Stitching Several 6x12 Images

[Greg Miller]

Greg,

Wonderful project, and fabulous work in shooting and creating the panorama. I assume you had to do lot of free-hand work in assembling the panorama.

Wonder if you would comment on how the logistical aspects of image capture traveling in a boat.

Sandy

Thanks Sandy. Yes, the stitching was all manual. I found there were too many variables changing between shots for the automated software to stitch properly across 2,000 p hotos for each shore. I was able to stitch about miles per hour, so 150 hours of stitching...

In terms of logistics, I did a trial run by walking the dhore line for several miles and then stitching at home. That worked. I then considered using a gyro on the boat so I could hand hold and keep the camera stable. But battery life was an issues, and the weight would be an issue. As it was, with a D700 and a 24-to zoom lens, the physical requirements of shooting for literally all day were dire. A tripod on a moving boat with vibrations from the motor was not possible. So I ended up shooting hand held and tried to keep my shutter speed fat6ser than 1/1000. If I lost a single frame due to motion it would ruin the entire panorama, and the timing was such that I had no chance for so-overs. I kept the lens at a constant focal length, but had to go wider in a couple places where the river narrowed and the mountains climbed steeply form river edge. I kept the water/shore line at a constant part of the frame. Keeping the camera level while on a rocking boat was tough, I had to do a lot of horizontal level corrections in ACR. I had only one shot to get the photos, so I had to shoot the west shore, then cross to the other side of the boat and shoot the east shore. Then back to the opposite shore. So i always had to remember what was in the frame of the last shot I took on each shore. Not very easy on the long stretches where there were only trees. A full day of that will numb the brain. I also tried to back up my flash card as each one filled up. I had Wolverine drives with a flash reader. But at one point I tried to get the flash card to mount in the Wolverine and could not. So I gave up. When I got home I tried to see what was going on and forced the card in. That caused the entire card to erase. Luckily I had already backed the card up several times, but good thing I did not force it on the boat.

And then there is the most important logisitical matter. I was literal shooting all day starting before sunrise. I averaged a photo every 30 seconds. But I needed to stay hydrated. So eventually mother nature called. The sghooner had a head down below. So I had to take a photo, dash below, and return in 30 seconds for the next photo. I'll leave the rest to your imagination.

[Kirk Gittings]

Right now they are in storage at the museum. I need tpo make time to get them displayed in more venues.

You can see the museum exhibit at the bottom of this page. This was a very large gallery room in the museum - I think 60 feet across.

Sweet installation! I wish I could have seen that installed.

[Richard Wasserman]

It seems to be time for me to try out this idea and see if it works. The best way I learn is by doing, so I'll soon find out if I can actually do what I hope to. It sounds as if it's possible, but fraught with issues. Greg's panorama is inspirational, but am I willing to work that hard???

[Greg Miller]

Sweet installation! I wish I could have seen that installed.

Yes, I wish I could take credit for it. The installation really made the exhibit work.

we were trying to figure out how to display 80 foot long print's in a 60 foot gallery. When we realized we needed to snake them through, it totally made sense, because the river itself snakes through the landscape. The museum had connections with an artist who is a metal worker. They went to him to make metal armatures that could be suspended from the ceiling, and then hang the prints from that. It worked out beatifully.

[sanking]

And then there is the most important logisitical matter. I was literal shooting all day starting before sunrise. I averaged a photo every 30 seconds. But I needed to stay hydrated. So eventually mother nature called. The sghooner had a head down below. So I had to take a photo, dash below, and return in 30 seconds for the next photo. I'll leave the rest to your imagination.

Thank for for the extremely interesting discussion of the logistical issues in capturing the images. You really did a masterful job in planning and executing the project, and in the final presentation of the result.

Sandy

[Greg Miller]

Thank for for the extremely interesting discussion of the logistical issues in capturing the images. You really did a masterful job in planning and executing the project, and in the final presentation of the result.

Sandy

Thanks Sandy.