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Vernon photographer's Google Maps photos seen almost 44 million times

Former Google Trusted Photographer Sean Phillips now builds free online tools for Okanagan residents

VERNON, B.C., Oct. 27, 2026 — Photos of B.C. resorts, attractions and local businesses taken by Vernon's Sean Phillips have been viewed 43,995,344 times on Google Maps, according to Google's own counters.

Phillips spent eight years as a Google Trusted Photographer (Street View), photographing hundreds of B.C. resorts, attractions and businesses and creating Street View virtual tours that let people step inside them online. As of Oct. 25, 2026, Google Maps counts 7,738 of his photos across three contributor profiles.

One photo alone, of Swan Lake Motors in Vernon, has passed 1.4 million views, according to a milestone notice Google sent in September. The photo is dated Sept. 3, 2017, and Swan Lake Motors was one of the first places Phillips photographed in the Okanagan. Another, of JC Bradley Jewellers, has passed 100,000 views and was still drawing more than 1,000 views a week in September.

"I never set out to rack up views. I just wanted people to see how good these places looked before they got here. Every one of those views is someone checking out a local business or planning a visit to the Okanagan," said Phillips.

Phillips also filmed for chambers of commerce and city tourism departments, building virtual city galleries where the public could browse a city's businesses, attractions and services by category. Projects included Virtual Vancouver, Virtual Vegas and Virtual White Rock, along with Virtual Big White, a walking virtual tour of every store and attraction at Big White Ski Resort. His work included every property marketed and rented through Big White Central Reservations' owner relations group, and many properties at SilverStar Mountain Resort.

Today, Phillips is a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Executives Realty in Vernon. A programmer by background, he has put his mapping know-how into free online tools for the community, including a hill-aware walking and e-biking rating for homes and a tool that shows the listing details for a for-sale sign you're parked beside.

"Choosing where to live is about a lot more than the house. The tools are free for everyone, whether you're buying or not," he said.

Photos, a fact sheet and Google's milestone notices are available at vernonhomevalues.ca/media/google-maps-photographer. Photos may be used for news coverage of this story with credit: Photo: Sean Phillips, realestatevernon.ca. No embargo.

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Media contact
Sean Phillips, Okanagan Lifestyle Real Estate Agent
Coldwell Banker Executives Realty
Unit 101, 2907 32 Street, Vernon, B.C. V1T 5M2
Call or text: 236-599-5898
Email: chaletsean@gmail.com
Book an interview: calendly.com/chaletsean