Mountaintop 360 panoramas

[tie]

What's the best way to put someone there, on top of a mountain?

A single photo doesn't convey the vista's grandeur. A panorama can show the skyline, but loses the three-dimensionality and the elevation---you can't look down!

Spherical panoramas go all the way around as well as down and up. By hanging a weighted string, so the camera lens doesn't move, these can be shot without a tripod. Here's an example from Mt Whitney:

Mt Whitney


There is a lot of ground, and little sense of height. It's hard to take these near a cliff edge since you have to walk around the camera.

This summer, I've started experimenting with spherical panoramas taken from higher up. I feel like you get a real feel for the elevation---and in all directions, not just down one cliff. Click on the interactive view, and look down!

(Photos removed.)

I've just started making them, so the skies aren't very good, sorry. I'll work on it. Other problems: If there's much wind, I can't take the shots. They also aren't allowed in SEKI or Yosemite. There are still lots of mountains!

[The Other Tom]

Wow! Very nice.
Any reason they aren't allowed in SEKI or Yosemite ? Are you using a drone ?

[tie]

That's right, it fits in my running pack. Thanks!

[tie]

Here are a couple more for the series:

(Removed.)

[tie]

(Removed.)

[wildhiker]

The panoramas are amazing, but I must point out that drones are illegal in all official Wilderness areas, not just national parks. That includes almost all the high sierra. Section 4(c) of the Wilderness Act states:

"(c) Except as specifically provided for in this Act, and subject to existing private rights, there shall be no commercial enterprise and no permanent road within any wilderness area designated by this Act and except as necessary to meet minimum requirements for the administration of the area for the purpose of this Act (including measures required in emergencies involving the health and safety of persons within the area), there shall be no temporary road, no use of motor vehicles, motorized equipment or motorboats, no landing of aircraft, no other form of mechanical transport, and no structure or installation within any such area."

The drone is "motorized equipment" and thus prohibited, except if absolutely necessary for administration or rescues. Also, there is "no landing of aircraft", so if you send it up, you can't legally get it back :-).

I'm sure that your single drone didn't bother anyone. But seeing drones everywhere would be a major intrusion on the wilderness. The Wilderness Act has strict prohibitions precisely because an action in isolation may be insignificant, but multiplied over and over it becomes destructive.

-Phil

[Harlen]

I must say, I am amazed by these images; they are some of the finest, most interesting photos I've ever seen- something really different and creative. However, I concur with everything Phil has said. Perhaps some day there will be a new technology, less invasive than a drone. Until then, miles and miles of desert mountains await you.

[fishmonger]

You don't need a drone to do this. From what I see he didn't use one. This is just what it looks like when you warp a normal 360 to this projection.

Like those a lot. I tried that once with a shot taken below Whitney and it came out ok, but it seems the top of the mountain location works better than medium altitude. I have to run some of my 360s through that process again.

edit - I guess he does show in the images, so the camera was aloft. not cool. because you absolutely do not need that to produce these views. The perspective from the summit or 20 feet above is the same for everything but the ground right below.

[CAMERONM]

EDIT: Now that I am home and can see these photos on something larger than an iPhone, I see that most were taken with a drone, and that is unfortunate. I think they could have been 95% as successful with a tall stick. I do recognize that video capture does impose on others; I live in Los Angeles and the streets are blocked off all the time for video shoots. I accept this because it is an important part of our economy and in the end does not really disrupt my life that much. I can see the argument that for a brief moment the drone flying directly 20' above does not bother anyone. I think I prefer the option of a slightly diminished photo done with a stick. We are all forced to submit to technology everyday, but I would like to believe that I can occasionally escape to someplace more pure.

[Harlen]

I think I prefer the option of a slightly diminished photo done with a stick. We are all forced to submit to technology everyday, but I would like to believe that I can occasionally escape to someplace more pure.

Sure appreciate that sentiment; and kudos to you for your ability to "escape to someplace more pure," out beyond the lesser world of our personal desires.

I can see the argument that for a brief moment the drone flying directly 20' above does not bother anyone.

Indeed, especially if you are the only person on the summit. And you're not just entertaining yourself- I reckon you "Tie" are deep into the hallowed realm of the arts. [Though I certainly see Phil's point about the troubling future of drones.]