An image from the Italian Alps. Shots used for the work were taken during a short hike to a mountain cabin near home, in north-eastern Italy: rifugio Madonna della Neve (“Our Lady of the Snow”). There’s a small chapel nearby dedicated to her.

You can have a look at the beautiful view from near the rifugio here …this time I wasn’t the one that took the 360 image 😉

At the sunset…

…we’re near the end of the hike, a few minutes from the cabin. The sun is casting some interesting rays from behind the mountains:

MatericLook: MadonnaDellaNeve 00 by Francesco Perratone, Italian Alps Photography and art

 

Without the large watermark and in different (higher) resolutions, it’s also April 2017 wallpaper, for my Patreon supporters.

 

You can receive wallpapers or prints each month, by becoming a patron! You can also help me creating more works by buying one: MatericLook shop, or with a small donation:  .

Thank you!

Digital Art, Photography, wallpaper

Italian Alps art & photography: Madonna della Neve

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So, it’s finally snowing here….

MatericLook: SnowyDay_v000 by Francesco Perratone, Italy Photography and art

until now there’s not much here. It will not last long, maybe more further up the mountains.

Let’s hope so, it will be good to do some late snowshoes hiking, always a good practive for taking some nice winter photos!

Have a wonderful week, everyone!

Photography, update

Snowing! :-)

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VR and 360° photography and art

Hello!

I’ve been absent for some time, mainly researching and testing in the fields of Virtual Reality (VR) and 360° photography… I’m now ready to share the first (decent) art experiment….

I took a 360 degrees picture of a nice sanctuary here in Italy (more images of the place here), from one of the top floor’s windows. I then applied some quick painting-like effects…. I had to modulate the type of strokes to retain more details where needed, mainly around the top church and its cupola.

In the image below it’s possible to look around by clicking+scrolling on a computer or by rotating your phone/tablet. The accelerometer permits to use the phone/tablet as a “window” through the portrayed place by reading its movements. The size of the image makes the file larger, it will take some time for it to load.

On the bottom right there should be an icon to switch to fullscreen mode, to better experience the view ;-).

Of course the best immersive result it’s obtained by using a (very cheap) VR viewer and your smartphone. A bit like being “right there” in the portrayed place. If you’re on a compatible device there should be a cardboard icon to switch to VR mode (also on bottom right)

The image and technique, something on VR and 360°

360° images, also called photospheres, have a high resolution because you must be able to “look around”, as if you’re inside the picture.

Each possible viewpoint has to be presented in a decent resolution. They’re also saved in a way that permits to retain all relevant information using standard image formats. It’s possible to do that thanks to a projection, that “deforms” the image and adapts it to a 2d space. Currently the main type of projection used is equirectangular.

This is what the saved image looks like (in very low resolution):

Floating_Oropa_Painted_01

This is a monoscopic image (no real “3D” effect, at least for now), but it shows the potential and possibilities in that direction (VR and 360°).

All these aspects must be taken into account during the elaboration and painting of the image.

Until now the software and hardware are limited, especially if you’re an experimenter on a tight budget. I’m partially working with DIY tools and using complicated workflows.

I’ll create some more similar content, using both photography and 3d graphics….. let me know what do you think!

Digital Art, Photography, VR

VR and 360° art – Floating in a painting – Oropa

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We’re nearing the sunset, the shadows are becoming longer and darker. The mountains, jagged against the perfectly blue sky, are painted by spectacular shades…

Mount Rundle, Alberta

WxH 80.3 x 53.8 cm, 31.62 x 21.17 inches

If you like this or some other works I’ve done, please consider supporting me on Patreon and get tutorials, help or custom works in return!

Digital Art, Photography, Uncategorized

Canada Photography and Art: SundanceRange

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MatericLook: RailroadByTheSun by Francesco Perratone

A beautiful afternoon in BC, not too far from Alberta and the parks…. The light is incredible, a little haze makes the mountains on the horizon otherworldly….

British Columbia, landscape

WxH 80.3 x 53.8 cm, 31.62 x 21.17 inches

If you like this or some other works I’ve done, please consider supporting me on Patreon and get tutorials, help or custom works in return!

Digital Art, Photography, Uncategorized

Canada Photography and Digital Art: RailroadByTheSun

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Canada Photography: TheWheel by Francesco Perratone, MatericLook

TheWheel

Another photo form Canada, I was lucky to capture this beautiful sunset. The red sun highlighted the town hill, while the mountains in the back were almost completely black, giving great contrast. The cloudy sky also had a nice contrast with great depth, a beautiful company to the underlying landscape.

Alberta, View

WxH 80.3 x 48.9 cm, 31.62 x 19.24 inches

If you like this or some other works I’ve done, please consider supporting me on Patreon and get tutorials, help or custom works in return!

Digital Art, Photography, Uncategorized

Canada Photography and Digital Art: TheWheel

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MatericLook: OldMan00 by Francesco Perratone

OldMan00

Isle of Skye, landscape

 

As (almost) all my works, this is available as a print on large canvas (limited to 10) or cotton paper (signed). If interested you can take a look at the shop. If it’s not available yet, you can contact me directly.

Here are some free works for download as wallpapers, as well as some animations to watch.

If you like this or other of my works, please consider supporting me on Patreon with 1$/month, or donate something through Paypal:

Thank you!

Digital Art, Photography

OldMan00

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