Camping trips with the family captured in 360-degrees thanks to THETA! l RICOH360 Blog

Mami Misawa is a creative designer specializing in outdoors, camping, interior design.. Check out her summer camping trip with her 6-year-old son and THETA.

First, we asked Mami why she regularly travels with her son on long camping trips.

[Camping site on an uninhabited island in Nagasaki: taken with THETA]

What made her start camping with her son?

So, what do you mainly do?

Mainly, I work on outdoor and camp styling, and also interior design. In particular, I create and design comfortable camp spaces that match nature for each season.

Why do you regularly go on long camping trips during such busy work?

[At a campsite on a deserted island in Nagasaki. On this day they are the only two people on the island. : taken with THETA]

As soon as he was born, I became a freelancer. As a result, I was struggling constantly to manage my time, emotions, and myself in childcare and work. As work began going well, the amount and pressure increased, and my consciousness was always full of work.

When I’m at home, no matter how strongly I decide in my mind to spend time with my son on that day, I can’t help but think about my work.

[At a campsite overlooking Sakurajima: taken with THETA]

Do you see your son changed somehow through the three camp trips so far?

On the first trip, my son couldn’t understand what was going to happen, and he was confused, “are we gonna move by car and sleep outside today as well?” But we were traveling with the feeling as we would cherish each and every day and move forward! We sang songs while I drove, played by the sea, saw sunsets, made a fire, planned where to go, cooked meals, and spent all day from morning to evening together.

My son must have enjoyed our first trip together because he seemed to enjoy the second one even more!Although the trip was just me and him, we met a lot of people on our travels, and I guess meeting such people might have made the trip more fun for him.

The third time around, he was excited as soon as I told him about the trip. He himself also suggested to me where to go next, and we could plan our trip together. That’s when I felt he had grown up.

What about THETA?

What did you think about THETA?

The first time I saw an image taken with THETA, I was kind of shocked that it’s possible to capture such a beautiful 360-degree picture so easily! When shooting with a normal camera, I always take time to decide the angle, but a good aspect of THETA was I could edit in any compositions later once I decided how high to hold the camera.

[At Oita campsite: taken with THETA]

With an ordinary camera, I had the idea that “I shoot at this angle, so the image would be like this,” but with THETA, my preconception was blown away and I noticed a new way to compose.

Any impressive scenes when shooting with THETA?

[At a campsite overlooking Sakurajima: taken with THETA]

One impressive moment was when I was able to shoot the inside of the tent and the outside scenery seen from the tent at the same time. I coordinate spaces including all the surroundings. And I always felt sad that only a part would be in the frame when photographing with an ordinary camera. When it comes to THETA, I was impressed that the whole space inside the tent and the scenery outside could all be in one shot.

How did your son react to THETA?

He called THETA a “mysterious camera.” (laughs) My son pressed the shutter button and took a few selfies sometimes. I don’t really like taking selfies by smartphone because my face appears big in the shot. But when I take selfies with THETA, not only ourselves but also all the surroundings are in the frame, so I liked it.

[Ferry from Osaka to Fukuoka: taken with THETA]

With THETA, you can make memories with the entire view of your son and yourself on your trip without asking someone to shoot.

What do you think are the differences between THETA and ordinary cameras when you use them both?

When I want to capture all the surroundings in a photo, THETA is the best choice. I just like to shoot with THETA at the same angle as a normal camera than to use them in other ways.

As I am an interior designer, I think THETA can be useful in my work. Until now, in preliminary field surveys I have been taking videos or shooting each side then connecting them together, but THETA is so convenient that I can shoot the entire space with one shot.

The other day, I went to a client’s place to decorate. THETA was really convenient there! When I checked the site, I photographed 360 degrees: the ceiling, the walls, and the floor. So even after I went back home, I could experience the place again and it was very useful in designing. It was also convenient for sharing location information with staff who were not on site.