This Surveillance Artist Knows How You Got That Perfect Instagram Photo
‘Live From NYC’s Times Square!’
Mr. Depoorter, who is based in Ghent, Belgium, came up with the idea for “The Follower” just over a month ago, while researching privately installed cameras in public places that he might use for a different art project. While watching a live online feed from Times Square, he saw a woman taking pictures of herself for “a long time.” Thinking she might be an influencer, he tried to find the product of her extended shoot among Instagram photos recently geo-tagged to Times Square.
He came up empty but that got him thinking.
The 24/7 broadcast that Mr. Depoorter watched — titled “Live From NYC’s Times Square!” — was provided by EarthCam, a New Jersey company that specializes in real-time camera feeds. EarthCam built its network of livestreaming webcams “to transport people to interesting and unique locations around the world that may be difficult or impossible to experience in person,” according to its website. Founded in 1996, EarthCam monetizes the cameras through advertising and licensing of the footage.
Mr. Depoorter realized that he could come up with an automated way to combine these publicly available cameras with the photos that people had posted on Instagram. So, over a two-week period, he collected EarthCam footage broadcast online from Times Square in New York, Wrigley Field in Chicago and the Temple Bar in Dublin.
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/24/technology/surveillance-footage-instagram.html