Bizarre roadside views from Google Street View (pictures)
Google Street View cameras roving the roads of the world capture unusual images, from people in masks to unlikely outhouses. Artist Jon Rafman collects some of the craziest around.
Monkey business
The Jigokudani Monkey Park in Nagano Prefecture, Japan, is a 20-minute walk from the nearest road, but Google Street View visited the site for its famous Japanese macaques. The monkeys bathe in the outdoor hot springs and tolerate visitors getting up close. The snow monkeys, as they're known, are the northernmost non-human primate group in the world.
Masked men
Whoa there
Shopping?
Sea to sky
Awa street dance
Where there's smoke
Paved with good intentions
Thumbs down
ATV riders
Colorado tiger
Northern lights
Take five
Rue des Poissoniers
Gucci baby
While Google Street View cameras capture all without comment, "The human gaze sees meaning, sees poetry in the images, sees beauty, and is forced to take a moral stance when they see a person dying on the side of the road or a prostitute working on the streets in the outskirts of Madrid," says artist Jon Rafman.