Panoramic Pics

I love panoramic pics and I've put together a selection on this page for you to look at and, hopefully, to encourage you to have a go at making your own... there's nothing quite like it!

I've included the camera data for each image where possible. To get started you don't need expensive camera equipment but you do need software capable of "stitching" the images together.

I plan to write a page on how to create a panorama from scratch but in the meantime you might like to check out the books and reviews on this page to help you on your way. I hope you like the images!

NASA pan photo mosaic of the Himalayas with Makalu and Mount Everest
The photo mosaic uses photos ISS008-E-13302 TO 13307 taken 28 January 2004 taken from the International Space Station, Expedition 8 and added to The Gateway to Astronaut Photography. Photo courtesy of NASA.

Panorama of Slieve League, County Donegal, Ireland, 2003
Photo by Thorsten Pohl Thpohl
Olympus C720UZ, focal length 6.4 mm, exposure time 1/500 sec, f-stop f/5, ISO 100

Bay of Gibraltar Panorama
Photo by Peter-Ashley Jackson

A panoramic view from the top of the Rock of Gibraltar (Gibraltar), looking north
Photo by RedCoat

Panoramic view of the Bay of Gibraltar from Gibraltar's South District, 2009
Photo by Nathan Harig
Focal length 5.85 mm, exposure time 1/500 sec, f-stop f/4, ISO 64

Panorama of Mount Shasta partially covered in snow, trees, brush, and blue sky, as seen from Castle Lake
Photo by Vlad Butsky

View on the Black Sea from Isik Üniversitesi Campus in Sile
Photo by Darwinek

Torre-Agbar, Barcelona, Spain, 2007
Photo by Diliff
6 segment vertical panorama created with a Canon 5D, 70-200mm f/2.8, lens at 150mm

The unusual perspective of a panoramic image creates a unique and intriguing visual experience for the viewer. Skillfully executed, panoramic photography can realize scenes which could otherwise never be captured in an image or seen with the naked eye. Panoramas offer new possibilities for creative photographers, either as flat, two-dimensional images, or mapped into a 3D space that can be visited on a virtual tour. New, powerful, panorama software makes the workflow easier and more efficient than ever before. In Mastering Digital Panoramic PhotographyAuthor Harald Woeste takes the reader on a tour from the basics of capturing panoramas, all the way through stitching, editing, and printing panoramic pics. He provides a detailed description of the necessary equipment and materials, as well as the various software tools that can be used in the workflow. The latter half of the book illustrates the making of panoramas through a number of example projects. In Mastering Digital Panoramic Photography you will find everything you need to know to create amazing panoramic images.

It has never been easier to make panoramas - both in terms of the new lightweight equipment and the spectacular quality of the final image output. New vistas concerning this unique way to see the world and express oneself abound in Panoramic Photography: from Composition and Exposure to Final Exhibition Written by one of the world's pre-eminent panoramic photographers, Arnaud Frich, the book provides diagrams to explain the technical details involved in various shots. Camera equipment examples and a list of suppliers make this book a valuable resource for all panoramic photographers. Inside you will find all the information you need to create your perfect panorama.

Explore flatback and rotating panoramic cameras and learn how swing-lens and rotational cameras work; observe how camera choice affects the image and final composition; learn the joining (or "stitching") method for assembling panoramic pics with the Realvis Stitcher and Panavue ImageAssembler; archive and store original negatives and digital files, as well as distribute panoramic images over the Internet

Assembling Panoramic Photos is written by eight expert French photographers who reveal their secrets in using Photoshop and a collection of dedicated applications to create extraordinary panoramic pics - includes some amazing 360-degree images. For anyone involved with digital imagery or animation, this groundbreaking volume demonstrates a new way of thinking about what's possible and what's required to produce these images. Reflecting the very best of French photography, graphic design and digital artistry, "Assembling Panoramic Photos: A Designer's Notebook" offers advanced Photoshop instruction that goes beyond opening this menu, or clicking that palette. You receive expert aesthetic guidance, from start to finish, with notes and views that reveal every step of the process. This book is a goldmine for any digital artist who wants to learn new Photoshop techniques and exploit them for maximum effect. At home on either your coffee table or desktop, the book itself is dazzling in concept and design. There's nothing else quite like this Designer's Notebook available in the U.S.

If you're interested in creating your own panoramic photos but want to avoid the problem of parallax, click here to find out how using an inexpensive gadget called a panorama head to adapt your existing camera, whether it is a DSLR or compact camera.