I remember when I saw my very first 360 photo
It totally blew me away!
It was back in 2007 when Google Street View first started
and it was a 360 photo out the front of my house
I couldn't figure out how it was done - I thought I was being spied on!
and that awakened a curiosity in me that is still with me today.
Well time passed and life happens
and my next brush with 360 wasn't until early 2015
when I saw my very first tiny planet photo.
When I saw this, I had no choice but to figure out how it was done
and make one for myself. I know it sounds silly
but seeing this tiny planet for the first time was a life-changing experience
because it totally changed of what was possible for photography.
It was a completely new lens to see the world
and I recognised this style of photography
as something that had unlimited creative potential.
So with $500 in my bank account
and the Ricoh Theta m15 costing 480
I had the choice: I could fly this brand new camera
or eat.
Can you guess what I did?
When I started posting on Instagram
the 360 community was so small.
When I posted my first few planets
it felt like it was me and about 10 other people
but it felt like a small intimate community of tiny planet nerds
and I didn't even care because I loved what I was making so much
that it didn't matter if I had an audience of 10 people or 10 million.
Slowly, I started building a reputation
for posting these reframed 360 photos as tiny planets.
I was working as a videographer at the time
and my job took me to all these amazing destinations
where I'd be sure to snap a tiny planet
and post on Instagram every single day.
Slowly the community grew
and I reached my first thousand followers.
When I started on YouTube, I was met with a lot of praise.
So many people were thanking me for posting tutorials
and showing exactly how I get awesome results with my 360 camera.
However, something I wasn't used to was the hate.
No matter how many positive messages you get
there's going to be one in a hundred people that don't like what you're doing
and make sure they tell you about it.
And it's only one person, right? It doesn't really matter
Well, yes and no.
One negative comment, no matter how many positive comments you get
it sticks in your mind and you think about it all day long.
"Why did that jerk say that?"
"What do they think, they know nothing!"
But then slowly I learned
you can't take it personally.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion
and they are giving their opinion, just like I'm giving mine.
Am I going to let one measly hater stop me from sharing 360 to the world?
Hell. No.
I've never had any doubts that 360 is going to be a massive part of the future
and the way we share photos and videos
And that has always served as a reminder to never give up.
While so many people don't know about 360 right now
they will one day
so there's no better time than now to establish yourself in the 360 industry.
Put work out there. Put photos, put videos, put all kinds of content out there
because one day, when 360 is massive
who's going to be the one that was there from the beginning.
The 360 community has grown so much since I first began just a few years ago
and I like to think that I played a small part in that.
However, the community definitely played the biggest part.
The more we all post 360 content
as far and wide as possible
the more we all grow
because it causes awareness and it causes inspiration.
I personally find myself inspired every single day
by a 360 photo or a tiny planet that I see on Facebook or Instagram
which inspires me to go shoot a great photo
and then that photo inspires other people to go out and get great shots of their own.
It's win, win, win, we all inspire each other.
Coming to somewhere like this
it's a place that holds a strong, personal significance to me.
As someone with Jewish heritage
it's extremely powerful seeing a memorial like this.
Something so massive that signifies such a horrible time in history.
It's really moving being here
and I want to make sure I capture this right
so I can appreciate this memorial long after I've gone.
I know the best way to capture this environment
is going to be in 360.
A normal camera
a phone's camera or a DSLR
isn't going to do this amazing monument justice.
It's just so big and powerful
and you can only capture just a really small glimpse with a normal camera.
I know my 360 camera, despite being small
is going to make this environment look really big and beautiful.
360 is the best way to capture a snapshot in time
at least capture everything so you can reframe it later.
You're not bound to a square or a rectangle
you get everything and you can choose your square or rectangle later
It gives you the flexibility to choose
and you can create these amazing angles later
that you never even imagined when you shot the photo.
A lot of people say that 360 is a fad or a phase that's going to pass
but that couldn't be any further from the truth.
I think of it this way
anything that gives value
is going to stay around for a very long time.
360 helps architects, it helps people in medical fields
it just gives value, plain and simple
so there's no way it's going to die out anytime soon
if I can help it.
The future is bright for 360.
If you haven't started your 360 journey yet
there is no better time than now.