Being about as new to 360º photography as you are, let me help you out — it’s exactly what it sounds like. It’s stitched together kind of like a panoramic that you’d take on your phone, but rather than covering a (let’s say) 100º field of view, this type of photography fully immerses you into the scene that you’re witnessing.

If that sounds cool to you, it should: this is a way to experience places that you never thought imaginable! Virtual reality has never been more real than it is right now. 

Grandiose? Yes. Untrue? Not at all!

Below is Lodestar Park in Fredon, New Jersey, an area where Caity and I will take the dog for long walks every now and then. I’d tell you more about it, but why don’t we just go there together? Check it out:

If you’re on your phone, simply move your phone around to look around the scene! (And if you’re in a public place, I take full credit for how silly you’ll look. ?) If you’re on a computer, you can either use your mouse to click and drag around the scene, or you can use your keyboard’s arrow keys.

To get even more nerdy, if you happened to notice the thumbnail image on this post, it might look a little bizarre. This is called an equirectangular panorama (say it with me: equi-rect-ang-ul-ar), or the flat version of a 3D scene. You know how you look at a map of the world? Yep — that’s an equirectangular panorama, too.

If you’re from Fredon, or you’ve been through the area, I’d love it if you would share this with someone from there.

Also, if you have any suggestions on other places to take 360º photos, please share them in the comments! I’ll be sure to give you credit if I follow up on your suggestion. ?

Lastly, major (major MAJOR) thank you to my friend Aaron Miller who put in some serious weekend hours to help me get these 360º embeds working. Please visit his website and show him some love.