Comments on: Big Eye in the Sky

Big Eye in the Sky

panoptican — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 00:46:20 -0800

Big Eye in the Sky. A collection of absolutely incredible 360 degree panoramas by St. Paul photographer Ed Fink of the Twin Cities, Mt. Rushmore, the Post-Katrina Gulf Coast and more. He claims to be the first photographer in the world to do full spherical (180 x 360) panoramas from a helicopter. The effect is truly spectacular. Those with vertigo beware.

By: panoptican

panoptican — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 00:47:06 -0800

Via MNSpeak.com.

By: panoptican

panoptican — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 00:49:42 -0800

Note: give the panoramas time to load... they are big. Also, some of them have audio. To navigate within the panoramas, click on the red helicopters.

By: tellurian

tellurian — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 01:11:41 -0800

I love these things, thanks panoptican. Bookmarked for when I'm on a decent speed modem and can get at the fullscreens (the little java's gave me a taste though).

By: neckro23

neckro23 — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 01:58:07 -0800

"Hey! I can see my house from here!"

By: clgregor

clgregor — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 02:18:57 -0800

These are great. I find it amazing how the whole QTVR thing works - in the newest photos there's no sign of anything keeping the camera up in the sky - how do they do it!?

By: clgregor

clgregor — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 02:20:23 -0800

Also it is nie to see some cool pictures of my hometown. Thanks panoptican. It wooud be really cool to see some of those done any at night.

By: HuronBob

HuronBob — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 02:28:05 -0800

cigregor... he explains somewhere that he just edits the copter out of the image.. each panorama is multiple shots stitched together. Thanks for the link....panoptican (how fitting is that given the content of the link...)

By: chrismear

chrismear — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 03:04:57 -0800

Great find, panoptican. I'm guessing he leans out of one side of the copter, takes pictures of half of the field of view, then leans out of the other side and does the same. That way there's minimal helicopter-removerage to do.

By: uncle harold

uncle harold — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 03:23:03 -0800

... or he could lean out of only one side - and let the helicopter do the turning.

By: dsword

dsword — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 03:34:39 -0800

"Hey! I can see my house from here!" Heh. I'm somewhere between here and here. But the Tate Lab, where my office is located, is clear as day. Nifty.

By: dsword

dsword — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 03:40:01 -0800

...and my mother's old house in NOLA. Ok, I'm sad now. Was happy... now sad.

By: srboisvert

srboisvert — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 04:16:14 -0800

Wow. I wish there was someway to toggle giant labels in the sky in real life. That could be handy.

By: dsword

dsword — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 04:24:04 -0800

Like this, only more like HUD glasses for tourists?

By: maxsparber

maxsparber — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 04:37:07 -0800

I see my apartment, my mother's townhouse, my father's and brother's apartment in the Towers, all in downtown Minneapolis, and my old apartment in New Orleans in these pictures. So that explains the helicopted that is constantly follwing me around.

By: slimepuppy

slimepuppy — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 05:00:34 -0800

Amazing stuff. Now to incorporate this into google map/earth... On a related note, these 3D images/QT VR files are getting more and more popular it seems: a sushi restaurant I went to recently has a 3D image of their restaurant on the website...

By: meh

meh — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 09:44:44 -0800

The Katrina pictures were amazing. I grew up in Biloxi. I looked for my childhood home. It seems to be missing. In fact, all of Pine Street seems to be missing.

By: jjg

jjg — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 11:02:28 -0800

full spherical (180 x 360) panoramas Wouldn't 180 x 360 be hemispherical, not spherical?

By: dsword

dsword — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 14:37:20 -0800

Not sure about panoramic photo lingo, but I would guess that means 180 degrees of azimuthal angle, 360 degrees of polar angle. That's the whole sphere.

By: Today

Today — Sun, 11 Dec 2005 13:43:06 -0800

Thanks for the link...through it I ended up at the Washington Post site where there were some really helpful Katrina videos and pics. It's strange being so far away from home for so long. It helps to see visual information. The videos on the Post site really made me miss my fellow citizens from NOLA...their tenacity, and their accents..:^)