The camera on Mill Avenue in Tempe is called Sneaky Peak. The name comes from it's basic job of taking daily photos of Tempe Butte where the landmark "A" is located. Of course the "A" is for Arizona State University. This larger than life "A" used to be much smaller, but over the years there have been hundreds of coats of paint placed on it...depicting everything from rival colors of schools just before a football game to stripes and polka-dots as pranks by the students. It's normal color is gold - but it's always looked yellow to me.

The camera also looks up and down Mill Avenue to catch our citizens at work and play. There are all kinds of activities that happen year round on Mill, and this should allow people from all over the world to come visit...and see the activity.

From the beginning of the project we wanted a camera that took pictures from several angles.

The camera is mounted 2 stories up, giving it a great view in many angles, yet allowing for the privacy of the citizens. From two floors up you can see people, we keep the shots zoomed out enough that you would be hard pressed to actually identify anyone. We are as concerned about the privacy of our citizens as they are.

Sneaky Peak is a  live video camera mounted in a weather proof dome. (and yes, there is a solid state air conditioner to help on those rare 122 degree days we have). It is on a mount that can turn almost 360 degrees horizontally and over 180 degrees vertically. It is controlled by an internal web server. From the server we can see full motion video so it's easy to point, zoom, and focus the camera.

If you are planning to publish photos on the net, you're in luck. It's easier than ever to do.  It was exciting seeing the pages come up for the first time. And the comments we have gotten from all over the world are fantastic! Many just come to see what a street looks like in the winter, because theirs are under several feet of ice and snow. Would we do it again? You bet, we have been steadily adding to the number of live cameras on our site.  It's great PR!

Have a great day. And if you have any additional questions or suggestions please contact the Webmaster using the email link below.

Oh...one last thing....the next time you're strolling down Mill...look up...smile...and wave!!