This was a bit of an experiment and a challenge. For those who have been to Ubehebe crater in Death Valley, you know that you are right on the crater rim and that the whole world opens up - tough, if not impossible, to catch with a single frame. Sooo, I used 37 frames (approximately 4 rows x 9 shots).
Not perfect and the wrong time of day but I hope you like it.
You've also really managed to capture the depth and bowl shape which is very difficult to do. Those background shapes always seem to conspire to warp the perspective, but you've got it nailed here.
Wow, look at those colors. The desert, for me, is all about those subtle colors. Did you hike down there? I guess it's quite a climb back out.
Jeffrey,
Just time for a quick response now.
Every time I see this shot I instinctively lean into the remembered wind. Yes, it was blowing VERY hard.
As far as a world record or resident expert, we both know that's a bunch of hoohah (can I say that here). While I've not seen panos on this board using that many shots, I have seen some elsewhere that dwarf this number.
Thanks for the comment.
Don
Very nicely done! Now all you need is a 36 inch wide plotter, a roll of paper and LOTS of ink
Jeffery, the world record that I'm aware of is held by Max Lyons with his Gigapixel image from a Bryce Canyon viewpoint. He had 196 - 6 megapixel images in a 14x14 grid!!!
Don, where can I order my poster! The detail is stunning. I think all the ace posters in this forum should have a seperate forum for explanation of techniques and equipment. Then you people could publish a really meaningful book for the aspiring shooters in this area. Well done.
This is stunning indeed! This is amazing - I've never heard of putting together more than one row of photos!!!
I've created a couple panoramas using the very basic "photo-stitch" program that came standard with my G2. I have also unsuccessfully attempted a couple with my 10D.
This masterpiece brings up so many questions: How do you manage to get so many photos to lineup so well, with no distortion between the images AND rows?!? What lens and settings do you use? How do you keep the camera level and properly oriented for each row (i.e. what type of tripod)? What program do you use to put them all together? Etc...
I'd love to see more of these and learn how their done. Fantastic stuff!
Rosemary, thanks very much for the comment. Yes, I think the bowl concept came through well here and the desert colors were nice.
No, I didn't hike down, in fact, I think I inconvenienced Jeffrey taking the shots I did. We were on our way to the Race Track and stopped here briefly. Since the scene shouted for a pano, I set up and took these shots rather quickly (yes, Jeffrey, it was quick). The wind was fierce.
Anyway, thanks for the compliment, it's appreciated.
Bill, sorry, no wide printer. I was aware of Max's very fine 196 frame pano of Bryce and am still in amazement of it. This shot is not in the same league but maybe someday.
Larry wrote: Just a beauty, Don. Wow, I can't say much as I'm stunned by the scope of this shot. GREAT work.
The scope at the lip of the crater was equally impressive. The original uncropped pano covered more than 200 degrees! Thanks for the compliment.
David wrote: Don... love the panoramic format. You have conveyed the scale of this place extremely well.
Thanks David, I'm glad you liked it.
Tim wrote: Don, where can I order my poster! The detail is stunning. I think all the ace posters in this forum should have a seperate forum for explanation of techniques and equipment. Then you people could publish a really meaningful book for the aspiring shooters in this area. Well done.
Hmmm, maybe a poster is a good idea. What, you want me to give away what secrets I may know? The real secret is "I know Nothing, Nothing" (thank you Sgt. Shultz).
inca wrote: Thats crazy, 37 frames, amazing. Very well shot indeed
Thanks inca, but that's what it took.
Eric wrote: This is stunning indeed! This is amazing - I've never heard of putting together more than one row of photos!!!
I've created a couple panoramas using the very basic "photo-stitch" program that came standard with my G2. I have also unsuccessfully attempted a couple with my 10D.
This masterpiece brings up so many questions: How do you manage to get so many photos to lineup so well, with no distortion between the images AND rows?!? What lens and settings do you use? How do you keep the camera level and properly oriented for each row (i.e. what type of tripod)? What program do you use to put them all together? Etc...
I'd love to see more of these and learn how their done. Fantastic stuff!...Show more →
Thanks Eric.
I used my 50mm lens. I normally take portrait shots but here I took landscape shots. Any good solid tripod will do. It is important to level the head and for that I use a Manfrotto leveling head then a 2-way spirit level on the camera. After that, just pan and overlap each shot by about 1/3. This kind of saved me here. Approximately the 18th shot in the series didn't record properly on my CF card. When I stitched the photos, however, that left a very small hole that I could clone because of the overlap. Saved the day.
The 3 other rules:
1. Don't use a polarizer because it darkens only a portion of the pano.
2. Always use Manual mode on the camera that way each stitch should be seemless wrt exposure.
3. Never use AWB. If you do, different parts of your pano will be tinted differently.
Having said that, I must have been brain dead when I took this because I violate 2 and 3 above. Most of the time on this pano was spent in PS trying to recover from my mistake.
As far as the software, you're not going to like this answer: I can't reveal what I used. Not because I don't want to but because the product has not yet reached the marketplace. When it does, you're not going to be as impressed as you are right now with my "expertise" because it is "brain-dead" simple to make a pano like this. Would you believe that I did the stitch in approximately 10 minutes?
Stay tuned. Shouldn't be too long. No doubt this year.
). While I've not seen panos on this board using that many shots, I have seen some elsewhere that dwarf this number.
We were on our way to the Race Track and stopped here briefly. Since the scene shouted for a pano, I set up and took these shots rather quickly (yes, Jeffrey, it was quick). The wind was fierce.