panorama

This is the First Photo Ever Taken from the Surface of a Comet

Human kind did something incredible yesterday: we landed something on the surface of a comet. After a 10 year journey to Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, Rosetta released its lander Philae, which arrived on the comet's surface, bounced around a bit because of a malfunction, and then sent back the very first photo from the surface of a comet.

Fancam Captures Massive 20 Gigapixel Group Photos of Fans at Large Events

To celebrate the return of LeBron James yesterday, the Cleveland Cavaliers decided to do a massive group photo with all the fans in attendance. Today they released the 360-degree, 20-gigapixel photograph online for fans to find themselves in, tag, and share.

The giant group panorama -- and many others like it -- was captured by a company called Fancam, which specializes in shooting some of the largest group shots in history.

Oppo Slaps a Motorized Selfie Camera on Its Latest Smartphone

Oppo, the Chinese company behind some of the most unusual smartphones we've ever reported on, is back at it again with the N3. The successor to the N1 smartphone they released last September, the new N3 takes the lineup’s instantly recognizable swivel camera to the next level by giving it a motor.

How I Built a Huge Gigapixel Panoramic Robot

Today I want to share how I created a few huge, Gigapixel photos, using a DIY panoramic head. Actually, it is not a panoramic head, because it not only goes right and left, but also up and down.

How to Create Glitched Portraits with Your Phone’s Panorama Mode

Almost every smartphone camera comes with a dedicated panorama mode nowadays. Normally, this mode is used to capture large areas in a single image. However, its true abilities are only limited by your imagination.

As YouTubers Sam and Niko show us in the above video, the feature can be used to create glitched panorama portraits that humorously warp and contort subjects.

Using the Fuji GX 617 Camera to Capture 6x17cm Panoramic Negatives on 120 Film

This monster, pictured here next to a Minox, yields 6 x 17 centimeter slides or negatives on 120 film, 4 images on a roll which you can blow up to insane dimensions.

It all started in my photo club, where someone showed 1 meter big prints from Scotland. These landscapes were so incredibly detailed and rich they totally overwhelmed me, they hit me like lightning. They were taken with a Linhof 6×17 panoramic camera.

DPRK 360: Photographer Captures Immersive 360° Panoramas All Over North Korea

About a year ago, we linked out to what we then believed to be the first 360-degree interactive panorama ever made of Pyongyang, North Korea. That interactive image was shot by photographer Aram Pan, but it was only the beginning.

Since then he's expanded in a big way, shooting over 40 interactive 360-degree panoramas all over the mysterious country for the DPRK 360 website and Facebook page.

Google’s 360º Panorama App ‘Photo Sphere’ Now Available On iOS

Google’s Photo Sphere has been one of the glowing capabilities of Android phones since its release just over a year ago, but the reign of exclusivity is now over for the Android faithful. As of earlier today, Google has officially brought its Photo Sphere capabilities to iOS though the Photo Sphere Camera app.

Centr Cam Offers 4K 360º Footage Out of a Hockey Puck-Shaped Device

In the never-ending chase to create the most unique camera around, San Francisco-based Centr Camera Inc. has launched a Kickstarter for a new style of camera. Called Centr, this 360º, 60fps, 4K-resolution panoramic camera will allow you to capture incredible footage all around you, in a device roughly the size of a hockey puck.

Journey to the Top of the Freedom Tower

In March of 2013, I found myself back at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. I had been invited there by Illah Nourbakhsh and a couple of their Directors to assist in teaching a group of educators about our EPIC Pro, as well as the benefits of what high-res imaging offered to classrooms.

Vincent Brady Pulled Out All the Stops to Create This Magical Firefly Time-Lapse

Firefly photography isn't a novel concept. In fact, long-exposure images of these glowing creatures lighting up beautiful forest scenes have appeared on PetaPixel a couple of times before... we've even featured a tutorial on the subject. But photographer Vincent Brady's firefly time-lapse above IS novel.

It's novel, not because it's a time-lapse of fireflies (we're sure that's been done a time or two) but because he combined many different photographic techniques to create something truly breathtaking.

NASA Releases Clearest Infrared Milky Way Panorama Ever Made, Comes in at 20GP

20 gigapixels might not seem like a lot in the world of super-high-res images. After all, we shared a 681 gigapixel image of just the moon's north pole the other day. But when you're talking infrared images of the milky way, the 20-gigapixel panorama that NASA just released yesterday is the clearest ever captured, and took them TEN YEARS to shoot.

Behind the Scenes: Shooting a Panorama from the Top of the Freedom Tower

Last year, TIME teamed up with Portland-based software company GigaPan to create something special: a 360-degree panorama from the top of the Freedom Tower (aka. The One World Trade Center). The image was supposed to represent "the rebirth and healing of Lower Manhattan," and above we have an inside look at how it came together.

Microsoft’s 20-Gigapixel Seattle Panorama is Packed Full of Fun Artistic Surprises

There's no rule against having a little fun while proving a technological point, even if you're Microsoft.

So when the software giant's research arm wanted to flex some image-editing muscle by creating a 20-gigapixel panorama of Seattle, they decided to bring local artists into the picture (literally) and encourage them to do creative stuff while the camera was clicking away.

Mars Rover Opportunity Commemorates 10 Years on Mars by Sending Home a Selfie

When the Mars Rover Opportunity landed on our planetary neighbor on January 25th, 2004 it was undertaking a three-month mission. Well, it's a full decade later and the little guy is still alive and kickin' (in a robotic kind of way).

And what better way to celebrate that achievement then by taking a good ol' fashioned, 2014-like selfie?

Bublcam: A Softball-Sized Camera Ball that Takes Street View-Like 360° Photos

Sometimes, taking a straight-on photograph is exactly what the situation calls for. But what about those moments when you want a more complete view? What happens when you want to capture everything around you, all at once, in a snapshot or video that is as interactive as Google's Street View? Well, that's when you reach for the Bublcam.

Beautiful Underwater Panoramas are Being Used to Help Scientists Save Coral Reefs

Stunning, breathtaking, gorgeous, take your pick, any number of adjectives would work to describe the world's coral reefs. But, sadly, another word would work as well: disappearing.

As a combination of climate change, overfishing and pollution is slowly destroying the reefs, one project is using panoramic imagery to catalog what's happening and help the scientific community come together to solve this problem before there aren't any reefs left to save.