July 2018 Photo Quest: Panoramas

It’s July and San Diego is baking in the heat of the summer’s first major heatwave – and as if that’s not enough, here’s the next monthly photo quest: Panoramas! 😀

Thanks to modern software and cameras, it’s easier than ever to capture stunning wide-format photos of grand vistas – even your phone does panoramas! Any photo is welcome of course, and here are some things to consider and/or watch out for:

Panorama Photo Tips

  • Use sufficient overlap (at least 30%) so that your panorama stitching software (Lightroom, Photoshop, etc.) can easily detect elements in both frames and stitch them seamlessly
  • Use a tripod and carefully level it
  • If you’re shooting hand-held, keep the camera as level as possible (many modern cameras have built-in levels that can be activated in the viewfinder or live view, make sure to use these little helpers)
  • Careful with parallax error on immediate foreground objects – avoid anything too close to your camera/lens, unless you have a panorama head and nodal slide
  • Meter the brightest part of the scenery, switch your camera to manual mode and use these exposure settings for the entire panorama sequence
  • Do NOT use a polarizing filter (the sky will be very unevenly polarized)

Photo Quest Rules

  • No digging in the archives!
  • Make a NEW photo between now and July 31st, 2018 (deadline 11:59pm)
  • This is a members-only activity
  • Current photo club members will receive a Dropbox file request via email
  • One photo per member only, please – take your time and send your best picture!
  • Ask questions and discuss in our Facebook group

We’re looking forward to your submissions!

Little Lakes Valley Panorama, stitched from 5 vertical frames at 35mm focal length on a full-frame DSLR
Little Lakes Valley Panorama, stitched from 5 vertical frames at 35mm focal length on a full-frame DSLR. Photo (c) Alexander S. Kunz.

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