Skip to main content

Pan, zoom and gawk at this epic NYC panorama shot atop the Freedom Tower

The new tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere, known as One World Trade Center (unofficially the “Freedom Tower”), is nearly complete, with a scheduled opening planned for sometime this year. While it isn’t ready to accept visitors yet, Time Magazine has created an amazing interactive 360-degreee-panorama image of New York City from the top of the building, which gives us an early glimpse of what the view would be like at 1,776 feet. The image was created to accompany a feature about the building. 

To capture the photo, Time had to negotiate for months with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (the property’s owner) to gain access to the top of the 408-foot spire. Once that was approved, Time worked with Portland, Oregon-based Gigapan – a company specializing in creating high-resolution panoramas – on the logistics, which included working with mechanical engineers and construction welders to create and attach a 13-foot aluminum jib with a rotating arm – a process that took eight months. A Canon EOS 5D Mark II with a 100mm lens was placed in the arm, and shot 567 images over a 5-hour span.

After the photos were stitched together on a computer during post-processing, what resulted is a huge image that you can tilt, pan, and zoom. How high quality is the image? We could zoom all the way into the distance and make out buildings and landmarks, as far away as Coney Island in outer Brooklyn. You can play with the interactive panorama at Time’s website.

(Via Time; images via Time, Gigapan)

Les Shu
Former Digital Trends Contributor
I am formerly a senior editor at Digital Trends. I bring with me more than a decade of tech and lifestyle journalism…
Don’t miss the chance to get this 128GB SD card for less than $100
The Lexar 128GB Professional 2000x UHS-II SDXC Memory Card on a white background.

Your new purchase from camera deals will need storage for photos and videos, but you can't buy just any SD card that you see online. It's highly recommended that you invest in a high-quality storage device like the Lexar Professional 2000x UHS-II SDXC Memory Card, which you can currently get from B&H Photo Video with a $75 discount on its 128GB version that brings its price down from $170 originally to a more affordable $95. You may want to buy multiples of this SD card while it's available for less than $100, but you'll have to hurry because we're not sure how much time is remaining on this bargain.

Why you should buy the Lexar Professional 2000x UHS-II SDXC Memory Card
More devices are using microSD cards for expanded storage, but according to our guide on finding the right memory card for your digital camera, most DSLR cameras and mirrorless cameras are still using SD cards like the Lexar Professional 2000x UHS-II SDXC Memory Card. Lexar is one of the brands that we wouldn't hesitate to recommend to photographers, and this SD card's read speed of 300 MB/s and write speed of 260 MB/s will enable quick transfers and smooth shooting. Additionally, as an UHS-II card, you won't have a problem with advanced functions such as continuous shutter bursts, rapid shooting, and raw and JPEG captures.

Read more
Capture all the action with the GoPro HERO12 Black — $150 off today at Amazon
The GoPro Hero 12 Black Creator Edition set up on a small tripod on the beach.

In the moment, when you're blasting over that jump on your dirt bike, catching that killer wave, or jumping off of whatever insane cliff you've found, you don't necessarily think about capturing it all. But one of the best ways to make that happen is to strap on an action cam, like a GoPro. You can capture all of the action, and it's relatively low-lift. You wear whatever unique mount is best for the situation and the camera does all the work. There's just one issue, action cameras can be expensive especially if you're on a budget. However, today, Amazon has the GoPro HERO12 Black for $150 off. That brings it down from its normal price of $400 to $250. You can use that extra money to grab an accessory and you're good to go. GoPro HERO12 Black captures it all in 5.3K or 4K so you can rewatch the glory over and over.

 
Why buy the GoPro HERO12 Black? To capture the action, that's why
An action camera like a GoPro makes it possible to capture the action, in full detail, no matter what you're doing. You don't even have to be doing crazy stunts either. A common misconception is that they're only useful for outdoor activities, but no they work for filming just about anything. Even if you're having a barbecue, or a birthday party, or want to see what your roaming cat sees throughout the day -- a GoPro is what you need.

Read more
NASA astronaut Don Pettit talks photography from the space station
NASA astronaut Don Pettit discussing his photography from aboard the ISS.

NASA ASTRONAUT DISCUSSES PHOTOGRAPHY IN SPACE WITH NASASPACEFLIGHT.COM

NASA astronaut Don Pettit arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) in September on his fourth orbital mission in 22 years. Besides working on various science projects on the space-based facility, Pettit is also known for his keen interest in photography, and he regularly shares his impressive efforts -- including rivers, clouds, star trails, and high-speed spacecraft -- on X and Instagram.

Read more