We’ve been exploring the region a bit with our 360 camera and helping put a virtual Ocean City online has been really, really fun. If you’re not familiar with the camera, it takes a photo in all directions simultaneously and stitches it together so that a viewer can scroll through and get a tour of a room, area or building right from the comfort of their own home. I’ve been a huge fan of using Google Maps and contributing to it for some time. I always figured that if I was in a place and I could help give people a better or at least a more personal view of the place from afar it was at the very least good cyber-karma. As it turned out it was more than that. Google liked my photos enough that they made me a local guide, so my pictures get right on the Google Maps page and I get fun stuff from them, like a little extra free storage.
When they started this new program of allowing people to post 360 photos on the map for people to see, it seemed a natural adjustment. I do more than a little trekking around the area, so sharing 360 photos as well as traditional photos isn’t any harder than tagging my work photos when I upload them. This week, I was tooling around both the beach and some of the big beachfront hotels taking regular photos for OceanCity.com, and some of them were kind enough to let me explore with the new camera. I’m still working on editing techniques (such as PhotoShop-ing out the camera and making the colors pop a little better) but it is coming along nicely. I thought I’d share some of those photos this week and the story behind them.
Kids taking selfies
This is one of my favorite ways to use this camera. The kids give the photo a little more texture, plus they’re funny.
Sharing Balcony Views many people can’t see
I was at the Grand Hotel on assignment and they were kind enough to let me up into one of the rooms to get a shot of the view. Being a local I’ve never stayed there, so it was cool to imagine coming in from the beach, toweling off and heading out to the balcony to get a little more beach without all the sun.
Virtual Day Drinking
The Clarion is known for Lenny’s, its spectacular beach bar:
But when I wandered into Breakers for a little respite from the heat, the cool dark interior bar was a perfect reversal.
A seat at the head of the table
I was interviewing the guys who run the kitchen at the Captain’s Table restaurant (check out that story next week) and when I was done they gave me access to the restaurant before it opened to try out my fun new camera. Very few people sit at the head of the Captain’s Table, so I thought it would be a fun one to share.
