How to Find Ground Photos with Google Maps: Iran’s Plane Graveyard Case Study - Let’s Geolocate #7

Video Description

This open-source investigation tutorial shows you how to find user-uploaded ground-level photos and videos using Google Maps imagery and social media platforms, then tie them back to a satellite view of Tehran’s busy plane graveyard. Starting from a high-resolution satellite image of dozens of aircraft packed close together at Tehran Airport, we’ll find on-the-ground pictures of each plane, look up their registrations, and uncover their status. See the source satellite image here: https://www.reddit.com/r/GoogleEarthFinds/comments/1k33s6p/anyone_have_any_details_on_this_jumble_of/ • Image reverse searching (00:54) • Finding historical satellite imagery (02:07) • Using Google Maps’ user photos layer (03:13) • Finding user albums on Google Photos (05:19) • Analysing a photo for details such as plane registration (08:40) • Extracting tail numbers from photos (09:10) • Looking up registrations in public aircraft databases (09:54) • Geolocating photos of planes (12:03) • geocode searches for photos and videos on Twitter/X (14:44) • Searching for details with crowdsourced mapping & wikimapia (15:43) • geo searching for YouTube videos on a map (16:26) Whether you’re an OSINT hobbyist, a digital investigator, or simply curious about geolocation techniques, this tutorial will hopefully inspire you to think about finding and cross-referencing ground photos and videos with satellite imagery. Tools featured in this tutorial: • Google Maps (user photos & Street View) • Google Earth (satellite imagery and historical imagery) • Reverse Image Search (Google Lens) • Social Media Platforms (Twitter/X, YouTube) • Mapping platforms (WikiMapia) • Public Aircraft Registries (ICAO, FlightRadar24) Want more OSINT walkthroughs? Check out these playlists and tutorials: OSINT At Home (general open source investigation techniques) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrFPX1Vfqk3ehZKSFeb9pVIHqxqrNW8Sy OSINT At Home #18 – How to track and find planes and flights https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eJk0zij1iM&t OSINT At Home #16 – My top five tools in Google Earth Pro https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56glq2gCxMQ How To Geolocate War Footage: A Libya Case Study - Let's Geolocate #6 https://youtu.be/KQLw-m2VXYw?si=sTO_rGrgGAVFhkPU This video is part of the “Let’s Geolocate” series—each episode pairs theory with hands-on practice. Follow along, try out the resources, and try analysing these aircraft yourself.