Panoramic images

First take a few pictures with an overlap of at least 30-50%. The wider angle your lens has, the more overlap you want. A tripod makes it easier, but is not required unless you have details in the foreground. Then it is also important that the camera rotates around the lens entry pupil to avoid parallax errors.

Then you have to run a program that can analyze the images, align them correctly and stitch them into one wide (or high) image. I prefer to use PTGui myself. It has a pretty steep learning curve, but once you have learned it, it is well worth the effort. It is amongst other things able to create an image with separate layers, that can be read by Photoshop. And there you can do the final trimming, and choose what details you want to include from the different images.

Photoshop lager

If you are successful, the final result will be a panoramic image with completely unvisible stitchings. People or cars that move don't have to be a big problem, this can often be fixed by moving your stichings a bit. Worse are certain type of moving clouds and waves on a lake for example. Speeding boats creating waves are a nightmare! If the sunlight varies with occational clouds, be sure to catch your images in similar lighting conditions.

For printing I use an Epson 1290 which can take a 10m x 33cm roll of high-gloss paper. My images are usually around one meter wide, and the quality is amazing - almost photo lab quality. And you can control every aspect yourself - colors, lighting, contrast and sharpness.

Below are some examples in much smaller versions more suitable for the web. My printed versions are usually 5-10000 pixels wide and have file sizes around 50-120MB.

	Sandy beach in Södermalm. May 2003.
	Årstaviken with the Årsta bridge. May 2003.
	Rosenudd outside Smådalarö. Summer 2002.
	Årstaviken with the Årsta bridge. May 2002.
	Here in Vsterås lives Lena och Hasse. As made for a pano.
	A fantastic view over Riddarfjärden on Christmas Day 2001!
	You mustn't miss the view from Mariaberget above Riddarfjärden!
	If you get just 75 meters away from Strandvägen in Stockholm it can look like this.
	All the Nicki de Saint Phalle sculptures outside The Museum of Modern Arts gathered in one 200° pano.
	A tricky image in Skeppsholmen with all the rocking boats. Djurgården with the Wasa Museum in the background.
	A lovely view from the City Hall tower towards east and Old Town.
	Once you have climbed all the stairs in the City Hall tower, you are richly rewarded.
	A wonderful summer day in Kungsträdgården.
	My first real pano. Stockholm City stream in Spring 2001.

Send me an email if you have any questions.

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