What's New: February, 2023

What's it like to experience VR? See for yourself with the following examples – they can be viewed on most computers, tablets, or smart phones:

One of America's most spectacular national parks, Yosemite National Park in California, is presented in a remarkable online VR experience. Virtual Yosemite features over 350 locatilons photographed in high resolution, with more being added regularly. Enjoy your visits to: Virtual Yosemite!

Virtual Yosemite

Visit the interior of Antoni Gaudí's architectural masterpiece, the Basílica de la Sagrada Famíilia, in Barcelona, Spain – a UNESCO World Heritage site, and one of the most unusual temples / cathedrals in the world. The 360° interactive VR view can be experienced here.

Sagrada Familia

Pantheon, Rome

Explore the interior of the Pantheon in Rome, Italy. The Pantheon is one of the best preserved ancient Roman buildings – originally commissioned before the birth of Christ, and was completed / dedicated around 126 AD by the emperor Hadrian.  Its remarkable preservation is credited primarily to the fact that it's been in continuous use throughout its history.

Immerse yourself in a VR experience of the 2017 Great American Solar Eclipse, photographed sunrise to sunset on August 21, 2017 from a mountain top in central Idaho. Timeline hotspots allow you to select your view and observe the solar track throughout the day of the event.

Solar Eclpise (2017)

Take an extensive virtual tour of the renowned Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos, CA.

Sit in aircraft cockpits, learn about the aircraft on display, and walk through both a Boeing 747 and a classic amphibious Grumman Albatross.

Click on information links to read details about most aircraft on display, or move from location to location throughout the museum.

You can also look over the shoulders of the crew in the Museum's acclaimed Restoration Shop, enter the full motion RedBird FMX Flight Simulator, or even browse the Museum's gift shop.

Or explore the peaceful solitude of Washington, DC's Thomas Jefferson Memorial at dawn. The Jefferson Memorial is one of Washington, DC's most popular toursit attractions, located next to the Tidal Basin of the Potomac River, but in this VR experience, you experience it without others present.
Jefferson Memorial

Soar Above San Carlos, CA on a low-level aerial virtual tour, created mostly with small aerial camera systems and remotely flown UAVs or drones.

Explore first class accomodations in a deluxe Garden Suite aboard a Norwegian Cruise Lines cruise ship.

Stand on the edge of Yosemite Falls in Yosemite National Park, the tallest waterfall in North America. Peer over the precipice at the dizzying vertical drop almost 2,500 feet below.

Sedlec Ossuary

Danube River - Budapest

Leaning Tower of Pisa

Visit the eerie Sedlec Ossuary, a Cistercian monastery where the bones of thousands of plague victims are interred in the Czech Republic.

Or perhaps experience the beauty and serenity of the Danube River at sunset, as it flows through the center of Budapest, Hungary.

Maybe you'll prefer a taste of Italy with a visit to the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

 

Consider a new perspective on The Future of VR - Is This All There Is? Observations and commentary by Virtual Reality Photography author Scott Highton (July, 2015). Read it here.

An in-depth look at production concerns and techniques for 360° video, also known as cinematic VR, presented by Scott Highton (January, 2015).

The 360° Video Conundrum – Cinematic VR Considerations can be read here.

 

Apple Spaceship

Above San Carlos

Aerial photography via the use of small UAVs or "drones" is increasing in popularity. However, FAA certification is now required for commercial UAV work in the U.S.

VR Photography author Scott Highton is both a licensed FAA pilot, and also licensed for commercial work as a Remote Pilot for Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems under the FAA's new Part 107 regulations.

To see an example of how aerial 360° VR panoramas can be used to benefit a small Northern California community, see Scott's Above San Carlos web pages.

The second edition of our popular VR Photography Slate Book is still available. The latest version expands on the original with the addition of a large object photography technique description and tear out Photo and Property Release forms. For a full description, and to purchase online, click here.
VR Photo Slate book cover
Check your VR photography knowledge with a fun online test. Inspired by queries from our readers, we are pleased to present a 20 question challenge. How well can you do? Click here to give it a try.
Virtual Reality Photography, the acclaimed book by Scott Highton, is now also available through B&H Photo & Video, the world's leading retailer of imaging products. To order through B&H: click here.
A camera of choice for high-end VR photography, the Nikon D800 (and D810) is reviewed in-depth from a panoramic VR photographer's perspective. Read the extensive review here.

 

 

Currently In Stock and
Shipping Internationally

Listed as a B&H Photo Best Seller!

 

Virtual Reality Photography

by Scott Highton

Softcover book
320 pages,
300+ illustrations

Look Inside: Preview

 

 

VR Photo book cover

"In every sense of the word, this is the bible of VR photography, and its 24 chapters and 300-plus pages are packed with a smorgasbord of information ranging from the basics of photography, to highly technical and complex projects, applications of VR photography, marketing and business practices.

- Peter Skinner, Rangefinder Magazine

Read the reviews!

Also Available:
VR Photo Slate book cover VR Slate Book

Now in its third printing, the Virtual Reality Photography Slate Book is a valuable organizational and production tool for the VR photographer. It iincludes grayscale, color and rectilinear correction targets, object/panorama slates, and charts for field of view (fov) and hyperfocal distance calculations.

Now includes Photo and Property Release forms.

"...indispensable for panoramic or VR photography." - Joe Farace, Shutterbug Magazine

 

Google PhotoTech and other Talks on Video

Scott Highton presented a lecture on Panoramic VR Photography at Google's corporate headquarters in October, 2007. The lecture was a part of Google's ongoing PhotoTech lecture series. The talk was recorded and is available for free public viewing online. Click here to view.

Click here to view.

Scott Highton also presented a free online webinar about VR Object Photography for Manfrotto's accalimed School for Xcellence. Manfrotto also published an accompanying interview with Scott. See it here.

The Business of VR Photography is an hour-long lecture that Scott presented to the International Panoramic Photography Conference at the University of California, Berkeley in 2007. Watch it here.

Scott also gave a presentation about Photographing VR in Difficult and Hostile Environments (with Jan van der Woning) at the Berkeley conference. A portion of Scott's presentation can be viewed here.

Scott's updated lecture on Virtual Reality Photography Business Practices was recorded at the 2012 International Panoramic Photography Conference in New York at B&H Photo Video. It can be viewed here.

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