This is me hard at work at MacWorld CreativePro Expo a couple months ago. I was shooting a picture of Jook Leung, a master of VR photography.

I was surprised to return home in early August and visit Jook's website where I found myself in the round, 360 degrees worth.

At a time when QuickTime VR seems relatively common -- quick, dirty but not cheap real estate property tours and the like -- Jook Leung's work stands head and shoulders above the others.

His "Tribute in Light" spherical VR of the World Trade Center memorial won Jook FujiFilm's Masterpiece Award. The copyrighted image above was downloaded from FujiFilm's news release but to obtain the full effect of the product, you must visit the website for a 360-degree virtual tour.

Jook uses a variety of cameras and lenses for his commercial and personal work. Typically, the photographer with more than 20 years of professional studio experience, approaches commercial assignments with meetings, pre-planning, storyboards and all the necessities of pleasing a client.

It is in his personal work where Jook Leung shines. For many projects, he has abandoned the tripod and calibrated pano head to handhold his fisheye cameras, as seen in this panorama of Fulton Landing in New York.

Even at dusk and after dark, Jook's 360-degree virtual reality tours have the gritty feel and spontaneity of the best of street photography.

He gets close and enjoys people peering into the fisheye lens (one of which resembles a half cantaloupe in size). He steadies his camera and rotates it around his body - a living monopod.

Jook's tabletop panos of friends enjoying festive occasions are a special delight.

They are made with a Nikon CP 990 with a fisheye attachment mounted on a special pano rig made from a binocular mount and a wine bottle cork. Jook doesn't mention on his website whether it's best to use a full or empty bottle.

Visit www.360vr.com for a look at more of Jook's work.

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