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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Jigsaw Puzzles – a do-it-yourself kit

 

On a recent holiday out West, I snapped a lucky group photo of our some of our grandkids. It was a lucky shot in which all of the kids were posed nicely, facing the camera.

When we returned home, my wife remembered that she had stashed away a couple of do-it-yourself photo jigsaw puzzles that would make a nice souvenir of our vacation.

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Here’s the do-it-yourself jigsaw puzzle. This one is called “Make-Your_own Jigsaw Puzzle” from Messisa & Doug, Item # 376. My wife bought the kit at a large craft store for about $7.
This kit is to be used with a 5″ x 7″ photograph. I printed a borderless photograph, cropped exactly as I wanted it to appear on the puzzle. The kit includes an adhesive sheet onto which you place to photograph face up. Turn the adhesive sheet over and you’ll see the outline of the twelve jigsaw pieces. Using scissors, you cut along the lines which mirror the shape of the wooden jigsaw pieces.
Finally, you remove the second paper backing from the adhesive sheet to reveal more adhesive. Each photo piece is then pressed onto the corresponding wooden puzzle piece. This all takes about ten minutes and then your photo jig saw puzzle is ready!

My wife ended up making two of these puzzles to send to the grandkids in the photograph. We’re hoping that it will help them remember our visit.

 

Written by Arnie Lee

 

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Do It Yourself Kits

 

I get a kick out of sharing my photos with others.

So when birthdays or holidays roll around I find myself looking for ways to turn some of my photos into gifts.

And like most of you, I’m also on the lookout for ways to save money.

For both of these projects, the sets were 50% off making each an inexpensive way to make custom photo gifts.

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For one project, I found a lovely coaster set. While this one is meant for the Christmas Holidays, there sets available for other occasions as well. These attractive coasters are made of glass.
Customizing the coaster set is simple. Each coaster has a opening for a 2″ x 3″ photograph. For this project, I collected photographs of four of our grandchildren and printed them to the 2″ x 3″ size.
Then it’s just a matter of trimming each photo and inserting it into the small photo mount on the back of the coaster. Here are their happy faces ready to greet someone who needs a coaster for their drink.
This set also includes a handy wooden holder that keeps the coasters organized when they’re not being used.
This coaster kit is made by Melannco. This company makes many other photo-related products including frames and photo storage cases. The original price was $14.95 but I purchased it for only $7.50.
Another popular photo gift item is a mousepad. Here’s one that’s ready for you to customize. This mousepad has openings for four different size photographs.
The sizes for each of these photos are indicated on the template (upper left corner) that is shipped with the package. Again, I collected four photographs of family members that when printed could be sized to fit onto the template.
Here I trimmed each of the photos and attached them to the template. You can attach the photo with an adhesive, but I chose to use a small piece of scotch tape.
When completed, the template slides into an opening on the back of the mousepad and beneath the clear, protective surface. And that’s all you need to do to customize this gift.
This mousepad kit is also made by Melannco. The original price was $9.95 but I purchased it for only $5.00.

 

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Without a doubt, I’m happy with both the quality and cost of these photo gifts.

I purchased both of these kits at a local Kohls department store. I’ve seen similar kits made by other manufacturers for sale at Target, Michaels and Hobby Lobby. I’ve also seen them for sale online at Amazon.

 

To find out more about their products visit Melannco.

 

Please note that Stay Focused has no connection to Melannco.

 

Written by Arnie Lee

 

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