Not your Grandma's photo album

Photosynth is a very cool 3D platform where you "use your camera to stitch the world." Consider yourself warned, you can waste a lot of time messing around here.

There are lots of searchable galleries, which is where I found this example of La Push Beach. Fans of Twilight will recognize the iconic setting from the book and film adaptations, but this dream-like 3D tour brings a different experience.  Try it out!




"Different than static photos and video, Photosynth allows you to explore details of places, objects, and events unlike any other media. You can’t stop video, move around and zoom in to check out the smallest details, but with Photosynth you can. And you can’t look at a photo gallery and immediately see the spatial relation between the photos, but with Photosynth you can."

This free web-based platform offers yet another way to share learning. By creating an account,  students can upload their own photos and create their own interpretation of a reading experience. A team of photographers could document a field trip activity and use Photosynth to share the event in a detailed way. Imagine this in a scientific field study, with the ability to zoom in closely on a specimen.


It also offers a new way to visit places from around the world to build context. The archeology gallery brings visitors everywhere from Stonehenge to the Dazu Rock Carvings in Chongqing, China. Prefer cityscapes? Search Venice for an incredible 3D tour, stitched together from thousands and thousands of uploads. This is a great example of the power of social media to aggregate and create something stunning.


Photosynth is definitely going into the wiki as an alternate presentation platform for students. Maybe I should create a new page for virtual tourists? Hmm...