Don Bains Virtual Guidebooks

This site features over 7000 VR panoramas. These amazing photographs show
you exactly what it is like to be in a particular place - you can look in any direction,
all the way around, even up and down. It's the next best thing to being there!

To try one out - CLICK HERE

Requires QuickTime

Choose a region by clicking on the map... or select from the alphabetical list below.

California -- Northern

California -- Central

California -- Southern/Eastern

Northwest Territories

Oregon

Sonora

South Dakota

South Pacific Islands

Contact Don Bain: dbain@virtualguidebooks.com

Interested in more VR panoramas? See The World Wide Panorama - more than 5000 VR panoramas created by over a thousand photographers from around the world.
Want to participate? It is a quarterly event, and anyone can enter!
Donate to this worthy project!

For more news and commentary see the Virtual Guidebooks Blog Archive
Also appears on Blogger - VirtualGuidebooks.BlogSpot.com with RSS and comments.

January 30, 2010 - Omnibus Update

When I made a careful survey of my site last December I discovered that I was about 1900 panoramas behind - panoramas taken and stitched but not finished and not yet put up on the site. So as soon as I completed the big QTVR to Flash conversion I started trying to catch up. As a result almost 400 new panoramas were added to this website the last week of January 2010.

First, some very old pictures, cubic panoramas that I shot in 2003-2004, before I had good software to stitch cubics. Some are of Yosemite and forests (where more of a view upwards is needed), others are of wildflowers (straight down needed). In all just over a hundred were finally finished as cubics. Most of these panos were already on the site in cylindrical form. If you look carefully you may discover you can now see to the tops of the cliffs and look down at the flowers in many places where before you couldn't.

The other new additions are scattered all around the site. I have been trying to finish off guidebooks or states where there were just a few pending images. Next I will start work on the really big blocks of panos that remain.

Oregon Coast: The northernmost redwoods, on the Chetco River near Brookings.

Black Hills and Badlands National Park

Everything I have for South Dakota is now on-line, a total of 77 images. These were added in late 2009, but never announced. It is a major geographic addition, including Mount Rushmore, Deadwood, herds of bison, Badlands National Park, and Wounded Knee.

Mount Shasta

Low water in Shasta Lake in 2008, a great contrast with two years earlier when the lake was full.

Mount Lassen

Burney Falls and Lake Britton on the Pit River.

Sacramento Valley

A reshoot of the Sundial Bridge in Redding, this time using spherical images.

Also riparian forest on the Sacramento River at Woodson Bridge near Corning.

Lake Tahoe and the Northern Sierra

Sutters Mill at Coloma, the original gold discovery site.

Marin County

Three hikes at Point Reyes National Seashore: Bear Valley, the Coast Trail at Miller Point, and Tomales Point.

Plus the hike and beach at Tennessee Valley in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

San Francisco

New spherical images of the San Francisco Civic Center.

San Francisco Bay Area

Winter hikes on Mount Diablo, and a few miles southeast of there at Morgan Territory Regional Park.

El Camino Real

Springtime pictures on the Parkfield Grade Road, at the town of Parkfield on the San Andreas Fault, and south along the San Andreas Rift Zone.

Yosemite

The Roosevelt Grove of giant sugar pines near Crane Flat.

A February snowstorm in Yosemite Valley: Discovery View, El Capitan Meadow, Leidig Meadow, Chapel Meadow, Cooks Meadow, Ahwahnee Meadow, and the Ahwahnee Hotel.

In August we took an overnight hike to the Vogelsang High Sierra Camp near Tuolumne Meadows.

Sequoia

More panoramas on snowshoes in Sequoia National Park: Wuksachi Lodge, the General Sherman Tree, the Congress Trail, Round Meadow and Giant Forest

On the same trip, but no snow (lower elevations) at Ash Mountain and Three Rivers.

East of the Sierra

Returning from the southwest in October 2009 I updated my coverage of the Bridgeport area , and saw some great fall color at Twin Lakes.

In October of 2008 I spent a wonderful day with the ancient bristlecone pines of the White Mountains. I started with the highest part of the Partriach Grove at around 11,000 feet, then the main Patriarch Grove on the flats below.

Also new panoramas along the White Mountain Road between the Patriarch and Schulman Groves, and south down to Westgard Pass.

In March 2009, on my way to Death Valley, I stopped north of Owens Lake to photograph a series of dust storms. But before I could get back to the car the wind shifted and I was completely engulfed in the swirling dust cloud.

I have also added a few additional panoramas of the Manzanar Japanese Relocation Camp.

Death Valley

In 2008 I shot a major series of panoramas covering Saline Valley, the most remote part of Death Valley National Park. There are 34 panoramas presented in six sections: the North Pass Road coming in from Big Pine; the lower main springs officially known as Saline Valley Warm Springs; the middle developed spring known as Palm Spring; the small and natural Upper Spring; the floor of Saline Valley with sand dunes and the salt playa; and the South Pass Road.

Santa Barbara

In March 2007 I took a few new panoramas of Carpinteria, and Ventura, including Mission San Buenaventura.

Los Angeles

Among the really old cubics that I finally finished - a tricky stitching problem finally overcome, and worth it - the Bonaventure Hotel on Bunker Hill.

Southern Deserts

I spent a pleasant morning at Zzyzx in the East Mojave National Preserve, shooting the Soda Springs Desert Studies Center.

On my way back from the conference in Albuquerque I photographed Trona, a vast chemical extraction site and company town located on the shore of Searles Dry Lake.

Northern Nevada

In late fall of 2008 I enjoyed a brief stay at Great Basin National Park, the least visited national park in the 48 states. A cross-section of Prometheus, the world's oldest tree until it was cut down, has been rescued from the casino in Ely, and can now be seen in the Great Basin Visitor Center in Baker.

Southern Nevada

For the World Wide Panorama event "Diversity" I paid a visit to Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, home to the world's rarest fish, the Devils Hole pupfish.

The next day I photographed at popular Spring Mountain Ranch and Red Rock Canyon, west of Las Vegas

Northern Arizona

In October 2008 I revisited the Kaibab Plateau specifically for the fall colors, and also added some spherical views at the North Rim and Bright Angel Point.

Cactus Country, Southern Arizona

In December 2009 I spent a week in Tucson scouting for the International Panoramic Photography Conference. My business there was hotels, so I shot a series of panos of the Hilton Tucson East Hotel (where the conference will be held).

But I also managed to grab a few panos of the Mount Lemmon Highway, the Pima Air and Space Museum, and just a few from the Rincon Mountain unit of Saguaro National Park before a sand storm blew up.

I managed to add two entire new states to the website, Kansas and Missouri, photographed on my epic Oregon Trail trip of July 2008. I could (and should) have added a third, Iowa, but my time in Council Bluffs was too short and the weather too rainy.

Kansas: In Kansas I took just a few along the Oregon Trail and Pony Express route in the northeast corner: Hollenberg Station and Marysville; and Alcove Spring on the Big Blue River. Further south I enjoyed a brief stop at the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve.

Missouri

Missouri was my turn-around point on the Oregon Trail trip, as I only wanted to document the starting points for the emigrant trails along the east bank of the Missouri River at Saint Joseph and Independence.

Now that these bits and pieces are cleared away I can start in on some of the huge remaining blocks of panos that have been taken and stitched, but not finally prepared and added to the site. About 1100 panoramas to go!

Two springtime trips in 2008 to the San Luis Obispo coast and El Camino Real in Monterey, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara counties. (about 120)
My long Oregon Trail trip through Utah, Wyoming and Nebraska. (about 280)
A summer trip to Portland, Salem and the Oregon coast. (80)
Bryce Canyon, Cedar Breaks, and central Nevada on a cold autumn trip in 2008. (60)
Two long series completing my coverage of Owens Valley. (about 100)
Saratoga Spring at the south end of Death Valley and China Gardens on the Amargosa River. (70)
A long backwoods driving and hiking trip in the Klamath-Siskiyou Mountains of northern California. (about 70)
Twice across Nevada: Carson City, Virginia City, Fort Churchill, Berlin-Icthyosaur, Angel Lake, and the California Trail. (70)
Across central and northern Arizona on my way to and from a conference in Albuquerque, including the Grand Canyon. (about 80)
Some major additions (including replacement of early work) for the Pueblo Country of northern New Mexico, and a few days in southern New Mexico. (100)

June 11, 2009 - Kauai - the Garden Isle

In May this year I was given a wonderful opportunity. My friends Bob and Evelyn Apte invited me to stay with them in their house at Princeville on the Hawaiian island of Kaua'i. Bob is an accomplished photographer and world traveler: you can enjoy the amazing collection of photographs on his site: Robert Apte's Eye Vue the World. Bob has been encouraging me in my photographic projects for several years now, and inspiring me by his example, both as a photographic artist, and as a person who knows how to live well. Bob is a bit camera-shy, but can be seen in the first of the panoramas at Queen's Bath.

I would like to dedicate the updated guidebook Kaua'i - the Garden Isle to Robert and Evelyn Apte, in gratitude for their friendship and support, and especially their generous hospitality at Princeville, which made this new edition possible. I spent an idyllic two weeks with them, shooting the glorious landscapes of Kaua'i each day, returning "home" each night to their companionhip (and Evelyn's home cooking).

By the way, if you are interested in visiting Kauai, the Apte's house is available for rent. It is located on the clifftops at Ali'i Kai in Princeville, on the beautiful north coast, and can be seen in three of my panoramas on the Princeville page. It is a very private single-story two bedroom unit, right on the clifftop, at the end of the road so there is no traffic. It has high speed internet, there is a swimming pool adjacent, and Princeville has everything you might need - library, post office, groceries, shopping and restaurants. Full details about renting are on this website.

I first visited Kauai in 1988, a ten day trip spent camping and hiking, including three memorable days on the Na Pali coast trail to Kalalau. I was shooting Kodachrome slides then (VR panoramas had not been invented) and got some great shots - I should digitize some and get them on the web. I returned to Kauai in March 1999 with my wife Nora and shot about 70 panoramas on negative film. Unfortunately, the time needed to scan all those negatives was more than I could manage, and only a dozen ever made it to my site.

This second edition of the Virtual Guidebook to Kauai - the Garden Isle consists entirely of new work, shot the first two weeks of May, 2009. I have replicated almost all the panos from my earlier trip and filled in most of the gaps in my geographic coverage. The weather was not ideal, many days were hazy or cloudy, but Hawaii is stunning in any light and I am very pleased with the 210 panoramas I obtained.

I have organized the panos in a clockwise series, starting at the end of the road at Ke'e on the north coast and wrapping around the east coast, south coast, west coast, and ending in the Alaka'i Swamp near the center of the island. There is a gap between the ends - the roadless Na Pali coast, which I did not have time to hike.

A few locations and subjects eluded me - I'll get them next time. The big one of course is the spectacular Kalalau Trail along the Na Pali coast cliffs, including the valleys at Hankapi'ai, Hanakoa, and Kalalau. I had planned to hike out onto the knife-edge ridges above the dry end of Na Pali, at Miloli'i and Awa'awapuhi, but after my nine-mile hike in Alaka'i Swamp the day before I just didn't have the energy. I also hoped to hike the east side and bottom of Waimea Canyon, but didn't have the time (or 4-wheel drive). If I could be reasonably sure of a clear day I would like to hike all the way across the Alaka'i Swamp to Kilohana, which overlooks the northeast coast.

Kapa'a has some nice narrow beaches and fine hotels I would like to document. I never got around to shooting the Kilohana Plantation house (Gaylord's Restaurant) or the Grove Farm Homestead historic site (which requires special permission). The St Regis Hotel in Princeville was closed during remodeling.

There are more beautiful beaches, coves, and coastal cliffs than I could cover on one trip, but I tried to get a reasonable selection. The ones I would like to add are Tunnels Beach (the premier snorkeling spot on the north coast), Secret Beach and Larsen's Beach in the north, the rest of the Maha'alepu beaches near Poipu, and Barking Sands between Kekaha and Polihale (which now requires security clearance because you must cross military land).

There are a few subjects I feel I did not do justice to. Wailua Falls is hard to see from behind the wall, so I should have hiked to the bottom (despite all the warning signs). I took a few panos in shallow water on various beaches, but next time I would like to get further out, perhaps in a kayak, and also try some underwater panos. There was almost no rain during this trip (very unusual for Kaua'i) so I missed the dramatic clouds, mist, and rainbows that are so much a part of the Hawai'ian scene.

Next - the Big Island. I don't know when, or how I can afford it, but I would love to re-photograph the Big Island of Hawai'i. My wife and I spent two full weeks there in January, 2000, making a strenuous effort to obtain comprehensive coverage - 164 panoramas. It was the last big project I shot on film, and very little of it ever got scanned (just 32 panos). I would go a little slower now, probably take three weeks, and replicate every single pano - but this time digital and spherical.

Contact Don Bain: dbain@virtualguidebooks.com