A photographer who displayed Google Streetview images of prostitutes in his gallery has been nominated to win a £30,000 art prize.
Mishka Henner, 36, searched lurid internet forums to find out where sex workers can be found and then looked up their locations using Google's street cameras.
His collection of screenshots has now earned him one of four nominations for the prestigious Deutsche Börse photography award.
Mishka Henner researched internet forums to find out where sex workers could be find in remote locations
Using the locations mentioned by men on forums, Mishka Henner used Google Street View to track them down
In February, MailOnline reported how web users have posted more than 5,000 pictures of prostitutes caught plying their trade on Google Streetview on the website doxyspotting.com
But Mr Henner, from Manchester, has rejected claims that his work is not art because he has merely found the pictures on Google.
He told the Radio 4 show Front Row that he is 'taking pictures' in the same way as an ordinary photographer.
'This record didn't exist until I put it together so I would dispute that they are not my photographs,' he said.
'I think the verb taking pictures is an interesting one - If I am walking around with a camera I am taking pictures. If I am looking at images I am taking pictures.
'If I am a photographer walking in the street I am taking pictures of what is in front of me.'
Defiant: Photographer Mishka Henner insists his Google Street View images are 'artwork'
The images were printed in a book in 2011 and Mr Henner has since found several more of them.
'I came across various communities of people who are looking for them and sharing information about where they might find them,' he said.
'I'd take that information and use Google Streetview and I would come across some quite interesting scenes.'
In the pictures the women can be seen wearing short skirts and standing around on their own in remote locations.
The Deutsche Börse prize was set up by The Photographer's Gallery in London back in 1996 as a way to promote contemporary photography.
The prize has been sponsored by the Deutsche Börse group for the last eight years and it is regarded as one of the most prestigious awards in the photography world.
Many of the prostitutes were found pictured in remote roadside locations
Mishka Henner has defended himself against accusations that the pictures do not constitute 'artwork'