50k full size images @300ppi
(…your tv is a 4k image)
prints are up to 15,000 pixels x 15,000 pixels @300ppi [ aka 4ft 2in x 4ft 2in or 50” x 50” ]
You can’t increase resolution just by scaling an image to be larger. You actually lose resolution that way … Try it and see what happens… High print quality requires ~ 300 dpi (or 300 pixels per inch). Planet apps and 360º cameras could ONLY get me to 4K or 12x12 inch at high print quality… sure you can scan them, and blow them up with resampling but you lose detail like crazy…or rather you never had it to begin with. Besides, THAT’S NOT THE POINT… to get the best result, I needed 100% edit control and the ability to push the resolution limit without going broke or buying photo specific gear (gear only used for tiny planets).
I tried online companies that offer cheap all-in-1 solutions for print & ship services. You get what you pay for… In a bout of desperation, I even tried at home printing. One print and I quickly decided to never try it again. Learn from my mistakes …
The size of these images is actually a bi-product of the resolution. They are big because they are hi-res, not the other way around. I create images in their native size and go from there. If they were lower resolution, they would come out smaller. (ex: @300dpi a 4K image (4000x4000) would print a 12”x12” hi-res photo image). I’ll see how these images sell and I’d like to see about going even bigger in the near future…
the story behind these unique images
THE FIRST time i saw a “tiny planet” was on an app I was passed in 2012. I recall being interested in the fact that I could take an otherwise normal image and give it a unique perspective. After all, perspective is powerful. As usual, I wanted to find the top end for quality. I started taking photos and trying to figure these things out. I noticed there were a myriad of issues impeding “professional results.” unfortunately, the apps gave me zero editing control and the final images were tiny.
my first in 2012
so I did what I always do with something I don’t understand … I tried to take it apart and it blew up in my face. I dug into how the apps were creating the planets, how they were capturing, how they were stitching and hit wall after wall. Overall, I was in way over my head and failed miserably at recreating anything i could use. I had no idea what i was doing. FFwd a long, long time…
Then we all had C0V1D . . . Coincidentally, I spent most of 2019 traveling, working on ME and focusing on my photography. While 2020 was tough, the isolation spent behind the camera was welcomed and felt like getting back to a routine. I decided to re-open alternate perspective images can-of-worms. Bear with me here but the the light that year seemed to intensify as it was unburdened by air traffic. 2020 produced some wide gradients I’ve not seen before. So magic light and skies + the drone assuring my social distance = Random Project #33,423
About the time i started to get excited, I remembered why I shelved this idea years back. Nothing had really progressed and no one was really pushing. I searched everywhere … I tried 360º cameras, I tried apps, I used drone programs, I tried doing it by hand… AGAIN, I couldn’t find a way to produce what I felt was an acceptable resolution. Sure, I could quickly make an “OK image” that I could maybe print at normal size… but just OK is just ok… It took about a month of isolation to figure out the best hybrid gear and workflow. With a little creativity and a ton of persistence, I finally found a hybrid workflow + gear set to make my images have millions of pixels instead of thousands. It takes about a week per image but the end result is well worth it.
My new workflow takes forever but the results make it worth the effort. Wherever you think, “oh there’s an app for that part,” I can assure you, the app is not good enough. I do a lot by hand and eye. Each final image starts out as anywhere from 25-40 individual hi-res photos. I don’t like to replace skies or make mostly fake images… Your eye can see edit and that makes the image seem fake to the viewer.
… in 2021
I won’t shoot unless the conditions are perfect…
Head outside and its doom and gloom? try again tomorrow Perfectly boring, cloudless, blue sky? nope, try again
Rain plus electronics? forget it… try again tomorrow.
Each shot takes a few attempts. Besides waiting for just the right moment at the right time of year, you have to take into account the time of day and location. I simply have to put in the time to get these results. It is not easy but it is well worth it… and that kind of goes for anything monumental in life.
••• if you want to know more about my background (or want to talk about your marketing), head to 33creates.com •••