Duane Wilkins has literally put Lower Hutt on the map. It's second in the world, behind Silicon Valley, for most hits on Google Street View.

Duane Wilkins has, quite literally, put Lower Hutt on the world map.

The self-described "geography nut, geo-geek, cyclist and photographer" has contributed 750,000 images of his home town to Google Street View over the past 12 months, elevating it to the status of the second-most photographed location in the world on the online mapping tool.

The only place on earth with more panoramic views of its streets on offer for users is the Silicon Valley area of San Francisco in the United States, where Google is based.

ROBERT KITCHIN/STUFF Duane Wilkins has lost 20 kilograms cycling around Lower Hutt taking pictures.

So prolific has Wilkins been on Street View that Google will this week make a documentary on the 45-year-old in recognition of his contribution to world mapping.

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For much of the past year, he has spent every available spare minute on his bike collecting images of Lower Hutt streets, parks and the route into Wellington.

ROBERT KITCHIN/STUFF Duane Wilkins used a camera helmet, his cellphone and his e-bike to travel around Lower Hutt, uploading 750,000 images of the city to Google Street View.

He has cycled more than 6000km and downloaded 15 terrabytes of pictures, which have been viewed nine million times. But what is really impressive is that he updates his images every four weeks.

It has all been done in his spare time and he never gets bored.

"I just vary the route on my bike. This morning I did the Avalon TV Studios because I had not been there for a while."

DUANE WILKINS

Petone Beach is his most popular location with more than 100,000 hits on Street View.

It is an achievement that would make most people tired just thinking about it, but there is another aspect to his achievement that makes it even more noteworthy.

Wilkins previously worked in Iraq and Afghanistan teaching engineers how to use mapping technology. During his time there he was shot in the back, hit in the face by shrapnel, and was in an armoured vehicle that was bombed.

ROBERT KITCHIN/STUFF Duane Wilkins used a camera helmet and his cellphone to upload 750,000 images of Lower Hutt on to Google Street View.

Injuries suffered in the bombing make it hard for him to walk long distances, so he relies on his e-bike to get around town to collect his images.

"I got a compression injury in my back, I still notice it when I stand up."

Wilkins' interest in Street View was sparked when he purchased a house in the suburb of Taita.

GOOGLE EARTH

While checking out the neighbourhood on the online tool, he noticed the lower socio-economic suburbs of Lower Hutt had not been mapped, so he set about changing that.

Being a keen cyclist, Wilkins' main motivation was highlighting how bad he believes the local roads are for cyclists, particularly State Highway 2 between Lower Hutt and Wellington.

He holds strong views on the need for better cycling infrastructure and hopes his images with remind local authorities that they need to do more.

NICHOLAS BOYACK/STUFF Lower Hutt is now second only to Silicon Valley in the USA as the most photographed location on Google Street View thanks to Duane Wilkins.

His pictures are particularly valuable for engineers who need to make decisions on cycleways.

"An engineer can use them, rather than go out in a car and have a look."

Constantly cycling around Lower Hutt collecting the images also had a plesant side-effect, he said.

ROBERT KITCHIN/STUFF Google plans to make a documentary on Duane Wilkins and his contribution to world mapping.

"I have lost 20 kilos over the last year."

Google Street View is technology featured in Google Maps that provides panoramic views along many streets all over the world.