Vernal pools are enchanting places, the breeding habitat of dozens of animal species that would otherwise be absent or rare in a forest. But it is a challenge to take enchanting photos of vernal pools. If you stand far enough away to include the entire pool, lots of trees will probably block your view and the photos don’t seem to capture the essence or importance of the place.
Ned bought a couple of Gangster Carp Poles for doing low-altitude aerial photography and I have used one to take photos of things around my house. Getting a camera up into the forest canopy can provide an unusual view, so I brought the pole and a motorized camera rig to the vernal pool we have been monitoring.
The Saturn V Rig points the camera in every direction it can and takes a photo. I held the pole as still as I could and let the rig capture photos of the entire scene over the pool for several minutes. It was taking 25 different photos every two minutes before starting the cycle again. I wasn’t doing anything but trying not to move. The 25 photos from one complete cycle were later stitched together in Microsoft ICE.
The full panorama includes parts of 25 12 megapixel photos, so it is a high resolution image. Above, it is embedded from GigaPan so you can exploit the full resolution by zooming and scrolling or clicking on the snapshots.
I might try to capture this view again on a brighter day but before the tree leaves get very big. It’s satisfying to do a type of aerial photography which drones are not very good at.