Bellingcat Challenge #12 "What a Dump!" Writeup

This article was automatically translated from Japanese by AI.

Challenge

Sometimes the most interesting things are found in the most unexpected places…

… but sometimes those places are full of trash.

This dumpster is in an alley somewhere, but where?

Where was the photographer standing when they took this photo? Use latitude and longitude in decimal format with three decimals (12.345, -67.890).

Solution

The shape of the dumpster and a notice marked WA indicated that the photo was taken in the U.S. The howard u graffiti also suggested an area near Howard University in Washington, D.C.

I used the alley scenery and Washington D.C. in a Google Image Search and found a photo on Instagram. Inspecting the alleys around Union Market revealed the Goof Troop graffiti.

I then confirmed distinctive buildings and other features from the challenge image in historical Google Street View imagery from Aug 2018. After adjusting the photographer’s position through several incorrect attempts, I identified the coordinates as 38.910, -76.998.

Flag

38.910, -76.998