CityGrams - Google Maps and Instagram mashup

One of my hobbies is photography. I like it very much, as it allows me to freeze a moment in time. It helps me revive memories of my travels. Besides the more traditional photography, I like to do just "snaps". A few years ago, when I got my old Galaxy S phone I found an application named Retro Camera which simulates old classics like Lomo, Holga, Polaroid, Diana, etc. Nowadays the most popular app is, without a doubt, the Instagram, with million of users around the world.

You can see some of my shots here, or maybe follow me. :)
http://instagram.com/halufa#

Some of my insta-shots

I needed to check some of the possibilities of the google maps API. Coding and testing without a real purpose is boring, so I came up with the idea of showing instagram photos placed on the map, as soon as they are uploaded.

My approach was really simple: I thought it would be more common for people to georeference photos when in cities, because of the number of users and the better 3G signal. I guess I was right! In cities like London, Paris or New York several dozens of pictures are uploaded each minute.

The little app has an input box to allow the user to search for the city he wants and it asks instagram to give the photos from the last 30 seconds, refreshing with the same interval. I added a rollover event handler to bring the focus picture to the front and a click handler to display the original size.

I think the ending result was interesting and allowed me to confirm the awesomeness of google maps API.

If you don't see  photos for the place you have chosen, wait a bit or try a new location.

You can see the app working, here:
http://citygrams.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/CityGrams.html

You can grab the code, and change it as you want, here:
http://code.google.com/p/citygrams/

If you like the idea, please give me some feedback.