About this project
On March 29th, nine friends and I will launch rafts on the Colorado River on an incredible journey. As a former whitewater raft guide and Google Map Street View imagery producer, I want to capture this journey and share it with the world. I will be shooting GigaPan images at every stop along the river for 18 days. Taking advantage of the 360 degree panoramic range-of-motion of the GigaPan Epic 100 robotic camera mount, I intend to capture the most detail-rich and immersive images that ever been taken at the bottom of the Canyon.
With a big box of batteries and Secure Digital memory cards, I will bring back thousands upon thousands of images from all of the most amazing points of interest including hikes, beaches, geology, vistas, and waterfalls.
Using GigaPan's software to stitch these into ultra-high resolution mosaics upon my return, I will build a website, upload the images to www.gigapan.org, and to Google Earth (where GigaPan has a layer). Visitors will be able explore Grand Canyon GigaView in all of its rich detail at a number of locations online...for free.
My expenses for this project are primarily hard costs of digital storage via at least 20 Secure Digital Cards (16 GB minimum) at $1,200, $200 worth of AA batteries, and $1,100 for the boat rental for a total of $2,500. My travel and trip expenses are self-funded.
Last year, the first image that photographer David Bergman shot with his new GigaPan imager of President Barack Obama's Inauguration introduced the world to this incredible new way of seeing. Explore that image (http://www.gigapan.org/gigapans/15374/) or take some time to explore the 20,000 or so GigaPan images that have been uploaded so far.
Backers for Grand Canyon GigaView will be rewarded with a virtual tour worthy of America's premier natural attraction. With successful funding, backers who contribute $50 or more to this effort will also be rewarded with the addition of their own image (subject to approval) into one of the GigaPan images as an "Easter Egg" to encourage further exploration. Those images will be featured as "Snapshots" on GigaPan.org. A corporate-level pledge of $500 will get your company logo on every GigaPan image that is published in this highly visible project.
Your support of Grand Canyon GigaView today will pay off tomorrow with hours of exploration as you and virtual tourists from around the world come along with us on our journey of a lifetime via the camera's lens.
See you on the river.
Thomas Hayden
FAQ
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61
Backers
$3,419
pledged of $2,500 goal
0
seconds to go
Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on March 26, 2010.
Pledge $1 or more
The minimum pledge amount gives you the knowledge that you contributed to a historical documentation in the tradition of the Kolb Brothers who brought the first motion picture camera down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon in 1912!
Pledge $50 or more
Pledge $50 and I'll embed an image of your choice (subject to approval & it will only be visible at the highest zoom levels) into one of my GigaPan images and create a snapshot with recognition of your pledge on GigaPan.org.
Pledge $500 or more
A Corporate Level Pledge of $500 puts your company logo on every image published on GigaPan.org and Google Earth to be visible at any zoom levels.
Project By
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Introduced to 360° video in a little ski cabin in Girdwood, Alaska, Thomas Hayden brings lessons learned from five years experience specializing in 360° video production and marketing. Thomas' entire career has been focused on providing clients with an incredible experience. Starting as a river guide/expedition leader on the Colorado Plateau for the legendary Holiday Expeditions, he has taken thousands of clients down the magnificent rivers of Utah, Colorado, West Virginia, Mexico, and Alaska. He ventured into entrepreneurism in the travel industry in Denali Park, Alaska, and later brought his skills to the sales and marketing team at Alyeska Resort. It was only the opportunity to work with Google that pulled him away from ski town life. After jump starting Immersive Video Solutions in Anchorage, Alaska, Thomas was tapped to become one of the first producers for the Google Maps Street View project. With a daily shooting schedule and massive scale, Thomas became an expert at the intricacies of 360° video and helped build the foundations of a project that has now spanned the globe. Thomas was eventually brought in off the marketing department at Immersive Media and produced a variety of projects in multiple industries. Recently, Thomas has hit the blogging world with his 360° Video Blog, which has become the leading source of information regarding 360° video and all the latest advancements and players. Thomas holds a degree in Biology from the University of North Texas.
