Photographically speaking, a panorama is a photograph that encompasses a very wide view. I like panoramas because they reproduce a scene as if I were viewing it live by turning my head from the far left to the far right. I can view the photograph in small ‘chunks’ as I scan the entire image from the left to the right.

In the past, making a panorama was a complicated, multiple step process involving capturing the images and then stitching them together whether it be done chemically in a darkroom or digitally with a computer. I won’t go into details of making panoramas using either of these two “conventional” ways. Instead, I’ll point out the ease with which a feature on certain cameras enables me to easily make panoramas in one step.

For the past two years I’ve been using several Sony Alpha series and NEX series cameras to shoot panoramas. These cameras enjoy a feature called Sweep Panorama. When this feature is chosen, you simultaneously depress the shutter and move the camera in a sweeping fashion to the right. As you do this, the camera captures multiple images of the scene. The camera signals the completion of the sweep by halting the shutter. A few seconds afterward, the panoramic capture appears on the camera’s LCD for your review. Press the PLAY button and the image is displayed from left to right – in video fashion – but is actually a single, still panoramic image.

Above, I explained that the sweeping motion is from left to right. But in fact these Sony cameras let you sweep left to right; right to left; up to down; and down to up. These cameras also capture three dimensional appearing images using 3D Sweep Panorama that can be displayed on certain compatible 3D television sets.

Here’s a few of the panoramas that I’ve taken with various Sony cameras. You can click on each of the images to see a wide view of the panorama.
 

Red Rock Canyon, Nevada

Red Rock Canyon, Nevada
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a compact camera comes in handy

Photography isn’t always about planning and capturing images during a photo shoot.

Life “happens” whether you plan for it or not.

If you don’t want to miss the chance to record life as it happens, keep a camera handy. Whether you use a small compact camera or your cellphone camera, it’s fun when you can capture memorable events on “film”.

Life is sometimes about the important and emotional moments. And at other times, it’s about the humorous, the “cute” or the interesting. You may discover that the spontaneous moments are among the most memorable.

Below are a few of the memorable moments that I was able to record by having a camera near at hand.

Food that I adore Sometimes food overtakes my senses. When this happens, I may snap a photo to remember just how good or different a dish looks and tastes. Later, I can just look at the picture and recall exactly how it tasted. Maybe I’m a little obsessed with my taste buds.
Interesting Faces Several years ago, my son and I were on a cross-country flight that we shared with Mohammed Ali. When he noticed a camera in my hand, he graciously stood up so that we could take this photo. By having a camera handy, I’ve been able to take dozens more interesting personalities and faces.
Humor While driving, I spotted these juxtaposed signs that made me smile. I stopped the car and walked to the corner with my compact camera to take this photo. No matter how serious you are about photography, not all of your subjects have to be serious.
Scenics For the most part, traveling from one side of the ocean to the other is visually boring. Every once in a while the flight path includes subjects like this one. This is Greenland as seen from about 40,000 feet. Since I had a small camera with me at the time, I snapped. Now this beautiful scenery serves as a reminder of a place that I’d like to visit sometime.
Children Here is where cute comes in. Keep a camera ready when the kids are close by and you’ll have ample opportunity to catch them in a variety of poses. Most of the time we are waiting for them to smile. But sometimes other looks such as a pouting face are worth remembering too.

There’s no need to make a New Year resolution to record your kids, family, friends and memorable events. By having a small compact or cellphone camera close by, you’ll be prepared when the moment is right.

 

 
Written by: Arnie Lee

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a case for more activity

 

This year, summer has been an especially busy time for us. I’m just catching up with some of my tasks including writing these articles. I’ll do my best to keep sharing some of the things I’ve learned having spent so many years with a camera.

We all know that light is the agent that makes photography possible. Most often we spend our time making sure that the light is “perfect” – the right intensity and direction to bring out the essence of our subject.

When light diminished or missing, your camera records the darker areas as shadows.

Here’s a few examples of how I’ve played around with shadows.

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One of the reasons for a busy summer was two cross-country trips by car from Grand Rapids to Reno, Nevada and back – a journey of 4400 miles x 2 or a total of 8800 miles. That’s a lot of driving. On one of these drives, my five year old granddaughter and I took a side trip to visit nearby Yosemite and decided to hike a long 3 miles to gaze at the Giant Sequoia trees. The entire trail was tree covered and occasionally the sunlight would burst through the leaves. When I spotted our stark shadows ahead of us on the path, I simply snapped the shutter to capture an interesting shot of both of us hiking.

Skip forward to last weekend. We’ve just returned from the second drive out west. As I’m admiring the colorful stencils on one of the grandkids’ bedroom wall, I see a captivating reflection superimposed over the cartoon characters. The sun shining through the window is casting a reflection on the wall too. The shadow of the window has turned the stencil into a magical scene.

 

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We see that lighting (or the lack of lighting) can be used to create neat pictures too. Experimenting with the shadow side of lighting was easy and in my case fun too.

 

 

Written by Arnie Lee

 

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