After four months, 825 miles, two million steps, 7.5 million snapshots and waaaay more naked old people than they care to remember, a trekking team of human cameras trudged into South Pointe Park on Wednesday, finishing the task of photographing all Floridas beaches for Google Maps. <\/p>\n
Its certainly the strangest job Ive ever had, said David DeLong of Tampa, one of four men who tramped up and down the coast wearing 45-pound backpacks loaded with 15 cameras, a hard drive and a modem. And at the beginning, before I got adjusted to the backpack, it was kind of tough. <\/p>\n
But its like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer it feels great when you stop. <\/p>\n
The trek was part of a cooperative venture between the giant Internet company Google and Visit Florida, the states tourism agency. The photos will be stitched together into panoramic, 360-degree views of every inch of coastline beach that, sometime next spring, will be available online through Google Maps Street View. <\/p>\n
It will have a lot of uses, said Nelson Mongiovi, a Visit Florida project manager. The Florida Film Commission loves it Hollywood producers will be able to scout locations without getting on a plane. Government agencies can use it to help measure beach erosion. <\/p>\n
But, primarily, its marketing Florida from a digital platform. People can take a virtual tour of Florida beaches from their homes and decide which ones they want to visit. Beaches have different personalities: They might be family-oriented. They might be nude beaches. They might be pet-friendly. This will let visitors get a 360-degree look in advance. <\/p>\n
It was those nude beaches that took the greatest toll on the four trekkers, at least in terms of shattered illusions. It was pretty hot and pretty hard going when we started in August, Mongiovi said. And some of the guys, I think, were keeping themselves going with the idea that, hey, soon well pass through some nude beaches. <\/p>\n
But when we reached the first one, one of the guys told me: The dream died yesterday It turns out most of the people who hang out on nude beaches should probably keep their clothes on. <\/p>\n
Other obstacles included seawalls, coastal condos that took a you-and-whose-army attitude when reminded that state law says beaches are open to the public, dive-bombing birds and the occasional mangrove swamp. DeLong still shudders at the memory of a spot on Keewaydin Island off Naples, where he had to wade through murky thigh-high water. <\/p>\n
The footing was really uncertain, and youre carrying a backpack with who knows how many tens of thousands of dollars in gear inside, and thinking about what happens if you slip, the 55-year-old DeLong said. Thats a phone call you just dont want to have to make. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Link: <\/p>\n
Google Maps\u2019 project to photograph every inch of Florida beaches wraps up<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After four months, 825 miles, two million steps, 7.5 million snapshots and waaaay more naked old people than they care to remember, a trekking team of human cameras trudged into South Pointe Park on Wednesday, finishing the task of photographing all Floridas beaches for Google Maps. Its certainly the strangest job Ive ever had, said David DeLong of Tampa, one of four men who tramped up and down the coast wearing 45-pound backpacks loaded with 15 cameras, a hard drive and a modem. Continue reading