Winter 360 Gloucestershire

The festive season is well and truly upon us. Christmas parties, plenty of food and as of today the magic that is snow! It might have been two days for a “white Christmas” however nevertheless, the feeling of Winter was ever present. Therefore, I tried to capture this magical moment by bringing out my DJI Mavic Pro drone to create a beautiful winter 360. Taking to the skies to view the snow-covered houses and hills around Gloucestershire.

Whilst the snowy streets and paths looked extremely picturesque, I was more interested in seeing the scene from above. Recently DJI has updated the Mavic firmware to allow 360 pano capture, something I was keen to try. I’ve enjoyed shooting 360 photography from the ground, therefore from the sky was taking it to new heights. Walking over to Coopers Edge, normally a short trip, however, in these winter conditions it took about 40 minutes. I’m glad I did though as the view walking between the new modern buildings and sweeping hills was amazing.

I found the spot I wanted to launch the drone from and took to the skies. Flying into position I found the perfect area to capture the 360. With the Mavic, it takes a total of 34 photos (a lot more than I use in most of the virtual tours I shoot!) this is due to the field of view of the lens. After completing the 360 sphere photo I carried on flying around, taking in the beauty of this near perfect Winter December day.

By the time I had finished flying the drone around, capturing some video and still photography, my hands were pretty much frozen!! Walking back home couldn’t happen quick enough. Once home it was time to put on the kettle, hot chocolate and start the editing of the 360. To create the equirectangular image I used PTGui, which after the software rendered the file, I imported the final image into Pano2VR. Below is the final created 360, which also includes a VR version, for those who own a VR headset or Google cardboard device.

The reaction of the 360 has been incredible. After I posted the 360 on my Facebook page, I had an editor of Gloucestershire Live asking if they could use the post in an article. Jump forward an hour later and my 360 was live within their news section!

Currently, on my Facebook post, I’ve had over 50 shares and countless comments! It’s amazing to see so many people enjoying this winter 360! Guess I’ll have to bring out the drone again for some more aerial 360 photography sometime soon…..watch this space!