(un)photographed Spain
When posting photos online, users of the photo sharing platform Flickr transmit to the world their perspective of a place or event through the lens of a digital camera. Each digital photo file codes both the time when that photo was taken and the location it captures. Analyzing this information allows us to follow the trail that each Flickr photographer travels through Spain. (Un)photographed Spain maps thousands of these public, digital footprints over one year. As photos overlap in certain locations, they expose the places that attract the photographer's gaze . In contrast, the absence of images in other locations reveal the unphotographed spaces of a more introverted Spain.

< Density and flows of photographers
In 2007, the Iberian Penninsula clearly splits between Portugal and Spain with Barcelona constantly acting as main hub connecting people to Madrid, the Balearic Islands, Andalucia and the Cantabrian Sea in the North.
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spaces of diversity
About 60% of Flickr users disclose information on their home country. Analysis of the time and location data embedded in their digital photo files allows us to examine the Flickr photographers' geographic presence and trails over time, and to differentiate locals from visitors. Based on this information, spaces of diversity maps the contrast between where locals capture images and where visitor communities such as Britons experience of Spain. The yellow lines reveal the most common paths photographers follow as they capture images in different places.

< Britons weaving their path in Barcelona
Britons who visited Barcelona in Fall 2007 stayed on the beaten paths delimited by the city's main elements such as Parc Guel and Sagrada Familiar with Passeig de Gracia and Rambla acting as artery. The photos also confirms their pleasure for football (Camp Nou) parties (Forum) and the mediteranean sea (Barceloneta).
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Spain: where are the Britons? / where are the locals?

spaces of activity
Photographers often attach descriptions and tags when posting their photos on Flickr. The data mining of these tags allows us to infer the kinds of activities that these photos capture. Spaces of activity reveals the regions and cities that host memorable parties in Spain over the course of a year. It also shows the places that attract more quiet experiences through art. The size of the glow on the map corresponds to the density of each type of activity. A greater glow implies a greater density of photographic activity.

< Partying in Barcelona
This animation of the photos with tags related to "partying" in Summer 2007 shows that Barcelona confines its fun to the old town (Ciutat Vella) known for its high density of tourists, the bohemian distric of Gracia and the Forum area and its music festivals.
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where are the parties and Britons? / where is the art?
Spain: where is the color green?