ePlaya

When Google was in the satellite business, it seemed images were often released. That ended, and images became expensive with fewer suppliers and extra costs to release them for general use. There have been some stitched photos taken by Black Rock City Airport fliers. Maybe the BORG buys them without general release rights to make sure camps used their space, count cars, trucks, and vehicles, or who knows what. With more satellites aloft, some with 1 meter resolution, images are easier to get and sharper.

According to the article, now anyone can buy a 4km x 4km satellite photo for a reasonable fee with completely open usage rights. The 5 point trash fence can fit in that.

So after the 2022 burn, someone should buy one and release it. No SRP required

Synthetic-aperture radar is making the Earth’s surface watchable 24/7
Cloud cover and the dark of the Moon matter no more

https://www.economist.com/technology-qu ... hable-24/7

If I remember correctly, the early satellite images that got posted online had nothing to do with Google. As luck had it, one of the people who worked at one of the early satellite companies happened to be a burner, and had the good fortune of being able to schedule a pass over the playa during event week (since their satellite time was not typically booked solid). Then I believe that company (name escapes me) was acquired by another, then both swallowed up by something called GeoEye (that name stuck in my head as being silly). If I remember correctly the new corporate overlords got much better at booking schedules (and in 2008 or 9 Google got exclusive rights on all their satellite imagrey) which caused for some disruptions, then they merged into Digital Globe who I think got all commercial-jerky.

Either way, Burning Man is not buying satellite imagery without release rights that I'm aware of. The last few burns have benefited from the GigaPan project, led by Jamen Percy (who I believe is a part of the Burning Man Doc Team. People interested in helping may want to look up Jamen or the Burning Man doc team to see if there's a volunteer opportunity on or off playa, no need to chip in that I'm aware of.

I used to ride out to the trash fence when the fly over was scheduled, sit and drink a beer, hoping to see a blur along the fence line in the satellite photo, that's me! Then higher resolution, bigger camp, I started painting slogans on the shade tarps, but the source and resolution became questionable. Here's what we got now (2019). You can almost make out the words spray painted on the tarp

http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/218597