"Exploring Son Doong" with 360-degree images inside the cave

360-degree images of Son Doong introduced by National Geographic help visitors experience exploration with a "real" feeling inside the cave.

With the desire to capture beautiful images of Son Doong in a relatively intact state to introduce to the public, in January, photojournalist Martin Edstrom formed a group to build a virtual tour of about 4 km into this cave.

According to Edstrom, the virtual expedition allows visitors to experience walking through the caves as if they were there. With high-definition images and 360-degree viewing angles, the multidimensional space of Son Doong brings a magnificence that you can hardly admire anywhere else.

The journey begins with the river leading into Son Doong. Virtual visitors can use the mouse of a desktop computer, laptop or touch the touch screen of a tablet or smartphone to "go deeper" into the cave.

Maps, introductory information and sounds such as streams and birds chirping are integrated, helping viewers have a better feeling in the virtual journey to explore the world's largest cave.

Edstrom also shared about the challenging process of this project. First of all, there was the problem of lighting. There were places in the cave that were completely dark. To take photos or videos, the photographer only had to shine light in one direction. But with a 360-degree view, his team members used lighting equipment from many directions.

“We had to make sure there was enough ambient light when we were shooting. That took a lot of time,” Edstrom said.

The lighting equipment he used was a Dutch LED. Three teams had to carry the lights around the cave for several kilometers, spreading the light from different angles. Edstrom used 25 cameras to suit each type of terrain.

Video about Martin Edstrom's process

According to VNE - National Geographic