Jacqui Kenny is a travel photographer who travels without leaving her home. In fact, she has Agoraphobia – a type of anxiety disorder in which you fear and avoid places or situations that might cause you to panic and make you feel trapped, helpless or embarrassed. You fear an actual or anticipated situation, such as using public transportation, being in open or enclosed spaces, standing in line, or being in a crowd.
I’m sure you have lots of questions at this point, but before I reveal her secret, take a look at her photos and tell me she isn’t a professional photographer:
Naryn, Kyrgyzstan
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Iqaluit, Canada
Coahuila, Mexico
Her photos are just amazing. I mean the places that she features? They aren’t places that typical travellers go to. So, how does she do it? Simple, Google Street View. Because of her condition, sometimes even leaving her home in UK is difficult. But, through Google Street View, she found endless possibilities of travelling the world through Google’s lenses, to places that you and I can only dream of.
I found remote towns and dusty landscapes, vibrant architectural gems, and anonymous people, all frozen in time. I was intrigued by the strange and expansive parallel universe of Street View, and took screen shots to capture and preserve its hidden, magical realms.
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Somedays she works for up to 18 hours, travelling around the world in search for miners on the job in Chile, horses alongside power plants in Ulaanbaatar, a football game in Peru and many other creative and interesting scenes to screenshot. Her unique Street View Photography has captured the attention of many at 71.4k followers on Instagram and also, given her the opportunity (or trouble) of travelling forreals to hold a photography exhibition in New York.
If you’re wondering, “is this legal? I mean technically the images aren’t hers.” Not to fret, Google has given her permission to sell a series of limited edition prints with proceeds going towards charity. With the help of Stories for Good, £10 from each print will be going towards the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation, a global nonprofit organization focused on improving the understanding, prevention and treatment of mental illnesses. It’s all for a good cause.
Much respect to her for not allowing her own limitations to restrict her from seeing the world, even if it’s through another’s lens. And for showing us the beauty of Street View Photography.
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