/ 360 photography
unlike panoramas, these are a series of pictures taken not only horizontally but vertically. And when these images are stitched, creates a sphere snapshop of the environment you were present in.
/The Sphere
One of my hobbies is to take photographs. With the advent of smart phones, my interest evolved into the realms of experimental photography. 360 images immerse you unlike traditional photographs in that you are at a point of view central to a spherically assembled set of images. These photographs can only be truly experienced using the software's respective gallery viewer and these panoramas can now be viewed using Virtual Reality Headsets. The images displayed show the diagram explaining the photography technique and the flattened image for normal 2d view, respectively.
The diagram to the right explains how the 360 photography is taken. The user is actually in the middle of a sphere whilst taking pictures in every direction whilst staying in pivot. When stitched, the images form a sphere of the environment the photographer was present in.
For normal viewing, the merged images flattens to create a singular vermiculated image. Below is one such image, taken at Belle Mare, Mauritius.
The equirectangular image to the left can be used with a VR headset to fully immerse the viewer in the photograph.
A 360 software had to be used together with the device or smart phone to enable viewing in spherical format.
/Interactive Image
The image below has been embedded to give an idea of the 360 photography. Use your mouse to interact with the image, as follows:
-
Click & Drag the right mouse button horizontally and vertically to move around the image
-
Use the scroll wheel to zoom in and out.