About this Gigapixel

This 360º panoramic photo of Paris was shot from the top of the Eiffel tower. Using lenses of different focal lengths and a very high-resolution camera, over a period of a few hours, I was able to capture the skyline of Paris in every direction. On the day that this photo was shot, the weather was luckily quite clear (although it could have been clearer). Visibility is around 15Km from here. The leaves are beginning to change color, and the weather down on the ground is warm and pleasant (at the top of the Eiffel Tower though, it's pretty cold and windy!). Because of the severe rules against tripods and any larger photographic equipment, this panorama was shot by hand.

Getting to the top of the Eiffel Tower can be a bit tricky these days. Because of the huge number of tourists in Paris, as well as the usual Security Theater / Terrorism Paranoia, it's no longer possible to stroll up to the Eiffel Tower, buy a ticket, and just go up; buying tickets online is also not easy, as the tickets for the elevator are booked many days in advance, mostly by tour companies who then resell the tickets for a few times the standard price - yes, it's a big racket. What is possible, though, is to show up before the tower opens, and buy a ticket for the stairs, and just walk up. The stairs, you say? Yes, get off your lazy butt and walk up to the first level (you have to take the elevator from the first level to the top in any case). By the time you get up to the first level, your legs will be warm, and it will probably be chilly and windy up there, anyway!

The creation of this image from the source photos was a process that took a few months, which included the development of the RAW files to 16-bit TIFFS, image alignment and optimization, stitching / rendering, and retouching / final color grading.

If you would like to license this image, or have us create an image of another city, please get in touch!

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