The peculiar thing about these 360 degree images is that when shooting in low light, or when there is a lot of movement, individuals can blur to the point of being non-existent. My friend calls these barely present people “ghosts.”

An example can be seen below. Never mind the couple making out passionately (when they stopped kissing they began walking arm in arm and the man said to the woman, with no irony at all, “Let me tell you something about me.”), you can see a jogger that is really just a blur. The shot was taken on the promenade on the Hudson River down near Chambers Street.

The pictures on this page are 360 panoramic images.

If you do not have Quicktime (and you’ll know if there are no pictures visible even after a minute), Download it here.

These are not static pictures. You can move them left and right, up and down.

To move the image:
Hold down mouse button and drag mouse in desired direction.

I mention all this because of a brief appearance put in at Wired Magazine’s party to celebrate their new issue, guest edited by noted architect and rock star, Rem Koolhaas.

The event was held at the tiny boutique hotel, 60 Thompson. There was a lot of bustle around the entrance, and writer Ian Buruma agreed to watch the bike. The room upstairs was still bathed in daylight from the one huge window, but was otherwise dark. It was a party in its pre-funky stage, and the guest of honor had not yet arrived.

The photoghrapher Todd Eberle was there, however, as was the editor of the magazine, Chris Anderson, and another black haired man who, when asked, “Do you want to be in this picture?” replied, “No! No!” and then proceeded to moon around the strange looking camera looking thrilled at the prospect of having his picture taken.

On the way out, one last shot was snapped in the dim light. There was a commotion just before the snap. Someone was coming up the stairs. It was Koolhaas. He was in a rush. He was moving very fast, a woman holding his hand being whipped along behind. He was practically sprinting towards Chris Anderson, as though Anderson was about to leave the country. It was a good rock star entrance, it was fast and hectic, like evasive action. Later it became clear that Koolhaas, in his haste, had evaded detection entirely:

He was in the frame when this picture was taken, but there is no evidence of him at all.