Image Stitching with Phase One P45 digital back

[Alain Briot]

I just posted an essay on a new image created by stitching five Phase One P45 files:

http://beautiful-landscape.com/Thoughts78-P45%20collages.html

I'll have more information in the near future about this approach.

In the meantime post your questions about this approach to the forum and I'll do my best to answer them.

 

[Ray West]

Hi Alain,

Very interesting article, and images, presumably both taken more or less from the same position. How do you 'frame' the large stitched images? I mean , do you have some sort of mental image of the area you want to cover, and step the camera across, peering through the individual viewfinder at each location, or do you have you some sort of 'mega viewfinder' attachment. In the stitching, for the sake of composition of the final print, do pixels round the edges get thrown away, or is it got down to fine art that all of what you take is used?

Best wishes,

Ray

 

[Alain Briot]

I see the composition in my mind and I crop after the stitch to match the image to what I have in mind. Some pixels get thrown away but I have so many it doesn't matter. That's where the high resolution back comes in nicely.

The images all have to be taken from the same position otherwise the image won't stitch properly at all.

 

[Asher Kelman]

This is impressive. Could you post the two pics here and make this page beautiful? Your work shows the amazing progress made in photography between the two shots and the maturation of photoshop! how large could you print that and allow one to come within 20 inches and be super impressed with the color, contrast, detail and yet still have the presence of the place?

Aslo, what do you think the cost of the camera per year has become.

Asher

 

[Ray West]

Hi Alain,

Thanks for the info. I meant to say was the recent stitched image taken from the same location as the earlier single shot image. Stating the obvious, they look entirely different, and not knowing the location, it could be from the other side. (any chance of a lat/long for google earth?)

Best wishes,

Ray

PS, looking at your 2003 images too, I think it is possibly the same position, but there is wide angle and wiiiiiide angle, I guess

 

[Michael Fontana]

Thanks Alain

I agree very much about:

" It's the composition!
Why do it? For the composition that is. T.."

Yep, stitching allows to integrate elements in a picture, that wouldn't been possible otherwise; that's why I like it, too.

I doubt that it works with closer objects, without a pano set-up. But I could be wrong.

 

[Alain Briot]

The two photos were taken about a half mile from each other. I address this in my essay I believe. It's hard to see from looking at the images because in a location that huge 1/2 mile hardly makes any difference. Essentially, I look for different foregrounds. That changes. The background pretty much stays the same.

I have no idea what the cost of the camera per year is, or might be, or will be. What I do know is that it is already paid for, in full It paid for itself on the first shoot.

I haven't checked the exact file size, but I am pretty sure I can do 40" tall by at least 150" wide. I'll let someone calculate what that might be in feet.

I have a need for huge images (huge walls...) so that is one motivation. But essentially the main motivation is getting the composition that I want. I seem to no longer see in single captures. I'll be trying this approach again this weekend.

I also have a Really Right Stuff pano setup that does both horizontal and multi - row panoramas, but I prefer to work with just the ballhead and the quick release plate. More freedom. The results being perfect I lose nothing but foregoing the complexity of the RRS setup. In fact I gain in creative freedom since I have less to think about.

I'll post the 2 images here later on. Right now I'm taking a break from doing recordings for my composition mastery tutorial. The image creation and the tutorial creation go hand in hand. In fact the new image give me ideas for the tutorial while the research I do for the tutorial help me with thinking of new images.

 

[Asher Kelman]

Thanks Alain, this is so interesting that you use freehand. I too have the gear for rotating exactly through the entrance pupil but do most work freehand.

For a subject like a nearby (30 feet) curved bridge, I did my freehand thing but am sorry. Obviously that is too close and the curves are hard to match.

Asher

 

[Alain Briot]

I do work freehand for some stitched composition, but this particular one here was done on a tripod and ballhead. It was early morning and the exposure time was several seconds.

 

[Michael Fontana]

Thanks Alain, this is so interesting that you use freehand. I too have the gear for rotating exactly through the entrance pupil but do most work freehand.

For a subject like a nearby (30 feet) curved bridge, I did my freehand thing but am sorry. Obviously that is too close and the curves are hard to match.

Asher

Asher

freehand - with close objects - is a matter of luck but lens too:
doing it with a ultrawide is much harder than lets say a 28 mm on FF/DSLR.