More than 900 cameras monitor traffic in New York. Thanks to Morry Kolman, those same cameras can be used for selfies.

A resident of Bedford-Stuyvesant, artist Kolman was inspired while taking a class. With an assignment of taking pictures without being the photographer, Kolman had an idea to take selfies with traffic cameras. Then he expanded the idea to allow others to do the same.

To get a traffic camera selfie, users go to TrafficCamPhotoBooth.com to select a camera and snap a picture in either photo strip or Polaroid format. Free to use, his website has already had more than 10,000 pictures taken. His ever-expanding site also has helpful hints, such as holding your pose for a couple seconds and wearing bright clothing. The site also has some editing functions.

ID 280050526 © Angela Feltes | Dreamstime.com

New York’s traffic cameras are not live feeds but rather live images updated every two seconds. This allows selfies to be taken through his website. It’s also completely public without copyright worries. Kolman told me, “I don’t believe I need any permission as all of the information and feeds I am using are publicly available, and nobody from any government of any location I operate in has reached out to tell me to stop.” He also has joked since his tax dollars pay for the cameras, he should have access to the pictures.

While this would seem to have money-making potential, Kolman sees it staying free to consumers and free of advertising. He is also working on expansion to other cities. He revealed to me he has already expanded to Georgia, Minnesota and Maryland.

— John Wroblewski, online writer