Trover: Find & Share Life’s Hidden Gems with Friends and the People Around You.

One photo says so much.

It tells us about its subject, of course, whatever it is — and its creator. Why you? Why this thing? Why this way of seeing? But a photo also tells a story about the place it was taken. The mood of the street. The spirit of the neighborhood. The grandeur of even the smallest local landmark that takes on and reflects the love or curiosity of the people who know it. Then other questions come. What’s this place like? How do I find it? What else is around? How do other people see the same landmark differently?

At Trover, we’re seeing people in neighborhoods around the world tell those stories in a richer way.

“I’m seeing beautiful photos, and I’m also learning what about that place was memorable enough to share,” Rachel told us. ”It gives insight into the place, and the photographer.

Case in point: Ryan Coleman. This “Darkroom Series” photographer’s discoveries tell a story about his photographic style as well as the places he visits. A fan of long structures and airy design, he’ll occasionally recommend the occasional intimate setting, like this Seattle concert hall. But he’ll travel farthest, he’s told us, to explore and capture the haunt of abandoned places. “Lowell-Larimer Road is such a great place for old farm houses,” he posted along with a black and white photo of one such building in Snohomish, Washington.

His discoveries aren’t what you’d find in a sightseer’s guide, but because Trover pins discoveries to specific points on satellite maps, they’re easy for others to find. (Search the tag #abandoned on Trover to see some of his and other trovers’ discoveries of abandoned places around the country.)

What happens when discoveries are pinned to a place, as well as being shared to a network? You help fellow explorers on their own adventures — and make new connections along the way.

On his way down the Pacific Coast to his new home in Los Angeles, photographer Tony Butler checked Trover to browse the hidden gems others had found around the Mojave Desert. “One [discovery] in particular by Paul Cloutier about the Ludlow Café along a stretch of old Route 66 prompted an immediate route change so we could check it out,” Tony wrote. “My ambition to explore the desert on that trip increased tenfold because of Trover and the things I found.”

With 100,000 people viewing and sharing discoveries from Seattle to Thailand to Sendocho, Japan, the Trover community is creating a shared story not just about each person’s own favorite discoveries, places and perspectives, but our own shared world.

Join them. They’ll be glad you did.

By: Trover Guide

Check out Trover at www.trover.com