Google Earth’s Photorealistic Touches


Google Earth has had 3D building views for a while, but I didn’t realise how good the quality of the newer photorealistic buildings were until I decided to recreate one of my favourite skyline shots using Google Earth. At the thumbnail level, it’s hard to tell which is which. Gobsmackingly impressive stuff.

San Francisco Skyline (Real) San Francisco Skyline (Google Earth)
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One response to “Google Earth’s Photorealistic Touches”

  1. Wow, that’s quite impressive. Great idea! Two small tips to make it even more precise:

    1 – Turn on the clouds. They almost certainly won’t match up, but it’ll give it a bit more of a real feel (layers –> weather –> clouds).
    2 – Move the viewpoint down a bit. You’re floating a bit higher in the air in Google Earth than the photo was taken, which slightly mis-aligns the buildins and has the water in the background quite a bit different.

    Anyhow, very cool!