360° VR photography at the extreme - an interview with Matthias Taugwalder
An interview with Matthias Taugwalder
Matthias, what is the background of the Mammut panorama project?
For their 150 year anniversary the company Mammut, the Swiss manufacturer of quality equipment and clothing for the high mountains, started the ambitious project to climb 150 different peaks on all 7 continents with 150 selected mountaineering teams. The panoramas shown were taken as part of the Mammut Basecamp on August 3, 2011 on the Jungfraujoch (3,471 m above sea level). This was the starting signal for the worldwide mammoth project.
Matthias, what were the challenges for the Mammut shoot?
I was commissioned to, on the one hand, depict the base camp at Jungfraujoch in 360° and, on the other hand, to design the "making of" of the new Mammut advertising campaign as a panorama. Due to my client's very tight schedule, I only had 15 minutes to capture my panorama. One of the requirements was that even the smallest details in the image - such as the participants' faces - had to be clearly visible in the image. This meant that I couldn't simply do this job with a fisheye and 4 shots - I therefore had to Bring out my gigapixel cannon.
What does this mean exactly?
I used a Nikon D3x, an 85mm lens and my Roundshot VR Drive to expose around 280 images in 11 rows. The resulting panorama has 2.6 gigapixels and allows practically any zooming. The "speed" mode of the VR drive with non-stop triggering of the images was essential because the weather and lighting conditions changed very quickly. In addition, reliable hardware is of great importance at an altitude of over 3,000 above sea level.
Was this your most difficult panoramic mission to date?
No, on the contrary, it was quite easy because VR Drive practically did all the work! On other expeditions, the VR Drive was my companion on the highest Swiss peaks, including the Dufourspitze (4,634 m above sea level) or the Matterhorn (4,478 m above sea level) and many more. Another very special assignment was the report on the Air Zermatt mountain rescuers for the "Blick", in which I rappelled down from the helicopter 800 meters above the ground and shot a spherical action panorama. During this expedition I was also rappelled down into a crevasse, to document a rescue. Another highlight was the 360° underwater photo of a baby swimming group, where I took photos with an underwater housing.
How do you visualize your gigapixel panoramas?
For the current exhibition "Top of the Alps" in the Glacier Garden Lucerne, we are showing three of my mountain gigapixel panoramas as walk-in "panorama rotundas" with a diameter of up to 4 meters. "Top of the Alps" was realized in collaboration with the legendary panorama photographer Willi Burkhard and presents many fascinating panoramic images from the air.
The special exhibition in the Glacier Garden in Lucerne is open daily until September 16, 2012.
Matthias, what projects will you surprise us with next?
I'm currently experimenting with 360° panoramic videos, in which the viewer can discover any angle and be right in the middle of the action. I also use my VR Drive for the 360° time-lapse technique, with which I can animate a landscape comprehensively and over several hours, for example a night on the Gornergrat near Zermatt.
Matthias, we congratulate you on your spectacular photos and wish you continued success!
all images by Matthias Taugwalder
Matthias Taugwalder is a freelance VR photographer based in Zurich / www.concept360.ch