There are thousands upon thousands of lotus photos. How do you take one that stands out? Award-winning photographer Yuqing Guo captured stunning lotus photos by shooting from impossible viewpoints with a 360 camera. Here’s how he did it:
To take this photo, Yuqing used the Kandao Qoocam 8K (reviewed here), a 360 camera with in-camera image stacking capability, and an 18-foot long carbon fiber monopod, the Nodal Ninja Pole Series 2 ($600).
360 cameras like the Qoocam 8K are very compact and moreover, they can capture photos without the need to aim. As a result, they can capture unique perspectives that would be difficult, if not impossible, for traditional cameras.
One limitation of consumer and prosumer 360 cameras is their small sensors. The Qoocam 8K has among the largest sensors for consumer 360 cameras with two 1/1.7-inch size sensors but its sensors are dwarfed by sensors used in DSLR and mirrorless cameras. Nonetheless it is possible to get excellent image quality from the Qoocam 8K through its DNG8 mode.
DNG8 is an image stacking feature of the Qoocam 8K. It will take a burst of eight Raw DNG photos then stack them to reduce noise and increase dynamic range. But surely the pole here would be moving between shots? Indeed, but the Qoocam 8K uses a special stacking algorithm that can be used even with moving objects, and in the latest firmware version of Qoocam 8K, the stacking can be done in-camera, with batch processing, as shown by Yuqing.
If you’re a photographer who has not tried shooting with a 360 camera yet, I invite you to discover a new world of creative possibilities by shooting with a 360 camera.
My simple rig to get those worm’s eye views with my entry level Theta S is a cheap plastic tent peg with a 1/4 inch thread stainless steel bolt inserted through the top. The camera with tent peg is just inserted in to the ground amongst the foliage and shoot with the app from my phone. To add some height, I have an extendable aluminium pole that gives me an extra metre if I wish. The tent peg is fairly long, so gives extra lattitude for height if used alone. As the camera is so light, I could easily add a second pole. The tent peg rig costs very little and was fast and easy to make. It could have been made from scrap plastic or aluminium if I wished by using my tap and die tools, but it would have taken more time and had the risk of the thread fracturing in the tripod mount. I do have a 4 metre painter’s pole as well which I used to use with a DSLR , fisheye lens and radio remote control for cheap helicopter style views on the extreme cheap. The good old days of photographing peaceful protest rallies with that setup. Taking shots with it every few seconds made it seem like a high definition movie. Rallies today seem to be anything but peaceful, so the pole would find itself being used for self defense!
Thanks Jim! I didn’t even know they made tent pegs with 1/4-20 connectors. But that sounds like a great setup!