Fun With Panoramas

When I purchased my current camera, I quickly noticed that it had a "panorama" setting--a feature that wasn't offered on any other camera I had ever used.  As you probably know, panorama shots can be pretty spectacular, so I was certainly motivated to learn how to use this setting.  I only dabble in shooting panoramas, so this won't be an instructional blog post per se.  Instead, I just want to make you aware of the panorama setting and what it can offer.  

I'm still learning about panoramas myself, so I'm not sure if the panorama setting works the same way on all cameras.  On my camera, you create the shot by taking a series of three pictures.  First, you can choose whether you want to take the pictures from left to right or vice versa.  Second, you take each picture, trying to line up the end of the previous picture (which is usually semi-transparent and on the edge of the camera screen) to the beginning of the next picture.  After three consecutive shots have been taken, the camera processes the shots and stitches together the panorama for you.  As I said before, I'm not certain that all cameras do this in the same way.  Some cameras allow you to put more than three shots together to form a panorama, and some people choose to create/edit the panorama with computer programs like PhotoStitch.  I would suggest playing around with your camera, reading the manual, or making use of Google if you are uncertain about how to use the panorama setting on your particular camera.

In my little experience, this setting can be finicky.  You have to have a tripod or an extremely steady hand to line everything up correctly.  One of my early panorama attempts left me with a bizarrely warped horizon, and another led to obvious lines between the three individual photos.  I feel that my use of this setting has improved, but I'm definitely still getting accustomed to it.  Here are a few examples of panorama shots that I have taken since getting my camera in March. I would suggest clicking on the photos to enlarge them.  

A very early panorama attempt.  Just a shot of my neighborhood.  

Here's a good example of what can go wrong when taking a panorama shot.  Lincoln doesn't actually have a crazy curved horizon...

Another panorama of Lincoln.  I think the wide angle makes for a very interesting shot of downtown.

This is towards the Haymarket area of downtown Lincoln.  Kind of an interesting sky shot as well.

I'm obviously still learning about this setting myself, but I would still encourage you to try it yourself.  Well-done panoramas like the ones below can be really impressive and awesome if you have the a subject that would make a good wide shot.  I can't take credit for the ones below (all Google finds), but I wanted to show you some more professional images as examples.