Monday, April 27, 2009

Annie's Artifax Studio at Narrows Center for the Arts



Annie does jewelry. Annie does Attitude. Annie does them both at the same time. She crafts most of her creations out of clay that hardens when baked in a toaster oven for a few minutes. It's an easy and fun way to create a base and leaves her more time to explore color, texture and form .... and attitude. She adds those later. Paints that sparkle and crack. Paints that say fun. Beads that can't get enough of eachother on a string. Tiny tablets using a Japanese art called "Kanji." You can browse this virtual studio and pick something out. Give her a call at 508.243.5428.

One more thing. Annie was a teacher in Fall River's School system for many years. She's a teacher still. She'd like to teach you to make jewelry using her techniques. Given half a chance, she'll post your photo on her wall under the sign "Annie's Alumni." If you look closely enough at that part of the panorama you'll see a snapshot of a cute little fellow wearing a green striped shirt. That's my son making his mother a christmas gift. He was so excited that he had to give it to her by Thanksgiving but he strings beads like he means it to this day!

Thanks Annie - for sharing your journey.






Aerial Vr - "Your location in high definition virtual reality."
email us with your comments and ideas at btshriver@aerialvr.com & cblake@aerialvr.com
For more about our services see our website at www.aerialvr.com

Thursday, April 23, 2009



Heart & Soul Studio at the Narrows Center is occupied by a pair of sisters who announce their art as "elegant, eclectic and occasionally outrageous wearable and fine art. Darlene Joyce (508.678.0039) makes jewelry that displays a wry sense of humor and strange figures that seem to spring from nature and her imagination. Be sure to take a look at the strange fellow who might a tree taking human form. Cindy Lou Wandashchilde (508.673.0425) displays a wide variety of artwork that spans the spectrum from strange dolls made from socks to fine pencil sketches to one of a kind hats. Both sisters like to indulge their interest in the macabre and enjoy welcoming visitors into their studio during live music events.






Aerial Vr - "Your location in high definition virtual reality."
email us with your comments and ideas at btshriver@aerialvr.com & cblake@aerialvr.com
For more about our services see our website at www.aerialvr.com

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Our Journey

We do panoramic photographs at aerialvr.com, sometimes aerial ones. It's a strange and exciting place to be. It's a relatively new technology that's been made possible by the advent of digital technology and of course by computers and the internet. It's already so good that the "vr" part (short for virtual reality) is hardly an exageration. It will only get better.

My journey began 6 years ago when I borrowed a digital snapshot camera with the notion of participating in a local art contest. I went to a pleasant spot with a view, aimed my camera at the horizon and took 10 images spanning 180 degrees of view. I took them home and printed them out on my home computer and then manually pieced them together with the aid of an exacto knife and some tape. I framed the resulting 7' long photograph and entered my contest. I took an honorable mention, for concept mostly. It was a little rough in the way of craft but it was still a panoramic photograph: a series of images brought together at their edges to create a larger one with an extremely wide angle of view, but without the usual distortion that wide angle lenses create.

It occurred to me then that someone might be doing digitally what I had done with my knife. I typed "panorama" into the internet and found some free software that would do just what I'd imagined. I loaded the software into my pc along with the 10 photos I'd taken and my pc promptly crashed, overloaded. A friend of mine doing digital photography on a much better computer was intrigued by my project and took it on. He completed it in short order and printed it out. It hangs in my living room to this day. It's still fun to look at.

Roll the calendar to 2009 and enter Christopher Blake. Chris had started a business doing digital panoramas and aerial photography several years back. Chris saw the panoramic photograph on my wall and began to share his own enthusiasm. He wanted someone to write a blog that might attract attention in the blogosphere, some web traffic and new business opportunities. He also needed someone to share photography duties. I signed up with gusto!

Chris' journey towards aerial panoramic photography really began in the early 1990's with hang gliding. Somewhere along the line he hung up his wings but must have missed his bird's eye view and began to ruminate on how he could recreate the experience without the hazards. His first idea was to mount a camera on the bottom of a radio controlled model helicopter. He wasn't the first to do this. It was an impressive machine with several horsepower and a 5' diameter rotor but he watched a fellow enthusiast and expert pilot crash one into the side of a house after the tiniest of mechanical failures and wondered if that was really how he wanted to hoist an expensive camera into the air. He decided to try something safer.

Chris bought a high performance kite that with a stiff wind could easily lift his camera off the ground. Actually, he lofted the kite part of the way into the sky, attached his camera to a little trolley of his own design and then let the line out. The kite went up and hauled the camera up after itself. The camera was set to take a series of photos on timer and despite the swinging and swaying about one of the shots was bound to be worth the effort. It was fun but it had serious limitations.

His next purchase was a 15' helium filled blimp. He hung his camera on the bottom of that and found a gadget that allowed him to trigger his camera remote control. The blimp was tethered and would orient itself to the wind so the next step was obvious. He had to spin the camera on a mount using a servo motor. Chris put his background in airplane mechanics, radio control devices and mechanical design to work and soon had a remote control robotic camera mount hanging from his blimp. It was too heavy to fly well but a bigger blimp solved that problem.

Not a bad rig! Chris was soon traveling to scenic spots around Rhode Island to fly his blimp and take photographs. At some point the technology for stitching digital photographs together into panoramas came across his radar and the notion for Aerial VR was born. Some of his early work entailed doing aerial panoramas for developers of tall buildings who were trying to market their view. Often it's not possible to fly an aircraft of any type under 500' altitude. The blimp is an attractive option. The pay scale is attractive too for that sort of work but it doesn't come along that often and good flying and photography days come along even more rarely.

We're approaching if not a "perfect storm" of events then a series of technological events that are making Aerial VR an exciting business proposition. Digital cameras have come a long way. A digital SLR can now slam away 10 or more beautifully focused megapixels of digital imagery several times a second. They are easily remote controllable, communicating to standard laptops over inexpensive equipment designed for cordless networking. Chris' blimp supported remote controlled robotic camera mount (bsrcrcm??) takes these amazing cameras safely up into the sky and points them in the right direction. Chris' next generation of robotic mounting equipment promises to be even more stable and accurately positionable and is likely to go into use this summer.

The storm isn't over yet. One has to consider what happens next to the digital data. State of the art stitching software puts all of the imagery together into a seamless panoramic bubble, or "panobubble" as we often refer to them. The next part of the problem is bringing the panobubble to the consumer of photographic delights and getting him to step inside the virtual reality it creates around him. High resolution panobubbles are data heavy. A company named KR Pano has created a viewer that runs on a standard pc. It allows the viewer to "point" himself in any direction and to zoom in and out. Zoom out to enjoy the panoramic view from horizon to horizon. Zoom in to practically count the whiskers on that squirrel perched on a branch hundreds of yards away. So the answer to the piles of data problem is to just shovel the part the veiwer has "requested" by adjusting the pan and zoom settings on his viewer.

Another company named 360Cities has adopted the KRPano viewer and perfected the art of streaming just the "requested" data over the internet. Now the consumer can enjoy virtual reality with nothing more exotic than a standard pc with a dsl type connection. The mighty (and mightily prescient) Google has recognized the potential of this technology and backed one its best providers at 360Cities.

Where does that leave us at Aerial VR? We're not sure. We're on a quest. We're on a quest for cool. We're looking for wow and we want to share it, our cool bird's eye view on the planet. Who might enjoy this technology? Who might decide they even need it? Who might benefit from it and what will they be willing to pay for it. Real Estate developers? Real Estate sales people? The tourist industry? The professor of architecture in the classroom? The virtual tourist or the tourist industry? We're not sure where our holy grail lies but one thing we're sure of, we intend to enjoy the journey in search of it and shoot some really fun photos on the way there.






Aerial Vr - "Your location in high definition virtual reality."
email us with your comments and ideas at btshriver@aerialvr.com & cblake@aerialvr.com
For more about our services see our website at www.aerialvr.com

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Moonglow Expressions & Dream Weaver Studios



Moonglow Expressions & Dream Weaver Studios occupies one of the resident artist studios at the Narrows Center for the Arts (www.ncfta.org) This panorama provides a glimpse into the world of two artists. In Sharon Owen's world deer antlers, polished gourds and copper wire combine with traditional basket making material to create truly amazing baskets. Despite the fact that Sharon has mastered many precisely defined traditional basket forms, each basket for Sharon is a unique journey of creation. No two are alike and she likes it that way. So do many others. Sharon benefits from the synergistic atmosphere that exists at the Narrows and likes to keep her studio open to visitors during the frequent live music events. Over 10,000 art sensitive visitors stroll by the windows of her studio every year. Her baskets have found their way into the homes and collections of quite a few visiting musicians. John Hammond, Simon Nichols and Jerry Douglas all boast one of her unique creations . Sharon also likes to share her love of basketweaving giving small group classes. For more information call Sharon at 508-678-3662.

Joan L'homme calls her part of the studio "Moonglow Expressions." Joan works mainly in watercolors and has mastered a unique style in which she combines forms from nature with exuberant abstractions from her own vision. Joan sells framed originals and prints of her paintings framed and sells printed cards containing her work as well.






Aerial Vr - "Your location in high definition virtual reality."
email us with your comments and ideas at btshriver@aerialvr.com & cblake@aerialvr.com
For more about our services see our website at www.aerialvr.com

Andrew Kusmin - Three - Narrows Gallery



This is the third panorama of Andrew Kusmin's work taken from near the center of the Narrows Gallery. The last two posts have dealt with the gallery and with the artwork of Andrew Kusmin. Perhaps this one should sketch one of the personalities behind the Narrows Gallery, interim Gallery Director Deb Charlebois. NB: the word "interim" was inserted at her request. Everyone wants her to do it permanently! She may be inclined to think of this particular job as only a stop on her professional journey but it's a job she's done extremely well. Deb has shows booked with a great series of artists nearly into 2010. Art is a tough sell in Fall River but she definitely has the Narrows Gallery on an upward trend in terms of visits by patrons, total sales dollars and quality of exhibit. She doesn't just book them either. She often spends hours hanging them, standing side by side with the artist until the entire exhibit feels just right. She's been in training for this role for decades now ... she's the mother of an artist.

Deb wears many hats at the Narrows Center including Operations Manager and first paid staff person. This means that she's around to maintain consistent viewing hours for the gallery. Hours are Wednesday to Saturday, noon to 5.

How many hats does Deb wear at the Narrows Center? Here are a few more: bookeeper, public relations, live music event ticketing and sales, fund raiser and membership coordinator and onsite project manager for a series of ambitious capital improvements that the Narrows has undertaken in the past year and finally .... marketing, which means among other things daily updates to the dynamic content at the Narrows website. www.ncfta.org If you haven't guessed yet ... your humble blogger has been involved in developing the Narrows Center as a volunteer and craftsman for many years. I think I can speak for all the volunteers and staff people at the Narrows when I express my gratitude mixed with a bit of awe for all that Deb Charlebois has accomplished here. One last note: she does it all while smiling. Happy Journey Deb.





Aerial Vr - "Your location in high definition virtual reality."
email us with your comments and ideas at btshriver@aerialvr.com & cblake@aerialvr.com
For more about our services see our website at www.aerialvr.com

Andrew Kusman - Two - Narrows Gallery



I've said enough for the time being about the Narrows Gallery. The gallery is only a backdrop for what is really important, the artwork it displays and the human connection it facilitates between artist and the person trying to appreciate his work.

Andrew Kusmin paints watercolors, often of scenes that are near and dear to the hearts of New Englanders. In the humble opinion of this blogger, he does it as well as anyone. Here are some words from his website that ring true:

"Andrew Kusmin's pieces compel you to stop, look and reflect on the story of life contained in small moments: to connect with the lingering human presence."

You can float around inside this panoramic bubble of Andrew's work as it appeared at the Narrows Gallery and get a taste at least of what it is to experience his artwork. Appetite wetted, you may choose to proceed to his website to see stunning full screen reproductions of many of his works: www.kusminarts.com (Use the portfolio button) Warning! You may find that nothing but the viewing of his artwork in person will suffice. If you do then you'll find directions to his gallery in Plymouth on his website. Happy Journey!






Aerial Vr - "Your location in high definition virtual reality."
email us with your comments and ideas at btshriver@aerialvr.com & cblake@aerialvr.com
For more about our services see our website at www.aerialvr.com

Andrew Kusman - One - Narrows Gallery



People walk into the Narrows Gallery and say "great space!" almost without fail. It spreads outwards and upwards with a wonderful repetition of simple industrial architectural geometry. Rows of wooden columns stretch up 14' and more to a ceiling supported by massive wooden beams. Along the walls are spaced window after window, arched and subtly beveled. Holophane area lighting fixtures have a crystalline elegance that evokes an era when serious thought was put into creating industrial spaces with aesthetic appeal. It would be a stretch to call it an architectural masterpiece. It's only a mill building! But, it's a very well built one that has been refurbished carefully to house the Narrows Center for the Arts on its third floor.

The Narrows Gallery occupies nearly 2000 square feet of floor space of the 15,000+ at the Narrows Center. It has 200 linear feet of wall space for the display of artwork. Over 170' of track lighting combined with plenty of adjustable lighting fixtures mean that even very large groups of artwork can be hung and displayed to perfection. A combination of large and small spaces connected by long site lines makes for a really pleasing overall affect. Recent addition of a passenger elevator with handicapped ramps means that everyone can enjoy what the gallery has to offer.

The Narrows Gallery is part of a larger organization called the Narrows Center for the Arts which seeks to enrich the lives of people with art by bringing together artists and musicians and the people who appreciate them. For more information on the organization and to see the roster of gallery shows and live music events they offer visit their website at www.ncfta.org






Aerial Vr - "Your location in high definition virtual reality."
email us with your comments and ideas at btshriver@aerialvr.com & cblake@aerialvr.com
For more about our services see our website at www.aerialvr.com
This is the blog of Aerial Vr (www.aerialvr.com). We create virtual reality photographs for viewing on the web. We also send our cameras into the sky on a variety of kites and blimps to see the world from a bird's eye view. We're blogging about our experiences as this exciting new technology and the market around it develops. We're also dedicated to developing a resource for visitors to the Narragansett Bay & Southcoast areas so that they can explore in virtual reality before they come. Try the links above to see all of the content we present in this blog, especially the "Vr Map" link which presents information with a Google map as starting point. "Home" will bring up several recent posts. Or page downwards and try the "Labels" or "Blog Archives" to bring up blog posts and panoramas from our expanding portfolio that fall within a given category. Fair Winds!

JS-Kit Comments