This question was prompted by a friend who was looking at an Alpine Panorama on a website recently. His comment was along the lines of "When you are at that location you are in an amphitheatre of towering peaks but this picture doesn't convey that feeling". I had viewed the picture never having been there and marvelled at this wall of rock, ice & snow that I looked at as a flat 2 Dimensional image. As my friend then pointed out to see what was on the left side then what was on the right side required you to turn your head by nearly 180 degrees.
Using computer software it is now really easy to create apparently seamless panoramic images - I make use of them frequently but I wonder if we should create a different way of viewing them that simulates that movement of the head that is so essential to creating the atmosphere of the place. Should we make curved print installations or are there digital techniques available?
I can't help feeling that the 'head turning' is just an excuse. If you're trying to evoke the sense of 'being there' you'll need a lot more then that. You'll have to fill in the peripheral vision, add sound, adjust the atmospheric conditions, somehow simulate the process of 'getting there' (the journey) ... All these things - and many others - contribute to what you experience when you admire the view. A good photo may elicit memories of the event at a later date, but to anyone else it's just going to be a nice picture. Gigapixels, HDR, VR might add some wow factor, but I can't help feeling that it'll be more about the technology rather than the source experience. The best the picture can do is to motivate the viewer to get out there and collect their own experiences and memories.
As for 'truth', when someone comes up with a unambiguous and broadly acceptable definition then we can discuss further. But the answer will probably be 'no'.
I know what you mean but think that 2D wide panoramas don't work very well and some other way of viewing the image is needed.
I don't see it as a big deal. Photography should be about conveying moods, atmospheres and feelings and the skill of the photographer is in capturing a part of what they see which expresses something more.
Disney Epcot has a ride (or at least had, back in ‘98) where you “fly” over the world in seats suspended from behind, giving you a clear view of a panoramic cinema screen. They also release scents blown through the air timed to the flight like pine and woodsmoke.
It’s not stereoscopic let alone VR but the engagement of other senses made it far more convincing than any VR I’ve used to date.
The trailer for Honnald's El Cap solo film was shown in a very impressive 3D format, which apparently was confusing on a static screen but worked really well on a phone, such that by tilting the phone in any direction you could 'look' up, down or from side to side, very much like you really would if you were there.
I'm sure the same technology would work on static images.
You are mapping a view, which is effectively a sphere from the point of view of the photogapher onto a flat surface--which is impossible without distortion
The wider the angle, the more you notice it, which is why wide angle or fisheye lenses look weird. But this distortion is in every photograph.
Using stitching or software you can control the type of distortion, and possibly make it less noticeable but cannot eliminate it.
With regards to photography and truth - it is a always a distortion of the truth to represent a 3D world in 2D. It will never look like reality. The questions are: is it done well? Do I like it? Does it represent the place in a way that 'feels' true.?
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