An image generation apparatus comprising: a panoramic image generation section generating a panoramic image that is obtained by converting, to a planar shape, a projection surface onto which a scene within at least a partial range of a virtual sphere as viewed from an observation point is projected, the panoramic image being such that a unit area on the virtual sphere containing a given attention direction, being a particularly important direction, as viewed from the observation point is converted to a broader area than other unit areas; and an image output section outputting the generated panoramic image, wherein the projection surface contains a main line that links a position in the attention direction to a position in a direction opposite the attention direction, wherein the main line is formed by a plurality of line segments or a curve, the plurality of line segments corresponding to a plurality of polygons forming the projection surface, the projection surface having a shape determined by the plurality of line segments or the curve, and the panoramic image generation section generates the panoramic image corresponding to the projection surface such that a length of a line segment of the main line within the panoramic image corresponding to a unit amount of an angle of rotation around the observation point is maximized at a position within the panoramic image corresponding to the unit area on the virtual sphere containing the given attention direction, wherein the panoramic image generation section generates the panoramic image corresponding to the projection surface such that, when the projection surface is converted to the panoramic image, a length of a line segment of the main line within the panoramic image corresponding to a unit amount of an angle of rotation around the observation point increases with a decrease in a distance to the position within the panoramic image corresponding to the unit area on the virtual sphere containing the given attention direction. a panoramic image generation section generating a panoramic image that is obtained by converting, to a planar shape, a projection surface onto which a scene within at least a partial range of a virtual sphere as viewed from an observation point is projected, the panoramic image being such that a unit area on the virtual sphere containing a given attention direction, being a particularly important direction, as viewed from the observation point is converted to a broader area than other unit areas; and an image output section outputting the generated panoramic image, wherein the projection surface contains a main line that links a position in the attention direction to a position in a direction opposite the attention direction, wherein the main line is formed by a plurality of line segments or a curve, the plurality of line segments corresponding to a plurality of polygons forming the projection surface, the projection surface having a shape determined by the plurality of line segments or the curve, and the panoramic image generation section generates the panoramic image corresponding to the projection surface such that a length of a line segment of the main line within the panoramic image corresponding to a unit amount of an angle of rotation around the observation point is maximized at a position within the panoramic image corresponding to the unit area on the virtual sphere containing the given attention direction, wherein the panoramic image generation section generates the panoramic image corresponding to the projection surface such that, when the projection surface is converted to the panoramic image, a length of a line segment of the main line within the panoramic image corresponding to a unit amount of an angle of rotation around the observation point increases with a decrease in a distance to the position within the panoramic image corresponding to the unit area on the virtual sphere containing the given attention direction.