A Port Washington View Like No Other

In April 2012, Chris Bain, a professional photographer and president of the Cow Neck Peninsula Historical Society, began sending out a Port Washington historic view of the month to the organization’s list of subscribers.

This April, Bain wanted to recognize the one-year-mark in style. So, after securing special access from Landmark on Main Street, he shot 360-degree views from its rooftop and shared them with friends and followers of the historical society.

The 360-degree perspective, available on Bain's website as well as the historical society's website, enables viewers to click and drag the mouse to look up or down, left or right, or all the way around, said Bain, who grew up Port Washington. 

For Bain, photography is a passion that has taken him near and far.

“I've been photographing since I was at Schreiber in the 70s, and then studied commercial photography in college,” he noted. "After assisting photographers in L.A. for three years, I started freelancing, shooting for whoever would have me, landing a foundation grant to shoot in the Philippines in the early 80s, documenting the culture and practices surrounding the rice terraces of Northern Luzon.”

He added, “After shooting for LIFE magazine in China and lots of corporate clients I left the freelance world for the more stable world of illustrated book publishing, where I've been for 25-plus years.”

Now the photography director for Barnes & Noble, primarily for its publishing division, Bain has spent the last 12 years “shooting a great many things, including thousands of military artifacts for books on the Marines, the Army, and the Navy,” he said.  

“Having always being interested in panoramic photography, I started seriously exploring it three years ago while shooting at the Thomas Edison National Historic Site, in West Orange, NJ,” he said.  

Bain explained his method for the layperson.

“Without getting too technical, this technique involves four to six still photographs with a specialized lens and then a lot of post-shooting work in three different software packages,” he said. “I'm working on a virtual tour for the historical society's properties – Sands-Willets House and the Dodge Homestead – as well as a virtual tour for the Sands Point Park & Preserve.”

Bain said he recently just joined the Chamber of Commerce as a freelance photographer to pursue a few specialized projects for local clients who might need this type of panoramic immersion imagery.  

See more of Bain's work at www.chrisbain.com; contact him at chris@chrisbain.com.