Playing With Panoramics

 I have recently been doing quite a bit of panoramic shooting. Initially it was meant to be for a client that wanted a gigapixel image. Lots of internet searching later I thought I had everything sorted out...sort of...and went to work on my first gigapixel which I'll post at some point in the future. At any rate, the project is supposedly on hold until I actually receive a deposit or go ahead for the job in question. Completely coincidentally though, I was asked by a different client to do some panoramic of a hospital for their marketing department. Thanks to the unrealized project I now had the software in hand as well as some cobbled together hardware (I have yet to purchase a dedicated panoramic head as I still haven't decided which one). The software in question is the very specialized PTGui Pro. One commercial project later and I am starting to only just get to grips with it. 

Then along came a Drakensberg hike specifically to create some timelapse material for a project that I am working on. But, it also gave me a chance to play with some panoramics while waiting for timelapses to finish shooting. Above and below are two examples.

The Element Approach

Over the last few months we have been looking at some of the principles of creative photographic composition. These being; the use of lines, space, showing distance, the ‘rule of thirds’ and framing. At this point it’s useful to start looking at composition in a more systematic manner, something that I refer to as the element approach to composition.

Great Photographs Require Walking! April AI Drakensberg Trip

Edward Weston apparently once said that, "Anything more than 500 yards from the car just isn't photogenic". This, I suspect, was made when he was more interested in still life than in landscapes. I also suspect that he may have changed his mind later in life considering some of his later images. The one thing about the statement though, is that he was dead wrong!

5 Myths Debunked (About Being a Pro Photographer)

Me in the Berg shot by a student, Dov on one of the Drakensberg AI Workshops

Being a moderately successful photographer I am often asked by students what steps they should take to going pro themselves. Particularly among the younger set are a few myths that I often find that I have to dispel first before getting into the nitty gritty of how to go about making a living from photography. As I usually do, I also recommend reading Michel Heron's excellent book 'Creative Careers in Photography' (South Africans can look here) which takes a no holds barred look at actually making photography pay. It's easy to look at the list and think I am being negative about photography as a career. Don't get me wrong - I adore my job. To the point that my wife complains about how I bounce out of bed raring to start work. So to get to the point: