The New York Police Department has been using 360 panoramic photographs to document crime scenes for the past two years. The benefit of photographing a scene in this manner is that you can see all of the elements in their exact location, as well as their relation to each other. Traditional methods usually involve photographing specific pieces of evidence in which case it’s possible for items to be overlooked.
We`re not able to post every story on our website, so every Sunday, we will list some interesting photography related links.
What you might have missed this week:
New at HolgaDirect is the Holga 120 Panoramic camera. It features a true 90 mm lens, a panoramic viewfinder, and a level to make sure your photographs are completely flat. It only costs $89, but there are limited quantities. Currently you are only able to use 120 film, but they have promised to make a 35mm adapter.
Terrorists beware: the Statue of Liberty now has her own panoramic camera. Is the water in New York always that brown colour? You can look through her camera, and many more live webcams by going to EarthCam.com.
Here’s a novel idea: a panoramic camera ball that you throw up into the air. At the peak of flight it snaps photographs using 36 cell phone cameras. I like the idea of the high perspective, as well as the fact each result will be a bit of a surprise since you can’t look through a traditional viewfinder.
Apparently photographers have been taking panoramic photographs for decades. This 360 degree panoramic image was put together using a series of photographs taken in 1945; 6 months after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Click on the image below to view the panoramic.
BubbleScope is a smartphone attachment that allows you to take 360 degree photographs and videos. They claim to be different than other 360 solutions in that the panoramas are captured instantly, as opposed to being a series of images stitched together. The accessory is transferable between devices and is accompanied by the BubblePix App. They are currently seeking funding on CrowdFunder. Assuming they hit their target, if you pledge £50 or more, you will essentially be pre-ordering a BubbleScope.
You may recall the GoPano 360 degree iPhone lens. Well, there is now another Kickstarter campaign for a similar product; the Dot 360 degree video capture. Pledge $98 or more, and you’ll be one of the first people to get their hands on one. There still must be lots of demand for this type of project considering they have already surpassed their funding goal with 40 days remaining.
From the same photographer who shot the 40 Gigapixel image of Strahov Library comes a panoramic photo from the FA Cup match between Man City and Stoke City. The 10 Gigapixel image is comprised of more than 1000 photographs. If you were at the match, head on over to Wembley 360 website to tag yourself or friends within the photograph.
BBC has released a 1.15 gigapixel photograph taken during the Royal Wedding. The image is 81,471 pixels by 14,154 pixels and is made up from 189 photographs. We’d love to know if anyone has found themselves in the crowd.
While we have been trying not to embellish too many stories about the disaster in Japan, here’s one we couldn’t pass up. At 360 cities, they now have panoramic photographs of Rikuzen Takada, Iwate Prefecture which show the current state of affairs. It’s hard to believe anybody could survive such carnage, and just as heartbreaking to think about how much work will be involved to clean up, and rebuild this town.
I am continually surprised by the ingenuity of photography related devices that keep appearing on crowdfunding sites. Introducing the GOPANO micro, a 360 degree lens for the iPhone 4. It records panoramic video, which can be played back while you use the iPhone interface to choose which direction to view. Watch the video of the GoPano in action by following the link below.
