Google maps are NOT just photos from high up. There are differences between air photos and satellite images. The "street views" may be photographic. For one thing a camera, even if digital, still collects the image through a lens. Satellites use large sensors that measure direct reflective energy. The farther "up" the more atmospheric distortion but you do not have lens distortion. The 3D images are made with two parallel passes to get the stereo effect. There is an incredible amount of image processing, complex map projection algorithms and tedious "ground truth" collected to get to an accurate end product. Google maps and Google Earth are not accurate end products that can be used for detailed navigation. They are nice 3-D pictures that are fun to view.