More Than Meets The Eye

There was a time when photographs were just flat images that you could stash away in an album. Today's tools and techniques let you take pictures with an added dimension, so you can relive them like you are in the moment all over again. Here are some advancements in photographic technology that you can try out right now:



Photo Sphere

We've all seen those extra-wide panorama shots that help bring out the magnificence of mountain ranges, rolling grasslands and looming skylines... but what if you wanted to see everything the photographer could see in every direction? That's precisely what photo spheres are for. A photo sphere is captured by taking pictures in every field of view from a single point, and stitching them together so viewers can pan 360 degrees and up and down; it feels like they're truly sharing the photographer's perspective from where he/she was standing.

  You can now capture your own photo spheres using mobile apps, including Google Camera (Android), Photo Sphere by Google (iOS) and Sphere. Easy enough, just stand in one spot, follow the on-screen dot on your device to take shots of a still scene (so yes, ask friends to kindly stay still or keep out of your scene for a minute) in every direction, and let the app stitch the photos together into a lovely photo sphere. Advanced shooters can share equirectangulat (360 degree by 180 degree) images from their DSLRs on Google+ and allow the Auto Awesome feature to convert them into web-and mobile-friendly photo spheres.

  When you're finished shooting, you can showcase your photo spheres on Google Maps for others to discover as they navigate the globe, on their desktops and mobile devices, or share your creations with the Sphere app community and other social networks, and find gorgeous new places to visit and sights to see, in all their 360 degrees glory.
bit.ly/photosphereios | iOS
bit.ly/photosphereandroid | Android
inside.thesphere.com | iOS/Android
Find photo spheres around the world at maps.google.com/views


Hyperlapse



While time lapse photography involves shooting a scene from the same position over an extended period of time to show the effect of time passing quickly (such as celestial motion over a lake), hyperlapse is  a variation of this technique that involves moving the camera while shooting an extended scene. This method is great for a range of exciting new stories, best told at 6x their original speed: go on a 15-second tour of The White House, take in the urban majesty of Times Square or drive through Yellowstone National Park in a flash.

 

  You can check these out on Instagram by looking up #hyperlaps. To create your own, grab the free Hyperlaps app (iOS) and shoot scenes while moving your camera - the app will automatically speed up your capture, while magically stabilising your shots so your panning is a lot smoother than you'd expect with a handheld device. Show off your home or office, take a walk through a busy market or hop on a ferris wheel for some great hyperlapses.
hyperlapse.instagram.com | iOS

Light Field Photography

With most conventional photos, the camera's focus is fixed at some point, so that part of the composition is sharp, while the rest of the image is slightly blurred. The depth of the field helps draw our attention to the subject in focus, while allowing the rest of the image to provide context without overwhelming the viewer. But imagine if you could take a picture and refocus it later to get a better look at the rest of the scene. With light field photography it's a snap!

 

  Light field photography allows you to capture a shot along with information about the light moving in every direction in your picture, so that you can later refocus to any point in the image. So if you've got a light field image of a kitchen with the focus on a fruit on the counter, you could refocus to bring out detail in the cabinets, appliances and floor.

  Lytro, a startup company makes consumer and professional-grade light field cameras that produce image in which you can refocus to multiple points and also tilt and rotate to shift your perspective. The company's site and mobile app (iOS) lets you check out works from light field  photographers around the world - just tap and drag to bring out detail in whatever you'd like to see.

  The closest you can get to this effect rightaway without a real camera, is 3D pictures that you can shoot with Seene (iOS). Simply tap to take a picture and move your phone smoothly in one direction to get a cool perspective-shift effect that you can almost reach out and touch! Snap away and share with the Seene community for an extra dimension of fun.
lytro.com | seene.co | (iOS)