User photos have been a great addition to both Google Earth and Google Maps. However, it's gotten to the point where there are countless photos of the same location, especially for popular spots, since Google taps into several sources for user photos.
Google is now introducing a new way of viewing photos in Google Earth which should greatly enhance the experience and should make it easier to see more great photos of the same landmark or popular location.
"Google Earth users love flying around the globe and checking out beautiful photographs in the 'Photos' layer," Wei Luo, Senior GIS Specialist at Google,
wrote.
"Whether you are a photography fan or simply want to check out images of a place you'd like to visit, we’re pleased to announce a new photo browsing experience in Google Earth. With the new photo cluster feature, you can browse through several photos more easily and quickly," he announced.
To check out the new feature make sure to have the Photos layer enabled in Google Earth. As you fly around you will notice the familiar photo icons indicating that there is a user pic for that spot.
You may also notice larger icons, which look like several snapshots stacked on top of each other. These represent a group of photos, or cluster, and clicking on them will open a photo pop-up.
This will reveal the image in question, but also a filmstrip at the bottom, which enables you to see all the other photos from the same location. You can select any of them with the mouse, but you can also move to the left or to the right using your arrow keys. Google was already doing this for some photos in Maps and it has now enabled the functionality in Earth as well.
"Whether you’re deciding between Paris, Beijing or Venice for a nice vacation or simply want to go on a quick virtual getaway after a long day, we hope this new way of viewing photos in Google Earth helps bring places around the world to your fingertips," Google explained.
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