PhotoGlobe: Explore the World’s Photos on a 3D Globe

PhotoGlobe puts real geotagged photographs on a 3D globe so you can travel the world by spinning it. Drag the planet, zoom into any country, city or coastline, and see the pictures that were actually taken there: sunsets, streets, mountains, markets and landmarks, each one linked to its full detail page with the camera, lens and settings behind the shot.

The globe opens with a worldwide sample so there is something to explore everywhere from the first moment. Zoom past a country and it switches to loading every photo in the area you are looking at, straight from a library of more than a million geotagged images.

You can jump to any place by name, or use the crosshair button to start from wherever you are. No sign-up, no account, and it works on phones as well as desktops.

PhotoGlobe

How to use it

1. Drag the globe to spin it. The coloured circles are clusters of photos, and the number tells you how many are in each one.
2. Click a cluster to zoom into it, or scroll to zoom anywhere.
3. Type a place into Jump to a place and pick it from the suggestions, or tap the crosshair to start from your own location.
4. Once you are zoomed in far enough, the globe loads every photo in view rather than the worldwide sample.
5. Browse the filmstrip along the bottom, or click any dot on the globe, to open a photo with its camera, coordinates and date.
6. Narrow things down with the source filter (Unsplash or Flickr), sort by Popular or Recent, or type a keyword into the photo filter.

Frequently asked questions

Where do the photos come from?

From SampleShots, a library of camera-sample photographs with location data, drawn from the Unsplash and Flickr collections. Every photo on the globe links back to its detail page there.

How many photos are on the globe?

More than a million photographs carry coordinates. Loading all of them at once would be slow and unreadable, so the globe starts with a curated worldwide sample spread across every populated region, then fetches the real photos for whatever area you zoom into.

Why do I see more photos as I zoom in?

That is deliberate. At world view you are looking at a sample chosen to cover the planet evenly, so no single city swamps the map. Zoom into a region and the globe switches to live results for exactly that area, which is when the full density appears.

Why are some places almost empty?

Photo coverage is uneven. It is densest around cities, coastlines and well-known landmarks, and thin across deserts, open ocean and remote countryside. An empty stretch of globe usually means nobody has published a geotagged photo there, not that the tool has missed it.

Do I have to share my location?

No. Searching for a place by name works just as well. If you do use the crosshair button and your browser cannot give a precise position, the globe falls back to a rough guess from your network and says clearly that it is approximate.

Can I see what camera took a photo?

Yes. Each photo shows its camera model, coordinates and date, and links through to the full SampleShots page with the lens and shooting settings. It doubles as a way to see what gear people use in a particular kind of place.

Is it free?

Completely free, with no sign-up. It works anywhere in the world, on phones and desktops.