Few Internet explorers are strangers to the pleasure of discovering a new landscape in Google Street View. However, unearthing true beauty in the massive database is an art. A Tumblr called Oessa, started by UK student Mere Pachner in August 2012, documents some of the most striking visual images found in Google Street View, a novel form of nature photography.
I wanted to start a nature blog and began experimenting with using Street View. It gave me the freedom to compose my own shots of the world, instead of posting other peoples,” Pachner wrote to Mashable in an email. “I’ve always wanted to travel but at the moment I can’t afford to, and so I guess in a way I’m using this medium instead.”
To find beautiful new places, Pachner picks a country and explores areas far removed from major cities. Most of the shots are the results of accidental stumbles, not places the blogger knew of in advance. Each post includes the exact location where the image was captured, so readers can use Oessa as a jumping off point for their own explorations.
1. Boats With Cherry Blossoms
Small boats line a cherry blossom basin next to Hirosaki Castle in Hirosaki, Japan.
Find it yourself: +40° 36’ 28.58”, +140° 27’ 35.32”
Image: Google via Oessa
2. Chrystal Clear Bay
Blue skies hang overhead in Bahia de Concepcion in Baja Sur, Mexico.
Find it yourself: +26° 37’ 32.56”, -111° 48’ 47.20”
Image: Google via Oessa
3. Coral Reef
Street View isn’t just for streets. This underwater shot shows the Hourglass Reef in Bermuda.
Find it yourself: +32° 20’ 49.41”, -64° 38’ 59.23”
Image: Google via Oessa
4. Waves Crashing Over Rocks
This spectacular sea view was spotted on Isla Isabela, one of the Galapagos Islands, in Ecuador.
Find it yourself: -0.830222,-91.164393
Image: Google via Oessa
5. Abandoned Homes
In addition to nature, Street View has captured some unique architectural gems, such as these abandoned buildings on Ha Island in Japan.
Find it yourself: +32° 37’ 39.72”, +129° 44’ 17.73”
Image: Google via Oessa
6. Bridge With a View
This surreal shot was taken from California Route 1 on Bixby Bridge, south of Monterrey, Calif.
Find it yourself: +36° 22’ 19.60”, -121° 54’ 8.21”
Image: Google via Oessa
7. Cottage at Mountain Foothills
These mountainside cottages were captured near Ogimachi, Japan.
Find it yourself: +36° 15’ 10.94”, +136° 54’ 2.72”
Image: Google via Oessa
8. Deer on Water
Two deer walk along Lago di Vernago in Northern Italy, by the Austrian border.
Find it yourself: +46° 44’ 17.74”, +10° 50’ 3.56”
Image: Google via Oessa
9. Dirt Road Through Flowered Fields
This scenic dirt road in Jopera, Estonia is lined by trees and flower-filled fields.
Find it yourself: +58° 16’ 13.27”, +27° 26’ 9.55”
Image: Google via Oessa
10. Dock Over Water
This broken dock was spotted at the Kennedy Town Jockey Club Clinic in
Hong Kong.
Find it yourself: +22° 16’ 48.41”, +114° 7’ 2.36”
Image: Google via Oessa
11. Driving Across the Water
This view from the Bryant Patton Bridge to St. George Island, Fla. feels like you’re driving over the ocean.
Find it yourself: +29° 41’ 18.69”, -84° 53’ 5.69”
Image: Google via Oessa
12. Flower Pots
Sometimes you need to look down to spot the most charming Street Views, like these flower pots in Goldap, Poland.
Find it yourself: +54° 18’ 24.84”, +22° 18’ 13.19”
Image: Google via Oessa
13. Footprints on a Beach
These dainty footprints were captured on Heron Island, near Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
Find it yourself: -23° 26’ 33.89”, +151° 54’ 23.90”
Image: Google via Oessa
14. Top of a Bridge
Google Street View gives you access to some vistas ordinary people never see, like this look from the top of Japan’s Great Seto Bridge.
Find it yourself: +34° 22’ 58.81”, +133° 49’ 8.54”
Image: Google via Oessa
15. Baby Calf Running Through a Field
This baby calf was spotted prancing through a field near Mjolby, Sweden.
Find it yourself: +58° 11’ 57.61”, +15° 26’ 2.80”
Image: Google via Oessa
16. Hidden Train Pass
The leaves change colors next to the Torokko Saga Station in Kyoto, Japan.
Find it yourself: +35° 1’ 7.67”, +135° 40’ 49.48”
Image: Google via Oessa
17. Cottage on a River
This small wood cabin near Tyssedal, Norway has a charming view.
Find it yourself: +60° 8’ 2.25”, +6° 32’ 18.57”
Image: Google via Oessa
18. Inside Gemäldegalerie
You can now visit museums like Berlin’s Gemäldegalerie, with Street View.
Find it yourself: +52° 30’ 31.42”, +13° 21’ 53.61”
Image: Google via Oessa
19. Three Boats
These three boats rest on the banks of the Amazon River near Manaus, Brazil.
Find it yourself: -2.97917°, -60.604366°
Image: Google via Oessa
20. Rocky Island
A rocky mass lies off the coast of the Island of Sado, Japan.
Find it yourself: +38° 19’ 51.87”, +138° 29’ 8.45”
Image: Google via Oessa
21. Mossy Creek
Street View lets you explore this verdant creek near Kikuchi, Japan.
Find it yourself: +33° 0’ 3.27”, +130° 57’ 5.57”
Image: Google via Oessa
22. Roadside Waterfall
This gushing waterfall is in Seydisfjordur, near Fljotsdalsherao, Iceland.
Find it yourself: +65° 14’ 26.45”, -14° 3’ 18.34”
Image: Google via Oessa
23. Japanese Macaques
Japanese Macaques bathe in hot springs at Jigokudani Monkey Park in Nakano, Japan.
Find it yourself: +36° 43’ 57.30”, +138° 27’ 43.49”
Image: Google via Oessa
24. Narrow Water Pass
These cliffs were captured on the island of San Cristabal, one of Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands.
Find it yourself: -0° 46′ 43.10″, -89° 31′ 10.44″
Image: Google via Oessa
25. Ocean Coast
This ocean view was captured at Buddha Point in Holoholokai Beach Park, on the island of Hawaii.
Find it yourself: +19° 55’ 39.63”, -155° 53’ 19.20”
Image: Google via Oessa
26. Snowy Plain
A snowmobile glides across this white landscape near Kebnekaise, Sweden.
Find it yourself: +67° 56’ 55.00”, +18° 4’ 57.73”
Image: Google via Oessa
27. Pine-Lined Road
This picturesque, tree-lined road is near Poprad, Slovakia.
Find it yourself: +49° 6’ 48.61”, +20° 3’ 39.42”
Image: Google via Oessa
28. The Ancient Miharu Takizakura
Miharu Takizakura is a 1,000-year-old weeping higan cherry tree in Miharu, Fukushima, Japan. The wooden supports were added by the local community following heavy snow in 2005.
Find it yourself: +37° 24’ 27.89”, +140° 30’ 0.58”
Image: Google via Oessa
29. Railroad Along a River
Japan’s Torokko Saga train station is set along a stunning river.
Find it yourself: +35° 1’ 7.58”, +135° 40’ 48.16”
Image: Google via Oessa
30. Sunset Over a River
Few views are as surreal as watching the sun set over water, as seen here in Loviste, Croatia.
Find it yourself: +43° 1’ 34.66”, +17° 1’ 56.55”
Image: Google via Oessa
31. Lake With Mountains
The mountains of Nesheim Camping & Hytter, located north of Bergen, Norway, reflect almost perfectly in the water.
Find it yourself: +61° 4’ 5.88”, +5° 48’ 10.90”
Image: Google via Oessa
32. Snow-Covered Road
A snow-covered road in Tolga, Norway.
Find it yourself: +62° 20’ 3.23”, +11° 14’ 51.75”
Image: Google via Oessa
33. School of Fish
A school of fish swim near Heron Island in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
Find it yourself: 23° 26’ 34.35”, +151° 54’ 23.71”
Image: Google via Oessa
34. Valley Filled With Clouds
A river runs through this valley in Buttermere, England.
Find it yourself: +54° 30’ 56.92”, -3° 12’ 23.31”
Image: Google via Oessa
