”How did you get into that?' That's the question I get from people viewing my website or one of my prints. If it's a 'little planet view' they are often tipping their head or in some cases shaking it. I guess you could say there are two elements that draw me to this kind of photography. One would be getting high and the other would be looking around with a wide angle view.

I'm not sure where the getting high thing started. Perhaps it was my dad putting me on a booster seat in his Piper Comanche and letting me do the elevator and ailerons while he did the rudder. I couldn't reach. Perhaps it’s a 60s thing. I won't go into that too much. It's a blur anyway. Getting up high has not always worked out for me. From falling out of the top bunk in Indian Guides to tumbling backwards out of a willow tree from 40' at the age of 10 to a botched hang gliding launch at the age of 38, I have certainly taken my lumps. I suspect more than a few people think these sudden jolts to my brain matter  account for my fixation on the 'little planet views'.  In spite of all this I must say I have enjoyed the sensation and the view some altitude provides, from late afternoon flights with an Eagle just off my glider's wingtip, to sunsets perched in a cave on the side of a cliff. I suppose I'm getting stodgy because I get my views from a remote control camera mount on a tethered blimp or a 45' pole with a robot named Ansel on top but somehow I still manage to get my fix.

The wide angle view thing I think stems from my 'day job' doing computer aided design. I'm always rotating 3D models and zooming in and out so when I saw my first interactive panorama on the web I was hooked quickly. I also think It just goes with getting high. You climb the cliff to get the wide angle view. I've heard a spherical panorama described as 'all that can be seen from a point'. I like to think of 'little planet views' and
'tunnel views' as all that can be seen from a point seen all at once. I hope you all 'enjoy the view.'

Thanks for looking,

Chris Blake

I am originally from the suburbs of Detroit, USA. I have lived in Paris three times, I lived in London for 3 years where I completed a bachelors degree with honours, I have lived in Ireland for 7 years and I have most recently moved to Singapore. I always have my camera with me.

Mein Name ist Christopher Rau, komme aus dem schönen Fichtelgebirge, bin 16 Jahre alt und recht neu in der Panorama Szene.

Fototechnisch spezialisiere ich mich vor allem auf die Panoramafotografie, welche ich mir größtenteils selbst beigebracht habe bzw. beibringe, fotografiere jedoch auch alle andere Arten von Motiven auf alle Arten.