and Moab etc.
- prawn 13y ago
  Also Zion, Bryce. Spectacular sights.
tammet 13y ago
The "all sizes" selection has a similar effect: take "small", "tiny" or "remote" to put markers on sparsely populated locations only.
coldarchon 13y ago
It is kind of funny the region between France and Germany is the most lit up region on this map but none of the high rank marker can be found there.
columbo 13y ago
I agree, I think the anomalies are more interesting than the expected. Here's an example: http://www.sightsmap.com/index.php?lt=45.104179&lg=-94.375517&z=13 http://www.sightsmap.com/index.php?lt=45.104179&lg=-94.37551... Also I'd love to do the reverse. Show me public places that have very infrequent photos. Especially campgrounds. I'd pay to know the least used campsites in my area.
philip1209 13y ago
I wonder if you could also normalize against weather - to differentiate between "Steady state" photos that happen regardless of weather vs. photos that are taken only when the view is clearly good

crazygringo 13y ago

That was my first reaction too. But zooming all the way in (to Manhattan, for example), it's clear that the heat map corresponds to actual scenic tourist spots, it goes all the way down to street level, pretty amazing. And since these are "panoramio" photos, not selfies snapped for Facebook, it would seem to be a pretty accurate reflection of tourist destinations, as opposed to population.

altrego99 13y ago
When you zoom in, you do in fact control for differential population density to a lot of extent.
- blueblob 13y ago
  Not for the markers though, they are mostly for cities with high densities of people.

wtvanhest 13y ago

Southern Utah is Arches and Moab etc.

prawn 13y ago
Also Zion, Bryce. Spectacular sights.

tammet 13y ago

The "all sizes" selection has a similar effect: take "small", "tiny" or "remote" to put markers on sparsely populated locations only.

coldarchon 13y ago

It is kind of funny the region between France and Germany is the most lit up region on this map but none of the high rank marker can be found there.

columbo 13y ago

I agree, I think the anomalies are more interesting than the expected. Here's an example: http://www.sightsmap.com/index.php?lt=45.104179&lg=-94.375517&z=13 http://www.sightsmap.com/index.php?lt=45.104179&lg=-94.37551... Also I'd love to do the reverse. Show me public places that have very infrequent photos. Especially campgrounds. I'd pay to know the least used campsites in my area.

philip1209 13y ago

I wonder if you could also normalize against weather - to differentiate between "Steady state" photos that happen regardless of weather vs. photos that are taken only when the view is clearly good