How is everyone doing out there? Have you had the chance to take panoramas or work on your personal media collection? In any case, we hope this edition of Pano2VR in the Wild helps to inspire you!
If you have a unique project you’d like to see in this space, let us know! Email us a link to your project and a short description to support@ggnome.com for consideration.
A Unique Approach to a Virtual Gallery
A virtual tour can be a way to visit a home, a landmark, a restaurant, or a business online. It can also be used to virtually visit museums and galleries.
Claudio from Alpenguides used Pano2VR to create a virtual photo exhibition. While there are many ways to build a virtual gallery, this one stands out for its atmosphere and attention to detail.
Building the Experience
Using Blender 3D, Claudio rendered 360º panoramas of a custom-designed digital gallery space, showcasing his still photographs from Iceland. Blender gave him full control over lighting, layout, and environment. The result is a compelling fusion of landscape photography and digital architecture.
User-Friendly Navigation and Features
The experience opens with a full spherical panorama of the Icelandic scenery and the 3D model seamlessly integrated within the panorama.
Visitors are welcomed with a clear infographic explaining how to navigate the tour. A side menu offers quick access to key features:
- A lightbox-style gallery of all images
- An embedded online shop for purchasing prints
- An interactive 3D model (dollhouse) of the gallery
- A thumbnail menu for jumping between panoramas
Customize the Visual Atmosphere
Inside the gallery, you’re offered the opportunity to change the scenery. If you’re interested in the plain 3D model, you can view it here. Or maybe you’d prefer to view the northern lights!
Interactive Elements Enhance Exploration
Movement through the gallery is smooth and visually rich. Claudio built a custom skin that adds animated hotspots and a filmstrip-style thumbnail menu for quick orientation. As you explore different nodes, visited locations are marked, which is a small but helpful detail that encourages full exploration. Learn how to build animated hotspots.
Seamless Shopping Integration
The embedded gallery page allows visitors to view the photographs in detail. And if a favorite image stands out, prints can be purchased directly through the embedded online shop. No need to leave the tour!
A Clean, Minimalist Contact Option
A sleek contact sheet slides down from the top of the screen, offering a simple way to get in touch or learn more without breaking the immersive feel.
Claudio’s using computer-generated panoramas to share his photography in a way that feels both intuitive and immersive. With Pano2VR, he connects the different nodes to create a full virtual gallery. Virtual tours aren’t just for real estate or city streets; they can also be used to showcase creative spaces. How you build that is completely up to you.
Claudio’s photography is just stunning. Take a walk through the virtual gallery, and then hop over to his site where there’s more to see, including examples of his custom skins.