Apr 062009
 

To celebrate the reconnection of my broadband which had been off for two days I’ve uploaded my very first attempt at a spherical panorama. I’m using a trial version of stitching software, hence the logos for ptgui everywhere. Lacking the funds for a proper pano-head and tripod leveller, both of which are fairly essential pieces of kit, I’m using a combination of tripod and a plumb line suspeneded from the nodal point of my lens to a compass rose on the floor in order reduce parallax errors. It’s really time consuming and fiddly, taking several minutes to shoot the 10 images required to assemble the final panorama.

The image is of my favourite bouldering spot on Dartmoor – Black Hill. I managed a couple of v4 6b problems here yesterday, despite being fat and weak after months of sitting at the computer. A better version is now on 360 cities.net, but it’s technically unpublished.

Message to my sponsors!
I’ve been saving up for the equipment to make a series of these panoramas for the benefit of the geography education community (to supplement those on 360 cities.net). I’ve recently brought a new camera and a very expensive fisheye lens but the rest of the hardware and software is out of my reach at the moment. If any company or professional organization wants to make a contribution to get my QTVR project off the ground, then please get in touch. All the images I produce will be published on 360 cities for the benefit of the whole community, however it could be possible to add a small corporate logo to the finished images, as well as an advert link from Juicy Geography which will eventually have a dedicated QTVR page.

Dec 312008
 

EveryTrail is one of my favourite iPhone Apps (related post) and the good news is that it now appears as an official layer in Google Earth (found in the Gallery layer) It’s a web-based application that lets you create and share journeys, along with associated stories and images.

EveryTrail round my block

EveryTrail round my block

I discovered a couple of my Trails in the layer that I created with my iPhone (download above example in Google Earth), though the pictures are (as expected) pretty dreadful.

It’s not necessary to use an iPhone – you can upload any .gpx file from a GPS device to create a trail. If you don’t have a GPS it’s no problem, simply mark a path on the map provided. You can import photos from a Flickr account, and if they’re geotagged, they’ll automatically show up in the right spot.

Sidmouth Flickr images

Sidmouth Flickr images

My Sidmouth photos in Every Trail

EveryTrail is a great option for fieldwork notes and images, and is quite simple enough for students to use independently. The ease with which trails can be created shared, displayed and seamlessly viewed with Google Earth make it a really great classroom application.

Dec 052008
 

I’m coming to the end of a very happy relationship with my Nikon D40, and about to buy a new camera with a bit more resolution and low light capablility, that will complement the ferociously expensive secondhand 17-35 f2.8 lens I found in my local shop last weekend.

I got really into photography this year but am still no clearer about understanding the elements of a “good” picture. I’m mainly into landscapes (obviously) and have selected 6 of my favourite pictures below. It would be brilliant if readers could take a quick look and vote for the one you like best. Even better to explain why in a comment – but don’t feel obliged.

China Clay

China Clay

Wave Cut Platform

Wave Cut Platform

Eilean Donan Castle at night

Eilean Donan Castle

don't go chasing...

Don't go chasing...

Jurassic Shipwreck

Jurassic Shipwreck

Magic Isles

Magic Isles

Please vote for the best photo

  • Eilean Donan Castle (30%, 31 Votes)
  • Jurassic Shipwreck (23%, 24 Votes)
  • Magic Isles (20%, 21 Votes)
  • Wave Cut Platform (17%, 18 Votes)
  • Don't go chasing... (8%, 8 Votes)
  • China Clay (2%, 3 Votes)

Total Voters: 105

Loading ... Loading ...

Thanks very much for voting!

Update 23/12/08

The poll has closed and it’s been a very interesting experiment. The castle picture became our family Christmas card. I still think that the best landscape is the Lofoten Islands picture because of the quality of the light. However my favourite image is the least popular – the China clay pit. Viewed large, I like the composition and the juxtaposition of the pipe, the pit and the moors behind. I also like the subtlety of the colours, which my new lens (currently being repaired) was partly responsible for.

Nov 232008
 

I was walking around Exeter Quay this weekend, musing on the fact that I hadn’t been down there for many years (in protest against the unforgivable closing of Exeter Maritime Museum) This was, by some way, the best museum in the world, mainly because to a 12 year old boy, a Chinese Junk and reed boats were pretty much the most interesting things I’d ever seen. Anyway I spotted this heron…

Heron at River Exe weir

Heron at River Exe weir

I was sadly without my telephoto lens – it being a sort of ultra-light mission, so I resolved to creep around to the other side of the river bank to get a better photo. Unfortunately a variety of steel enclosures prevented access to the other bank. Normally that would have been no problem – but a fisherman was watching me. At this point I realized that I was surrounded by a huge flood prevention scheme that I knew nothing at all about. I took a few photos and uploaded them to my school Flickr account for the benefit of my students. I also turned them into a downloadable Google Earth tour of the Exe flood prevention scheme

Google Earth tour

Google Earth tour

Hopefully this might make a nice case study for some people. Don’t forget to go to Tools / Options / Touring in Google Earth and turn on Show balloon when tour is paused. Also, slow down the tour and fly to speeds for best effect.

Oct 272008
 

Frank Taylor’s Google Earth blog once again scoops the official announcement from Google regarding the much anticipated release of Google Earth for the iPhone.

Google Earth on the iPhone

Google Earth on the iPhone

I’ve just been testing it, and OMG as my daughter frequently proclaims! The interface is incredibly intuitive. The search box also brought up my contacts list, so the first place I visited was my parents house…

Butterleigh

Butterleigh

The iPhone’s GPS quickly found my location in Google Earth, one obvious advantage over the normal platform.

GPS auto-location

GPS auto-location

Panning and zooming is simple – a combination of finger taps and movements. Tilting the phone also tilts the view. 3D terrain works!  The developers have also made use of the iPhone’s landscape orientation enabling a wider view. Here’s Snowdon in it’s new, high resolution imagery.

Snowdon in 3D

Snowdon in 3D

Finally, the Panoramio and Wikipedia layers are available, as are the borders and places layers from the parent application.

Panoramio

Panoramio

This is brilliant news. Walking out of my house and away from my wifi link slowed everything right down so I won’t be seeing myself in real time scrambling over Crib Coch. On the next upgrade I wonder if we’ll see the ability to add placemarks?

Update: Google Earth help notes / Ogle Earth’s rather more considered review!