Eric Cheng Photography

Eric Cheng Photography Eric Cheng is an underwater photographer, technologist, musician, and author. He works at Oculus (Facebook) as Head of Immersive Media.

I've been thinking about Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) for the last couple of weeks. I started seeing pictures of ...
10/15/2024

I've been thinking about Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) for the last couple of weeks. I started seeing pictures of the comet at dawn, low in the sky against all sorts of gorgeous landscapes, and fondly remembered my pandemic days of chasing celestial objects.

Three days ago, C/2023 A3 started showing up in the dusk sky here in California, and I started to feel an overwhelming pull to go look for it. Luckily, it was really easy to find. Each day, it is higher in the sky when it becomes visible, lasting longer before disappearing below the horizon. Tonight, it was visible to the naked eye starting at around 7:15pm, disappearing below the horizon at around 8:30pm.

Sony A1, 70-200/2.8 GM lens. 2.5 sec @ f2.8, ISO 2000, between 70mm (wide)-160mm (long).

I use the app "Stellarium" on iPhone--you can search for the comet and see when and where it appears in the sky. It's very easy to find (due west) and becomes visible as soon as the skies darken. Tonight, it was exactly halfway along the line between Venus and Arcturus. It's moving slowly up and to the south day by day, but if you're out in the next few days you will still be able to find it by finding Venus and looking a bit above it to the right. Go see it! Bring a modern smart phone and you'll nail the photo.

If you're in the SF Bay Area, a convenient place to get up high and look to the west is "Top of the World" in San Carlos. The foothills dip a bit to the west and allow a clear sightline almost to the horizon. https://maps.app.goo.gl/RCnV5qDyWHj7rHNTA

Thanks to my piano quintet for letting me be late to rehearsal. I was set up, the conditions were perfect, and I needed to get these shots. Also--photography and music in the same night?? How lucky I am...

02/12/2021

A visual tour of immersive video formats, including 360 vs 180 vs rectilinear, and monoscopic (2D) vs stereoscopic (3D). Sample footage courtesy Jonathan Griffith Productions (Everest VR).

03/11/2020

Philip Sheppard, composer, cellist, and entrepreneur, plays some of his favorite compositions with the help of a looper, which he uses to create complex, layered melodies and textures. Originally recorded and streamed live on October 11, 2018 at Facebook HQ in Menlo Park, California.

02/11/2020

A "best of" supercut reel from 3D-180 (VR180) immersive videos, featuring sloths, makers, and musicians. Shot with Z CAM K1 Pro.

Content: 1) Sloths in Panama, 2) St. Lawrence String Quartet plays Haydn, 3) Beatboxers Butterscotch and Syzygy Ep. 01, 4) Bob Kramer: A Real Cutting Edge

11/27/2019

I have been imagining for years what it would be like to create a moving version of the striking still photographs of steel wool spinning, which are almost all long exposures of 10 seconds or more. To create these trails of flying sparks, I applied a moving window of frame stacks to footage of a friend spinning steel wool at the beach.

Be sure to watch this in VR in your Oculus headset ("Save to VR" at this link: http://bit.ly/vrsteelwool). It's stereoscopic (3D), and viewing it on a phone or on a computer screen won't be even close...

Shot using a Z CAM K2 Pro.

05/01/2019

VR180 camera comparison, starring Bryson Voirin and Zoey the Adventure Cat (needs to be watched in a VR headset). Shot at Andy Goldsworthy's Wood Line in San Francisco.

How to watch in headset:

- Download the 5K VR180 video files for local playback: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/rur0o2njibvo49b/AABFH1QLjhJTuP1M5R7lk1e6a?dl=0
- Watch in YouTube VR in Oculus Go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zihqJO4vK_A

This is an extremely difficult scene for digital cameras to represent at high quality--there is a ton of detail, and many elements are in constant motion. I would only expect extremely high-end cameras to be able to capture it effectively, and the results would be almost impossible to distribute due to compression and bandwidth constraints.

Original footage from Z CAM K1 Pro, Humaneyes Vuze XR, and Insta360 EVO cameras. Spatial audio recorded using a Zoom H3-VR. Firmware up to date, with default processing using desktop studio apps as of late April, 2019. All clips put on a 5120x2560 sequence in Adobe Premiere Pro, and exported as h.264 at VBR 2-pass 50-65 Mbps (it will be 4K here on YouTube VR).

Note that the Insta360 EVO processes by default with positive disparity at infinity (meaning that infinity looks like it's close to the camera). As a result, I find footage from the Insta360 EVO to be less comfortable in headset. This could be easily solved by Insta360 by doing a per-scene calibration by default during processing. In order to render the labels without depth conflicts in the Insta360 EVO footage, I had to place them 2 degrees closer than I did in the video from the Z CAM K1 Pro and Vuze XR. The Vuze XR used to have this issue, and only solved it by forcing a per-clip calibration in Vuze XR Studio 3.2.6328 (April 16, 2019). Vuze XR clips processed before April 16 will be very uncomfortable to view in headset--it's worth re-processing any old clips you might have.

Next tests:

- simple / ideal scene (well-lit, simple scene, not much movement)
- low light

12/21/2018

Philip Sheppard, composer, cellist, and entrepreneur, plays some of his favorite compositions with the help of a looper, which he uses to create complex, layered melodies and textures. https://philipsheppard.com/

This video is best viewed in a virtual reality headset. To watch in Oculus Go, "save" this post and open Facebook 360 in your Oculus Go. You'll find this video in "Your Videos". https://www.oculus.com/go

Recorded October 11, 2018, at Facebook HQ in Menlo Park, California.

12/21/2018

Vienna Teng [Part 1 of 4] performs at Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, California. 30 Dec 2017.

See details about this show, including set list and official livestream recording. https://viennateng.com/30-dec-17-freight-salvage-in-berkeley/

These videos are best experienced in an Oculus Go VR headset. To watch them in headset, "save" these videos here in Facebook, open the Facebook 360 experience in Oculus Go, and look in the "Your Videos" section. https://www.oculus.com/go

12/21/2018

In February 2018, I accompanied sloth scientist Dr. Bryson Voirin to Panama in search of sloths. Armed with a stereoscopic 180 camera and an ambisonic audio recorder, my goal was to capture footage of sloths in the most immersive way possible. The result is a short video that includes footage nearly 100′ up a fig tree and makes you feel like you’re exploring the rainforest right next to Dr. Voirin.

This video is best viewed in a virtual reality headset. To watch in Oculus Go, "save" this post and open Facebook 360 in your Oculus Go. You'll find this video in "Your Videos". https://www.oculus.com/go

12/21/2018

Philip Sheppard, composer, cellist, and entrepreneur, plays some of his favorite compositions with the help of a looper, which he uses to create complex, layered melodies and textures. https://philipsheppard.com/

This video is best viewed in a virtual reality headset. To watch in Oculus Go, "save" this post and open Facebook 360 in your Oculus Go. You'll find this video in "Your Videos". https://www.oculus.com/go

Recorded October 11, 2018, at Facebook HQ in Menlo Park, California.

For the highest quality, you can download a 5K version for sideloading into your Oculus Go (9.3GB; 5120×2560 video with TBE8.2 FB360 spatial audio for playback in Gallery). https://s3.amazonaws.com/echengvr/videos/philipsheppard/philipsheppard_oct2018_5k_sideload_180_3D.mkv

12/21/2018

Beatboxers Butterscotch and Syzygy Beatbox in a casual jam session at rondo brothers with producer Jim Greer. Recorded July 11, 2018.

This video is best viewed in a virtual reality headset. To watch in Oculus Go, "save" this post and open Facebook 360 in your Oculus Go. You'll find this video in "Your Videos". https://www.oculus.com/go

12/21/2018

VR family portrait of the Kim Family in Manhattan Beach, California, on August 23, 2018.

This video is best viewed in a virtual reality headset. To watch in Oculus Go, "save" this post and open Facebook 360 in your Oculus Go. You'll find this video in "Your Videos". https://www.oculus.com/go

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