Circles and Stars at Paul’s Junkyard — by Joe Reifer
This 360º full moon night panorama is composed of 5 shots with a fisheye lens to make a complete sphere. Click the image above for a closer look, or use your mouse to move around the interactive version below. Go full screen by using the button on the bottom right. If you’re using an iPhone or iPad, here’s a gyroscope enabled version — navigate by moving your device!
Enjoying the sunset while waiting for the full moon to rise, this creative group of photographers prepares to embark on another night of light painting at the Paul’s Junkyard Night Photography Workshop. This group 360º panorama portrait was photographed using a 9 foot carbon fiber pole. Two sets of images were taken at each camera position and blended together using Exposure Fusion in PTGui Pro. The car on the right is from the Flintstones movie. Zoom in and take a closer look in the 360 interactive version below. Viewing on an iPhone or iPad? Control the pano by moving around using this gyroscope enabled version.
Full moon 360 panorama of the old garage at Paul’s Junkyard — by Joe Reifer
Troy Paiva and I are off to Paul’s Junkyard for our Fall night photography and light painting workshop. Twelve photographers will be joining us on this full moon adventure in the Mojave. Hang out in front of the old garage at Paul’s Junkyard by clicking the full screen button on the 360 pano below. Hope you have a wonderful full moon!
Out behind the bus shop in the middle of the night — by Joe Reifer
This full moon 360º night panorama includes light painting on two of the classic buses. I was able to find a camera position where there was no overlap between shots on the buses I planned to light paint. I knew the lighting on the bus inside the garage would be more tricky, so I did one take without lighting, and then 2 versions with light painting before rotating the camera around to make the rest of the shots. I also did a practice shot to make sure I could nail the light painting on the back of the bus on the trailer.
Shooting 360s at Night: Noise and ISO
The pano is composed of 4 shots around with a Canon 8-15mm f/4L fisheye at 8mm on a Canon EOS 60D. I also made a 5th shot to patch the ground (the “nadir” in panospeak). Each exposure was 90 seconds at f/8, ISO 800. Balancing the exposure time and ISO is important when shooting 360s at night. If the exposure times are too long, the stars may not line up well. By testing different exposure times and ISOs, I’ve found that I can usually shoot up to 90 seconds at ISO 800 without an objectionable amount of noise. This particular night was pushing the limits because there is more noise in long exposures when it’s hot outside — and it was about 70º at midnight when I made this pano!
Light Painting a 360 Pano
I used a Streamlight Stinger flashlight for the light painting on both buses. There was already moonlight on part of the bus in the garage. I went inside behind the blue wall (between the buses) and lit the front window and top of the bus. Then I walked back outside and lit the side of the bus at a shallow angle. The blend of moonlight and light painting was optimized using a layer mask in Photoshop before stitching the pano in PTGui Pro.
The bus on the back of the trailer was lit from over by the left corner of the blue building. The test shot looked a little bit too flat, so I chose a more shallow angle to show contrast and detail. If you zoom in on the bus, you’ll see a little kiss of moonlight on the top left corner. I love it when a light painting plan comes together.
Viewing the Pano on an iPad or iPhone
If you’re viewing the pano in a web browser, you’ll see the Flash version. If you have an iPad or iPhone, you’ll see at HTML5 version, and you can use your finger to move around inside the 360, and pinch to zoom. Unfortunately, the panopress plugin for WordPress does not show the navigation on the HTML version or allow gyroscope control.
If you’re on an iPad or iPhone, here’s a direct link to the HTML version of the pano that takes advantage of the gyroscope functionality. Hold your iPad or iPhone up and spin in a circle to move around in the panorama. It’s the next best thing to being there, and you won’t get any mosquito bites. Enjoy — and don’t get too dizzy!