A CONVERSATION WITH BOSTJAN BURGER
by Doug DeRusha
 It's easy to see from the panos you've done how QTVR is well suited to recording the wonders of this elaborate cave system, but how did you become involved in using VR technologies and what was the first project you did using VR?
 My first 360° pictures – so called: Cycloramas, were taken with BW negative film in 1982 – was just an experiment in photography. I was amazed by almost hundred years old cycloramas and wanted to try this photographic technique. Many years later – 'in the time of Internet' when I started publishing "Slovenia Land Of Waterfalls", I met the amazing professor Donald Bain with his 'virtualguidebook.com' project. He was a pioneer who was implementing QTVR into geography lessons. His work impressed me very much, so I asked him how to convert cycloramas into computer visualization – Quick Time VR. He was willing to help me with suggestions and the Slovenia Landmarks project began.
The Slovenian government is concerned with preserving the beauty and habitat of the cave systems within the country by restricting the access and closely monitoring the traffic in the caves themselves. How have you worked with the government to gain access to these areas, and what sort of bureaucratic problems did you face in the process?
The first appointment with Slovenian government officials was just a conversation meeting and it was very hard to apply for access and permission to visualize the cave system. I took my laptop to the second meeting with them and showed some QTVR samples. 'People in charge' were enraptured with the VR Panoramas and I haven't had any problems with applications since then. QTVR is a very powerful communication tool, and they could see the potential benefits of the technology very quickly. To allow people from all over the world to visit the natural wonders of the caves is also a strong marketing tool for tourism, which is a growing industry in our beautiful country.
I suspect that you've discovered some creatures that are indigenous to the cave environment while you were shooting panos. Can you tell us what kind of interesting wildlife you've found in your explorations?
Underground life in Slovenian caves is mostly endemic. A symbol of Slovenian caves is a Proteus (Latin name) which we call 'Human fish' because of the color of the skin – it is the largest known underground animal. Bats are usual visitors of caves but sometimes I am surprised how bats can hibernate even 1.5 km inside the cave. There are all sorts of bugs which can not be seen anywhere. One very strange example is a red hitin (hytine) colored bug named 'Drobnovratnik' or 'Someone with a thin neck'. It has a pinhead shaped body with long neck and a very small pin shaped head.
You've participated in many projects in your homeland that involve the archiving of natural wonders and antiquities such as the 1997 'Virtual Reality Panorama project: Landmarks' and the 'Virtual guide to Slovenian Museums'. Can you give us some background information on how you were involved in these projects, and how they relate to VR as the medium chosen for the tasks.
I found out very early that VR tours are the best way to present museum exhibitions. I chose a small museum in a town called Kamnik and did a VR tour for free just to motivate curators and museologists with that technique of archiving. Within three years I had an arrangement to visualize all Slovenian museums.
There are obviously some significant challenges involved in getting into the caves with cameras, lights, caving equipment, and even boats to navigate the rivers within the cave system. Perhaps you could give us an example of some of the problems you've faced in getting to the areas to be photographed.
I think a good example would be the pictures I have been taking since last December in 'Nova Krizna Jama' (direct translation: New Cross Cave) which is an extension of Krizna Jama (Old cave). It is very hard work because the team needs to pass through a thin vertical tunnel 30-40 cm in circumference to a depth of 50 metres and a length of 20 metres (very steep) with all of our equipment, including plastic boats. Then there is another 30 metre descent to the first great hall full of stalactites where there is a dry tunnel at the bottom ending in a hall covered with rimstone pools. This dry passage is connected to the river passage, which has a length of 1500 metres. It is very impressive because of a huge number of stalactites with the characteristic of calcareus sinter mushrooms on the top. This tunnel seemed to be filled with mud, and when water carried out the mud, the mushrooms remained. Even with my experience in shooting VR's inside the caves, the conditions have only allowed me to produce 2 VR's per entry. Right now I have done about 30% of the whole cave (after 2 months of work) but I hope to finalize the project soon.
Getting into the caves is one thing, but what kind of technical and logistical problems have you encountered in actually shooting these amazing panos?
In a part of the cave known as 'Port of Venice' the water is 7 metres deep and 8° C, and the fight against the river flow is very difficult. This pano was taken with a large tripod in the water and the camera just above the water surface, 24 mm, 12 pictures with 8 sec of open aperture (f 7), and 6 lighting assistants with 55 W - 60° wide IRC Halogen lights. This part of the cave is only accessible after 2 hours of walking (about 2 km), climbing and rowing without the equipment and another 2 hours with all the stuff. For example, I needed 2 hours to take all 12 pictures in a circle, 'swimming' round the camera and calibrating the light while shouting to assistants where to direct the light... I could never have completed this project without their help.
Email: dougderusha@mac.com
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