Project 50 - Week 2 - Rooftop Panoramic

Project 50 - Week 2
Subject: Rooftop Panoramic


Although the weather wasn't quite as supportive as I like, I did complete this weeks project - my Rooftop Panoramic!  This panoramic is comprised of 13 photographs, and shows the view from our apartment's roof.  I tried to be consistent in taking the photographs (focal length, aperture, and shutter speed), as to make the photos all have the same look and feel before combining them.  One odd effect, that I did not expect, was the "curved" aspect of the center part of the shot.  I believe this effect occurred because I was walking along the edges of the roof taking pictures so the shots were not taken from the same "plane" as each other (unlike the first two tests, where I did not really move while taking the photos). Either way, I think the effect is quite interesting, a sort of "mock-fisheye-lens" look.

The overall size of this photo, if printed, would be 8" x 38" (over 3' long!).  I might look into seeing how much it would cost to get a print this large, perhaps on canvas (so I wouldn't have to cut a mat-board or try and find a frame for it!).  I hope you all like it, as before it is a bit of a large picture so to see the large version, click on the small thumbnail picture below and then once it loads click on it again to expand it to the larger size.

Enjoy!

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Project 50 - Week 2 - Update #2

Project 50 - Week 2
Update #2

Here is my second attempt at making a panoramic shot of San Francisco.  I know its a bit blurry and pixilation is a bit high, but I think the overall look is pretty good.  As with yesterday's photos, these were more telephoto (around 220mm) than wide-angle.  The amusing part, at least for me, is that the bird (pretty much dead-center of the image) is the clearest part of the photo!

Now, this is a pretty large picture (printed, it would be approximately 34" by 7") and if you click on it to see it "full screen", you might need to scroll a bit left and right.  In total, this panorama is compiled from 7 photos.

Enjoy!

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Project 50 - Week 2 - Concept

Project 50 - Week 2

Status: Concept

For my Week 2 project, I'm going to try and create a panorama photograph using multiple shots from the top of our apartment building.  We have an amazing view from the Bay Bridge all the way to the Golden Gate (and a bit beyond), and I'd like to show that off in a giant panoramic picture. 

I am going to use my wide-angel lens to give a sense of how "large" the bay is; probably 18-20mm.  For the post-production part, I'm not sure if I want to try and do a single image with no seams or as a composite image with each "snapshot" layered on top of each other for form the panorama (think of printing out a stack of 4x6's and laying them all our on a table to form one giant picture - each small picture would have a small white "frame" to show that it's an individual photo, but when shown with its 'friends' would look a part of a giant work). As a test-run, I am going to try and do a composite with just a few photos so I can get the hang of how to do it.  If having them as single elements looks good, I think I go with that method, otherwise it will be a single giant photo. 

The other element that isn't really under my control will be the weather.  San Francisco is known for its fog and I really want to try and take all the pictures at the same time, so they fit together more uniformly.  So, I'm just going to pick a day and go for it!

I'll post some of the shots that I get as well as some of the test-run works over the next few days.

Enjoy!

Photo 365 - Day 116 (Oakland Docks)

Day 116 (October 27th, 2010)
Title: Oakland Docks


I got these while visiting Hanger One distillery in Alameda.  They are the giant cranes at the Oakland docks.  These are used to unload/load giant steel carriers off the cargo ships and put them either on trains or trucks.  Normally I see them from my house (much farther away) and they look like those little "bobbing-head birds" that slowly raise and lower their heads.  I had to really mess with the timing on my camera to get a good shot, because the lights were really bright but if I metered off them, I wouldn't get any detail in the shadows.  On the other hand, metering for the shadows made the lights just blow-out any details.  So, its was a fun balancing act of shutter speeds to get a nice shot.  I also like how you can see the stars in the top, but at the same time see the light streaks from the planes coming in/out of SFO. 


Enjoy!