<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"With Google Treks, travel photography may never be the same.\nUsing the familiar Google Street View, this project stitches together web tours of worldwide destinations like the Grand Canyon and Galapagos Islands. The expeditions pair with information and videos about each location, creating an experience akin to an actual guide book \u2014 or a vacation in itself. \nEach entry features high-definition frames; by clicking around the highlighted route, users can explore areas along the same path the film team followed with its large cameras and backpacks. The panoramas pair with information to help complete the Google Treks experience.\nSee also: 20 Strange and Hilarious Google Street View Sightings\nThe difference is that, instead of cruising by a three-year-old image of your ex-girlfriend\u2019s apartment, you get to tour the Great Barrier Reef. \nThe question is whether something like this can impact or even replace traditional travel photography. Although this particular project is still firmly in the \u201Cneat idea\u201D phase out in Mountain View, once people get their hands on this level of interaction and depth, will they ever want to go back?\nMaybe not. After all, it\u2019s exactly this kind of evocative detail that photographer Wendy Connett finds so powerful.\n\u201CSuccessful travel imagery instantly transports the viewer to a destination and makes them want to go,\u201D she writes in an email. \u201CThere has been a major shift or evolution in the way images are presented due to digital and mobile technologies\u2019 rapid rise and use. Multimedia and dynamic, interactive platforms such as Google Treks are just a part of this continuing evolution.\u201D\nThe result, she adds, is that photographers who want to keep up will have to adapt to new forms of media.\nIn a field traditionally dominated by professional photography at best, and PC slideshows at worst, Treks certainly qualifies as \u201Cnew media.\u201D \nIn an interview with Mashable, Google spokesperson Sierra Lovelace describes Treks as a series of \u201Ccurated experiences\u201D based on Street View footage. Panoramas like the Canadian Arctic come with an extraordinary level of detail. And clicking around a tour of the Great Barrier Reef, I could count every fish in a school, then dive into the shadows of a nearby branch of coral.\nImage: Google\nAlthough it\u2019s not for slow computers or suffering Internet connections, when you get it to work Treks almost simulates putting one foot out the door.\nStill, some people think there\u2019s plenty of room for both this modern approach and the traditional.\n\u201CFrom what I\u2019ve seen, the idea ... certainly gives more people a chance to experience these places, at least on a basic and superficial level,\" writes Australian travel photographer Brook Mitchell. \"For people without the time or means to get to these places, I think it\u2019s fantastic. [But] the best travel photography, and the type that still sells, usually has a strong human element to the shot. Such images that work to bring out an emotional response will always have their place.\u201D\nDancers from New Mapoon at the Laura Dance Festival in Cape York, Queensland, Australia. Image: Brook Mitchell\nGyeongbokgung Palace, Seoul, South Korea. Image: Wendy Connett\nLandscapes and panoramas, according to Mitchell, are simply selling a different product.\nTreks showcases an entirely new way to experience travel photography, one that could easily forecast the future of the industry. Instead of a gallery of still images, it includes full, interactive tours with panoramas 15 megapixels deep. Larger features, such as the Amazon Basin, create a genuine opportunity for exploration, as users can click through frame by frame to see every angle of a world thousands of miles away.\n\u201CPutting information up against imagery so you can see it all is really powerful,\u201D Lovelace says. \u201CI probably will never have the opportunity to go see the Burj Khalifa, but it\u2019s a chance to experience this in a really powerful way.\u201D\nAt this building in Dubai, the tallest in the world, Google explores its exterior as taken from a window washer\u2019s scaffolding 160 stories up. If you turn on the sound, you can hear the wind whistle past the people as they work.\nImage: Google\nRight now, Treks includes 10 opportunities for exploration, including Mr. Fuji, the Eiffel Tower and the Great Barrier Reef, with plans to add Venice underway. Beyond that, the Google arm has no specific plans for expansion. The entire project is based on outside partnerships, according to Lovelace, so whether or not Treks expands depends who reaches out to do so.\nGoogle has made its cameras available for borrow to any organization to create panoramas or even full tours for their own destinations. \nTravel photography has been, if not replaced, certainly expanded by the option of interactive panoramas like Treks. Instead of still shots of the Amazon rainforest, it\u2019s now possible to take a tour down the river from the back of a boat. It isn\u2019t the same thing as being there, but it\u2019s a long step closer.\nImage: Takumi Yoshida\nBONUS: 36 Embarrassing Google Street View Sightings\n\n\n36 Embarrassing Google Street View Sightings\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n1. These Two Suburban Samurai\nImage courtesy of Google\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n2. This Couple Having Sex on the Highway\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n3. This Baby, Alone Outside of a Gucci Store\nImage courtesy of Google\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n4. This Man Picking His Nose\nImage courtesy of Google\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n5. This Naked Man Climbing Out of a Trunk\nImage courtesy of Google\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n6. This Man Having a Lovely Brunch With His Alpaca\nImage courtesy of Google\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n7. This Kid Biking the Wrong Way\nImage courtesy of Google\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n8. This Man, Catching Up on the News\nImage courtesy of Google\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n9. This Drunk Guy Wearing a Crown\nImage courtesy of Google\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n10. This Dog Pooping\nImage courtesy of Google\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n11. This Other Dog Pooping\nImage courtesy of Google\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n12. These People in Strange Masks in the Desert\nImage courtesy of Google\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n13. This Odd Street Toilet\nImage courtesy of Google\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n14. This Shirtless Man Giving His Dog a Ride\nImage courtesy of Google\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n15. This Man Carrying a Sex Doll on the Sidewalk\nImage courtesy of Google\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n16. This Woman Searching for Car Keys\nImage courtesy of Google\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n17. This Public Sex Act\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n18. This Man Peeing on a Car\nImage courtesy of Google\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n19. This Google Employee Cleaning His Camera\nImage courtesy of Google\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n20. This Woman, Doing the Worm on a Sidewalk\nImage courtesy of Google\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n21. These Girls Laughing at Their Fallen Friend\nImage courtesy of Google\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n22. This Dog, Looking Into Your Soul\nImage courtesy of Google\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n23. This Man, Getting a Feel for Today's Weather\nImage courtesy of Google\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n24. This Guy, Stretching His Leg Out the Window\nImage courtesy of Google\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n25. This Guy, Mooning the World\nImage courtesy of Google\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n26. These People Getting Arrested\nImage courtesy of Google\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n27. This Woman Hitching a Ride\nImage courtesy of Google\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n28. These Two Guys Going Really Fast\nImage courtesy of Google\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n29. This Man Drinking Beer and Lying in a Truck Bed\nImage courtesy of Google\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n30. This Dog in a Bind\nImage courtesy of Google\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n31. This Woman Who Forgot Most of Her Clothes\nImage courtesy of Google\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n32. This Shirtless Man Watching a Van Burn\nImage courtesy of Google\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n33. This Tough Gang of Middle Aged Segway Riders\nImage courtesy of Google\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n34. This Car Stuck in the Ground\nImage courtesy of Google\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n35. This Man Being Robbed by Toddlers\nImage courtesy of Google\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n36. This Reindeer, Being a Good Friend\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2013/09/18/google-treks/>