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These two original photographs were made using a Kodak Digital
Camera mounted on a green Bogen tripod. They were opened
directly into PhotoStudio 2000 from the CompactFlash card
that held the JPEG files.
Photos © Joe Farace, 2000
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People have been fascinated
with panoramic imagery ever since the beginning of photography, but my
own fascination can be traced back to Bausch & Lomb's invention of CinemaScope
lenses for the movies during the 1950s. The first CinemaScope movie, The
Robe, had an original projected aspect ratio of 2.66:1, but over time
this changed for various technical reasons, eventually evolving into the
2.35:1 that is commonly used today. While I saw the film in November,
1953, I remember little about the plot or even the stars; what I remember
most was the wide screen and I've been in love with that view ever since.
Capture The Image. For me,
nothing captures scenic vistas like a panoramic photo and nothing can
be more fun to print using the tools found in your digital darkroom. While
purists might debate some of the specifics of panoramic photography that
follow, I prefer working with the dictionary's definition of panorama
that says that it's an "extended pictorial representation of a landscape
or other scene."
Panorama Mode: Many
35mm and all APS (Advanced Photo System) cameras have the ability to create
panoramic images by masking a thin slice out of the middle of the full
frame image. Kodak and Fuji also offer single-use panoramic cameras that
produce surprisingly good results. A few digital cameras let you capture
panoramic images in a similar manner. These images can be digitized with
film scanners or photo lab processes such as Kodak's Photo CD or Picture
CD.
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Since it's hard to show you on these pages what a panoramic
print looks like in real life, here's a photo of the author's
wife, Mary, holding a print that was made on Epson's Panoramic
Photo Paper. |
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Stitching Digital Images.
Many photographic companies sell panoramic adapters that can be attached
to tripods, then after a cameras is mounted you can precisely photograph
several sequential images using a film-based or digital camera. After
the images are digitized, you can use software to stitch them together
to form a continuous image. This is an especially useful technique when
working with images captured from digital cameras because it effectively
multiplies the resolution of the capture device, enabling it to create
a higher resolution image than the camera is inherently capable of producing.
Stand-alone stitching software
is available from many companies including Enroute's QuickStitch and PowerStitch,
Ulead Systems' Cool 360, and this feature is sometimes built into digital
imaging programs such as ArcSoft's PhotoStudio 2000. Here's a look at
how images can be combined into a stitched panorama using PhotoStudio
2000.
Step 1: The original
photographs were made using a Kodak DC290 Digital Camera using the highest
quality compressed mode and saved as a JPEG file. The images were directly
opened into PhotoStudio 2000 from a CompactFlash card using Microtech's
USB Camera-Mate.
Step 2: The Stitch command
can be accessed through the Effects menu or a button on the toolbar. A
Stitch Control Panel allows you to place the two image files on the left
and right and specify how much blending (overlap) there will be between
the two. It sounds complicated and with just a little practice, you'll
see how easy it is.
Step 3: Use the Stitch
command to stitch the two images together creating a panoramic image.
After the image is stitched, you will have to trim off any areas that
were created when the two horizon lines of the images were blended.
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After the image is stitched, you will have to trim off any
excess areas that were created when the two horizon lines
of the images were blended in order to have a finished image.
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Just because you don't have
any panoramic images doesn't mean you can't create your own from scratch.
The same technique that's used to create real panoramas can be used to
create faux images made from a single original photograph. In Arcsoft's
PhotoStudio 2000 you can use the Mirror option in the Rotate window to
create a mirror image of your original image, then after saving it under
a different name, you can stitch the two together to produce what I call
a faux panorama.
Printing Panoramas.
Panoramic images are often printed very large--even from these small originals--so
additional care is required in preparing panoramic images for output.
Thanks to the panoramic options of 35mm and APS cameras, prints of panoramic
images have become ubiquitous enough that every Wal-Mart store seems to
have desktop frames that hold these long, skinny prints. When making desktop
panoramic prints using standard ink jet papers, no radically different
techniques are required, but there are a few points to keep in mind when
working with photographs such as APS, 35mm panoramic, or similar images
that are carved from larger images.
Dust: No matter how
careful you may be when scanning small, narrow prints, dust is a problem.
Start by making sure that the glass on your flat-bed scanner is clean
and dust free. Clean the glass with a lint-free cloth and dust off the
print using a soft brush such as a draftsman's brush that is available
in art supply stores. Even small dust spots end up looking like large
blobs on the digitized image so cleanliness is important.
Dust Spotting: After
scanning, don't be discouraged if a few spots remain; they may be on the
original print when it came from the photofinisher. Take the time to use
your image manipulation program's eyedropper and brush tools to minimize
these annoying details.
Brightness/Contrast:
Adjust both of these settings to maximize image quality.
Sharpening: Use the
Sharpen tool, Unsharp Mask, or better yet a sharpening plug-in such as
nik Sharpener to improve the digitized overall sharpness before printing.
While working with any digital
image, it's a good idea to be concerned about all of these items, they
are especially important when working with small-sized originals, and
only slightly less important when working with images made with real panoramic
cameras where you will be using 100 percent of the digitized original
negative or transparency.
Specialty Papers. While
you can print panoramic images on any sheet of paper, it's going to be
less wasteful to use long, skinny sheets that have already been prepared
for panorama printing. Epson makes a Panoramic Photo Paper (SO41145) that
measures 8.3x23.4" and is available in 10-sheet packs and will work with
any brand of ink jet printer.
When working with special sized
papers, you will need to set your printer driver to accept it. Epson printers
have a built-in setting for panoramic paper, but printers from other companies
will surely not. One way to get around this limitation with printers lacking
this setting is to print your image using a desktop publishing program,
such as Adobe PageMaker, instead of an image-editing program. PageMaker's
Document Setup function can be used to tell the printer that the output
would be a "custom" print made on a non-standard paper size.
Not all printers will cover
completely from one edge of the paper to the other. The best way to find
out how much area you can really print is to make a test print. Start
by using a graphics program to draw a rectangle that can be filled with
color. Don't use rich solid colors. To save ink, use soft colors. If your
driver provides a choice of printing in less than high-quality modes do
that, too. You only need to see how much area is being covered; so why
waste any ink to uncover this information. Unlike a test file that's used
to evaluate the printer's photo quality output, be sure to use the least
expensive paper you have for this test. After you print the test file,
evaluate the results to see how close to the edge you can really come.
Don't be discouraged to find that your printer will not cover the entire
page. Most printers need some space for paper handling and this shows
up in what areas are covered by ink. This information will let you know
what kind of border to provide when printing images on panoramic and other
kinds of special papers.
As an alternative to using
specialized panoramic papers, you can use roll paper, much the same way
that professional photo labs produce wide prints or a series of standard-sized
silver-based photographs. As I write this only Epson offers paper for
ink jet printers in rolls. And you'll also need a printer that accepts
the roll paper adapter, such as the Epson Stylus Photo 870 and 1270. The
Epson driver for these printers allows it to print right up to the edge
of the roll paper.
Manufacturers/Distributors
Adobe Systems
345 Park Ave.
San Jose, CA 95110
(408) 536-6000
fax: (408) 537-6000
www.adobe.com
Adorama, Inc.
42 W 18th St.
New York, NY 10011
(800) 223-2500
(212) 675-6789
fax: (212) 463-7223
www.adoramacamera.com
Agfa Corporation
100 Challenger Rd.
Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660
(201) 440-2500
fax: (201) 440-6703
www.agfaphoto.com
ArcSoft
46601 Fremont Blvd.
Fremont, CA 94538
(510) 440-9901
fax: (510) 440-1270
www.arcsoft.com
Bogen Photo Corp.
565 E Crescent Ave.
Ramsey, NJ 07446
(201) 818-9500
fax: (201) 818-9177
www.bogenphoto.com
Eastman Kodak
343 State St.
Rochester, NY 14650
(716) 724-4000
www.kodak.com
Enroute
990 Commercial St.,
1st Floor
Palo Alto, CA 94303
(650) 843-1122
fax: (650) 813-9089
www.enroute.com
Fuji Photo Film USA, Inc.
555 Taxter Rd.
Elmsford, NY 10523
(800) 800-3854
fax: (914) 789-8295
www.fujifilm.com
Hasselblad USA Inc.
10 Madison Rd.
Fairfield, NJ 07004
(973) 227-7320
fax: (973) 227-4216
www.hasselbladusa.com
Kiev USA
248 Mill St.
Greenwich, CT 06830
(203) 531-0900
fax: (203) 531-6229
www.kievusa.com
Mamiya America Corporation
8 Westchester Plaza
Elmsford, NY 10523
(914) 347-3300
fax: (914) 347-3309
www.mamiya.com
Microtech International
242 Branford Rd.
North Branford, CT 06471
(203) 483-9402
fax: (203) 483-0129
www.microtechint.com
Nikon Inc.
1300 Walt Whitman Rd.
Melville, NY 11747
(800) 645-6678
fax: (631) 547-0299
www.nikonusa.com
Tamron Industries, Inc. (Bronica)
125 Schmitt Blvd.
Farmingdale, NY 11735
(631) 694-8700
fax: (631) 694-1414
www.tamron.com
TECHnik USA
6549 Mission Gorge Rd.,
Ste. 220
San Diego, CA 92120
(619) 562-4456
fax: (619) 562-5583
www.tech-nik.com
Ulead Systems, Inc.
970 W 190th St., Ste. 520
Torrance, CA 90502
(800) 858-5323
(310) 523-9393
fax: (310) 523-9399
www.ulead.com
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