Problem
Your eye sees the panorama. The camera sees just a small section.
Answers
1 The iphone has a panorama facility. Locate the panorama icon and hold it down whilst swinging the camera. You can get a 360 degrees view.
2 you can stitch together a series of stills which you have taken by moving your camera fractions of an inch, holding it steady on the edge of a balcony or wall or table or upright. (Do keep the camera securely fastened to yourself by a strap so you don't drop it over!)
The free softward available on line is called
hugin.
We did a sunset panorama of the whitle skyscrapers turned pink in the sunset. The hugin system made all the skyscrapers upright.
You could also do the same view at different times of day, morning, noon and evening. The contrast is interesting for you as a camera operator and as a display of contrasting pictures.
An interesting contrast would be something in the foreground such as a seasonal plant, so long as this remains in focus.
Foreground
If in doubt, try the photo once with the foreground item and once without. I like a picture with a table and two empty chairs and a vase of flowers or a bowl of fruit, or a pot plant.
You could add more interest with hobbies.
Cultural or artistic and creative items
Such as an artist's easel,
A magazine or book
Notebooks and pens
Sporty items: a bicycle, swimming or diving gear,
Local interest
Guidebooks, a book or local magazine,
something local to the area such as a tile,
a decorative empty birdcage,
Personalise The Picture
Print a card with your name and hang it on the wall. No matter how small. That identified your photo (in case anybody ever wants to copy it. Even if nobody sees, you will know. It could be like the teeny picture of Hitchcock in his films (movies), and the tiny mouse carved by the carver in the north of England on everything he created. A challenge for the viewer is to blow up the picture and find the hidden card with your name, perhaps a tag on a basket of flower.
Clothing
a ranger's hat, climbing boots, skis, a surf board,
Food and drink
a diary, the novel you have written, a cocktail, local fruits, winter flowers, spring flowers, summer flowers, autumn flowers, seasonal items such as pumpkins, Halloween, Valentine's day, a Santa outfit, reindeer and sleigh.
Alternatively, add a seasonal border later.
Eliminate Clutter
However, you will probably find it hard to focus on the foreground. In that case, make a point of moving anything which could spoil the view.
Clean Up
In a hotel, you might need to clean the chairs and wash down the table and floor area.
You might want to take a second picture with focus on the foreground items and the backdrop as a backdrop.
Printing A Panorama
You can also print out a panorama as a long poster to brighten a boring bedroom or long living room or corridor wall.
Christmas and Birthday Gifts
You can roll it up and post it as a Christmas present. We took a panorama of a vineyard (Rioja, Northern Spain) with the vineyard owner on the top of a hill pointing out the landscape and river below to a visitor.
Making Use Of Spare Time
If you are stuck in a hotel room or at home waiting for visitors to come back from a conference or arrive off a plane, you can amuse yourself by filling the time with some photography.
Hotel Viewpoints
In Madeira our bedroom balcony gave a view partly spoiled by a crane. I walked along the corridor and found a deserted public balcony with a fabulous view. The moral is, check the public areas all around your building for alternative views.
Angela Lansbury
travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
Your eye sees the panorama. The camera sees just a small section.
Answers
1 The iphone has a panorama facility. Locate the panorama icon and hold it down whilst swinging the camera. You can get a 360 degrees view.
2 you can stitch together a series of stills which you have taken by moving your camera fractions of an inch, holding it steady on the edge of a balcony or wall or table or upright. (Do keep the camera securely fastened to yourself by a strap so you don't drop it over!)
The free softward available on line is called
hugin.
We did a sunset panorama of the whitle skyscrapers turned pink in the sunset. The hugin system made all the skyscrapers upright.
You could also do the same view at different times of day, morning, noon and evening. The contrast is interesting for you as a camera operator and as a display of contrasting pictures.
An interesting contrast would be something in the foreground such as a seasonal plant, so long as this remains in focus.
Foreground
If in doubt, try the photo once with the foreground item and once without. I like a picture with a table and two empty chairs and a vase of flowers or a bowl of fruit, or a pot plant.
You could add more interest with hobbies.
Cultural or artistic and creative items
Such as an artist's easel,
A magazine or book
Notebooks and pens
Sporty items: a bicycle, swimming or diving gear,
Local interest
Guidebooks, a book or local magazine,
something local to the area such as a tile,
a decorative empty birdcage,
Personalise The Picture
Print a card with your name and hang it on the wall. No matter how small. That identified your photo (in case anybody ever wants to copy it. Even if nobody sees, you will know. It could be like the teeny picture of Hitchcock in his films (movies), and the tiny mouse carved by the carver in the north of England on everything he created. A challenge for the viewer is to blow up the picture and find the hidden card with your name, perhaps a tag on a basket of flower.
Clothing
a ranger's hat, climbing boots, skis, a surf board,
Food and drink
a diary, the novel you have written, a cocktail, local fruits, winter flowers, spring flowers, summer flowers, autumn flowers, seasonal items such as pumpkins, Halloween, Valentine's day, a Santa outfit, reindeer and sleigh.
Alternatively, add a seasonal border later.
Eliminate Clutter
However, you will probably find it hard to focus on the foreground. In that case, make a point of moving anything which could spoil the view.
Clean Up
In a hotel, you might need to clean the chairs and wash down the table and floor area.
You might want to take a second picture with focus on the foreground items and the backdrop as a backdrop.
Printing A Panorama
You can also print out a panorama as a long poster to brighten a boring bedroom or long living room or corridor wall.
Christmas and Birthday Gifts
You can roll it up and post it as a Christmas present. We took a panorama of a vineyard (Rioja, Northern Spain) with the vineyard owner on the top of a hill pointing out the landscape and river below to a visitor.
Making Use Of Spare Time
If you are stuck in a hotel room or at home waiting for visitors to come back from a conference or arrive off a plane, you can amuse yourself by filling the time with some photography.
Hotel Viewpoints
In Madeira our bedroom balcony gave a view partly spoiled by a crane. I walked along the corridor and found a deserted public balcony with a fabulous view. The moral is, check the public areas all around your building for alternative views.
Angela Lansbury
travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
