This Massive Gigapixel Photo From The Inauguration Shows Incredible Detail

Two of the major journalism trends surrounding the recent presidential election included live video on social media platforms and 360-degree VR video. CNN, however, used a more familiar technique on-site at the inauguration, creating a gigapixel composite image of the scene that you can click around and zoom in on to see crazy small details.

Two of the major journalism trends surrounding the recent presidential election included live video on social media platforms and 360-degree VR video. CNN, however, used a more familiar technique on-site at the inauguration, creating a gigapixel composite image of the scene that you can click around and zoom in on to see crazy small details.

Images like this are typically created with a camera with a longish lens mounted to a mechanized platform like the Gigapan, which moves a little after every frame so they can easily be merged into a single image later. The final version has a rather absurd resolution that lets you read text on water bottles sitting on the stage.

It’s a fascinating technique that really shines with big gatherings like this. There are a lot of unfortunate expressions that are forever captured in this moment, so zooming in won’t always be the most flattering thing, but it will provide lots of entertainment during your lunch break, regardless of your political affiliation.