A local photographer is giving Canberrans a full-circle view of their city, all with the help of a trusty camera and tripod.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
James Presneill's interior panorama images of the city's businesses allow customers to check out lunch spots, galleries and even wedding venues without needing to leave their houses.
His images are synchronised with Google's Maps and Street View applications, bringing the 360-degree interactive views on-screen as soon as a business is looked up on the search engine.
The avid photographer has been a "Street View Trusted Photographer" for a while, but decided to start his own business, CATP, based on the technology after the company he worked for closed last year.
About 30 clients pay him to come into their businesses, snap 12 images on a tripod using an 8 millimetre fish-eye lens camera in certain spots, then pass the photographs onto Google, which uses GPS to create a virtual tour of the buildings.
Between five and 35 12-image panoramas are used on each virtual tour depending on the size of the business, with Mr Presneill taking from two days to a fortnight.
"I really enjoy the Street View stuff; 360 panoramas are really a growth industry at the moment," Mr Presneill said.
"Facebook's just started supporting 360 still images as well, so it's that first step into virtual reality."
As well as snapping cafes, restaurants, and hire function rooms, Mr Presneill has produced panoramas for parts of the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House.
He said the interactivity helped restaurants and cafes in particular to attract customers in areas with high amounts of competition and choice.
"If you get the chance to click inside and virtually walk in and look around the cafe, get a sense of the atmosphere and the vibe in there, then that's going to help you choose that one over another cafe that doesn't have the interactivity," he said.
As well as capturing hospitality spots around town, Mr Presneill has been contracted by some more unexpected businesses.
"I've shot a skydiving business in Moruya," he said.
"They're just far enough off the road that Street View doesn't pick them up, but now when you find them you can walk in through the front door, through the hangar, see some of the planes and parachutes around the place."
Some 30 businesses have already been captured by Mr Presneill, who works as part of the professional certified program offered by Google.
The search engine giant offers direct business hire shots from its own website alongside offers for web searches.
