Panoramic photography
Oxford Companion to the Photograph:
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panoramic photography
A strong case can be made that the panoramic photograph in its broadest conceptions has been, since the invention of photography, a key element in ‘modern’ ways of looking, in particular because it has been used to visualize the major issues and concerns of modernity on the grandest scale.
Simple definition of a panoramic photograph is difficult, as so many ways have been used by photographers to achieve an image that goes beyond the conventional formats. Some sources insist on the image being made by a 360-degree rotational camera, but this would exclude many images described as ‘panoramic’ by their makers. Circular, fisheye images are one example; the continuous strip images of the periphery camera another.
Indeed, the meanings given to the term ‘panoramic’ have always fluctuated, as artists, photographers, and scientists have sought a wider perspective on humanity and nature. Invented by the panorama painter George Barker in the 1790s, the term originally meant simply a distant, all-encompassing view from a vantage point. Later, it came to describe a circular painted image taking in all four points of the compass. But whether continuous or assembled, single-image, joiner, or collage, there has been a long fascination by photographers with the genre. The invention of photography itself is closely linked to the panorama, for J.-M. Daguerre himself was a panorama painter, and his diorama has some clear links to the invention of the medium in the 1830s.
Since the beginning of photography, the ‘wider’ view has been embraced by its practitioners to make images that explore the limits of human vision—of what photography can enable us to ‘see’. The richness of this vision is impressive. It runs from early daguerreotype and calotype views in the 1840s, through the golden age of French photography in the 1850s and 1860s (Baldus, Braun, the Bisson brothers); the multiple-image tableaux of Rejlander and Peach Robinson of the same period; the experiments of Muybridge and Marey in the 1870s-1880s; the new vision of pictorialists such as Stieglitz, Steichen, and Puyo at the turn of the 20th century; then on through modernism with Brandt's wide-angle nudes and Avedon's Vietnam-era joiner-style group portraits, and up to contemporary work by artists like Hockney, Wall, Gursky, and Sam Taylor Wood. During each of these moments the panoramic genre has offered art and science new ways of visualizing big themes and big ideas about the natural world, the built environment, and human relationships. A commercial medium par excellence, the panoramic photograph was boosted by photographers who saw it as a means both to increase their profits and to make intriguing images.
Panoramic photography has been widely used since the 19th century to visualize the vast scale of human progress, but also as the best way to attempt to ‘take in’ or represent the devastation and tragedy of natural disaster and armed conflict. Events from the Crimean War to 11 September 2001, from the Rhône floods of 1851 to the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 and other 20th-century catastrophes, have all been captured by photographers who adopted the panoramic ‘Big Picture’ as the best method for visualizing their scale and impact.
The earliest panoramic photographs were made within two or three years of photography's invention in 1839, and the first known patent for a specialized panoramic camera, by an Austrian, dates from 1843. Many early panoramas were simple assemblages of two or more daguerreotypes placed alongside each other (such as the W. S. Porter (1822-89) and C. Fontayne views of Cincinnati waterfront, 1848), yet the fascination with this type of view ensured that by 1844-5 Friedrich von Martens (1806?-85?) and others in the circle around N. M. P. Lerebours were making wide-view daguerreotype panoramas of the Louvre and Seine on a specially designed swing-lens camera (also marketed by Lerebours) using a curved plate. Henry Talbot and his circle were equally fascinated by the problems of making a wider view by joining a series of paper negatives (Calvert Jones made several impressive images in the mid-1840s by this method), but it was with the widespread adoption of the negative-positive process that the genre really took off.
The panoramic photograph rapidly became a form of imagery symptomatic of modernity itself, being used in various ways from the mid-19th century to record wars, exploration, the creation of new cities and industrial enterprises, scientific and technical advances, and the emergence of new forms of society and social relationships—the last expressed in carefully orchestrated scenes of mass celebration, from the private banquet to the military tournament. Until the 1860s and 1870s, groups of soldiers were mainly depicted by the great photographers of the time (Fenton, Disdéri, Beato) in proto-panoramic views where the subjects are posed informally, but from the 1880s they increasingly appear in uniformly serried ranks, as modern warfare and its demands for discipline and industrial efficiency start to take over. The panoramic camera was seen from the 1850s onwards by many inventors and photographers as having military uses (Camille Silvy invented one for this purpose in the 1860s), and this accelerated development of the rotational camera capable of taking a 360-degree view. The Lumière brothers' drum-shaped Periphote (1901), for example, seems ideal for taking pictures from a trench or fortress. The first widely sold professional variant, the clockwork-rotated, roll-film Cirkut camera patented in 1904 and sold from 1907 by Eastman Kodak, was used for numerous purposes, from military reconnaissance to large-group photography, and was successful because the quality of its results made them easy to sell: to club members, college graduates, industrial and mining companies, and tourists. (The Cirkut No. 10 remained available until 1941.).
By the early 20th century whole armies, fleets, and air forces were being recorded by enormous photographs that offered emblematic evidence of military power. Cirkut photographers such as Eugene Goldbeck and Arthur S. Mole devised techniques for making orderly panoramic views of thousands of soldiers, battle squadrons, and formations of aircraft. Assemblages of the great and good, wedding parties, beauty contests, funerals, and a host of other social events were also favoured by photographers capable of using the technology of swinging lenses and gear-driven cameras to create images that conveyed social cohesion and institutional stability.
But the panoramic image has been used not only to encompass humanity en masse, but to explore individuality. Jacques-Henri Lartigue's extremely personal panoramic images from the 1920s and 1930s of his wife Bibi and their life of leisure on the Côte d'Azur reveal how an artistic temperament can transform an instrument of documentation into an expressive tool. (In Lartigue's hands the format seems perfectly calibrated to take in a yacht's deck or the bonnet of an Hispano Suiza.) So do the aesthetically more modest efforts of Nicholas II of Russia, who had recorded both military reviews and family picnics with his Kodak Panoram in the 1900s.
Many contemporary artists who use the camera have created panoramic images to express current concerns. Photographers such as Josef Koudelka, Mark Klett, Naoya Hatakeyama, and Lois Connor have incorporated aspects of panoramic photography into their work, and it has become much more widely known as a genre. The availability of digital imaging techniques such as Quicktime VR have made the panoramic view readily available via digital cameras and the Internet. However, a wide range of equipment still exists to make silver-based panoramic images, from sophisticated and expensive medium-format cameras to humble APS (Advanced Photographic System) compacts using relatively simple methods of masking and selective enlargement.
— Peter Hamilton
Bibliography
- Coe, B., Cameras: From Daguerreotypes to Instant Pictures (1978).
- Meehan, J., Panoramic Photography (1990).
- Watts, J. A., and Bohn-Spector, C., The Great Wide Open: Panoramic Photographs of the American West (2001).
- Meers, N., Stretch: The World of Panoramic Photography (2003)
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Panoramic photography
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Panoramic photography is a technique of photography, using specialized equipment or software, that captures images with elongated fields of view. It is sometimes known as wide format photography. The term has also been applied to a photograph that is cropped to a relatively wide aspect ratio. While there is no formal division between "wide-angle" and "panoramic" photography, "wide angle" normally refers to a type of lens, but using this lens type does not necessarily make an image a panorama. An image made with an ultra wide angle fisheye lens covering the normal film frame of 1:1.33 is not automatically considered to be a panorama. An image showing a field of view approximating, or greater than, that of the human eye – about 160° by 75° – may be termed panoramic. This generally means it has an aspect ratio of 2:1 or larger, the image being at least twice as wide as it is high. The resulting images take the form of a wide strip. Some panoramic images have aspect ratios of 4:1 and sometimes 10:1, covering fields of view of up to 360 degrees. Both the aspect ratio and coverage of field are important factors in defining a true panoramic image.
Photo-finishers and manufacturers of Advanced Photo System (APS) cameras use the word "panoramic" to define any print format with a wide aspect ratio, not necessarily photos that encompass a large field of view. In fact, a typical APS camera in its panoramic mode, where its zoom lens is at its shortest focal length of around 24 mm, has a field of view of only 65°, which many photographers[who?] would only classify as wide angle, not panoramic.[citation needed]
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Contents
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History
One of the first recorded patents for a panoramic camera was submitted by Joseph Puchberger in Austria in 1843 for a hand-cranked, 150° field of view, 8-inch focal length camera that exposed a relatively large Daguerreotype, up to 24 inches (610 mm) long. A more successful and technically superior panoramic camera was assembled the next year by Friedrich von Martens in Germany in 1844. His camera, the Megaskop, added the crucial feature of set gears which offered a relatively steady panning speed. As a result, the camera properly exposed the photographic plate, avoiding unsteady speeds that can create an unevenness in exposure, called banding. Martens was employed by Lerebours, a photographer/publisher. It is also possible that Martens camera was perfected before Puchberger patented his camera. Because of the high cost of materials and the technical difficulty of properly exposing the plates, Daguerreotype panoramas, especially those pieced together from several plates (see below) are rare.[citation needed]
After the advent of wet-plate collodion process, photographers would take anywhere from two to a dozen of the ensuing albumen prints and piece them together to form a panoramic image (see: Segmented). This photographic process was technically easier and far less expensive than Daguerreotypes. Some of the most famous early panoramas were assembled this way by George N. Barnard, a photographer for the Union Army in the American Civil War in the 1860s. His work provided vast overviews of fortifications and terrain, much valued by engineers, generals, and artists alike. (see Photography and photographers of the American Civil War)[citation needed]
Following the invention of flexible film in 1888, panoramic photography was revolutionised. Dozens of cameras were marketed, many with brand names heavily indicative of their time. Cameras such as the Cylindrograph, Wonder Panoramic, Pantascopic and Cyclo-Pan, are some examples of panoramic cameras.[citation needed]
In the 1970s and 1980s, a school of art photographers took up panoramic photography, inventing new cameras and using found and updated antique cameras to revive the format. The new panoramists included Kenneth Snelson, David Avison, Art Sinsabaugh, and Jim Alinder.[1]
Panoramic cameras and methods
Short rotation
Short rotation, rotating lens and swing lens cameras have a lens that rotates around the camera's rear nodal point and use a curved film plane.[2] As the photograph is taken, the lens pivots around its nodal point while a slit exposes a vertical strip of film that is aligned with the axis of the lens. The exposure usually takes a fraction of a second. Typically, these cameras capture a field of view between 110° to 140° and an aspect ratio of 2:1 to 4:1. The images produced occupy between 1.5 and 3 times as much space on the negative as the standard 24 mm x 36 mm 35 mm frame.
Cameras of this type include the Widelux, Noblex, and the Horizon. These have a negative size of approximately 24x58 mm. The Russian "Spaceview FT-2", originally an artillery spotting camera, produced wider negatives, 12 exposures on a 36-exposure 35 mm film.
Short rotation cameras usually offer few shutter speeds and have poor focusing ability. Most models have a fixed focus lens, set to the hyperfocal distance of the maximum aperture of the lens, often at around 10 meters (30 ft). Photographers wishing to photograph closer subjects must use a small aperture to bring the foreground into focus, limiting the camera's use in low-light situations.
Rotating lens cameras produce distortion of straight lines. This looks unusual because the image, which was captured from a sweeping, curved perspective, is being viewed flat. To view the image correctly, the viewer would have to produce a sufficiently large print and curve it identically to the curve of the film plane. This distortion can be reduced by using a swing-lens camera with a standard focal length lens. The FT-2 has a 50 mm while most other 35 mm swing lens cameras use a wide-angle lens, often 28 mm].[citation needed]
Full rotation
Rotating panoramic cameras, also called slit scan or scanning cameras are capable of 360° or greater degree of rotation. A clockwork or motorized mechanism rotates the camera continuously and pulls the film through the camera, so the motion of the film matches that of the image movement across the image plane. Exposure is made through a narrow slit. The central part of the image field produces a very sharp picture that is consistent across the frame.[citation needed]
Digital rotating line cameras image a 360° panorama line by line. The camera's linear sensor has 10,000 CCD elements. Digital cameras in this style are the Panoscan and Eyescan. Analogue cameras include the Cirkut, Hulcherama, Leme, Roundshot and Globuscope. There are also add-on panoramic video lenses for smartphones such as the Go Pano micro and Kogeto Dot.
Fixed lens
Fixed lens cameras, also called flatback, wide view or wide field, have fixed lenses and a flat image plane. These are the most common form of panoramic camera and range from inexpensive APS cameras to sophisticated 6x17 cm and 6x24 cm medium format cameras. Panoramic cameras using sheet film are available in formats up to 10x24 inches. APS or 35 mm cameras produce cropped images in a panoramic aspect ratio using a small area of film. Advanced 35 mm or medium format fixed-lens panoramic cameras use the full height of the film and produce images with a greater image width than normal.[citation needed]
Because they expose the film in a single exposure, fixed lens cameras can be used with electronic flash, which would not work consistently with rotational panoramic cameras.
With a flat image plane, 90° is the widest field of view that can be captured in focus and without significant wide-angle distortion or vignetting. Lenses with an imaging angle approaching 120 degrees require a center filter to correct vignetting at the edges of the image. Lenses that capture angles of up to 180°, commonly known as fisheye lenses exhibit extreme geometrical distortion but typically display less brightness falloff than rectilinearlenses.[citation needed]
Examples of this type of camera are: Hasselblad X-Pan (35 mm), Linhof 612PC, Horseman SW612, Linhof Technorama 617, Tomiyama Art Panorama 617 and 624, and Fuji G617 and GX617 (Medium format (film)).
The panomorph lens provides a full hemispheric field of view with no blind spot, unlike catadioptric lenses.[citation needed]
Segmented
Segmented panoramas, also called stitched panoramas, are made by joining multiple photographs with slightly overlapping fields of view to create a panoramic image. Stitching software is used to combine multiple images. In order to correctly stitch images together without parallax error, the camera must be rotated about the center of its entrance pupil.[2][4][5] Some digital cameras can do the stitching internally, either as a standard feature or by installing a smartphone app.
Catadioptric cameras
Lens and mirror based (catadioptric) cameras consist of lenses and curved mirrors that reflect a 360 degree field of view into the lens' optics. The mirror shape and lens used are specifically chosen and arranged so that the camera maintains a single viewpoint. The single viewpoint means the complete panorama is effectively imaged or viewed from a single point in space. One can simply warp the acquired image into a cylindrical or spherical panorama. Even perspective views of smaller fields of view can be accurately computed.
The biggest advantage of catadioptric systems is that because one uses mirrors to bend the light rays instead of lenses (like fish eye), the image has almost no chromatic aberrations or distortions. Because the complete panorama is imaged at once, dynamic scenes can be captured without problems. Panoramic video can be captured and has found applications in robotics and journalism.[citation needed]
Built-in digicam feature
Panoramic photography is built into some digital cameras, using firmware to capture and stitich multiple images. Even some low-end cameras include this capability:
- 2 to 3 shots overlapping stich panorama by Fujifilm FinePix S1800[6]
- sweep (motion) panorama by Fujifilm Finepix S4000
- 3D sweep panorama by Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-HX9V[7]
- At the latest development 3D Sweep Panorama has also been applied in some of latest Sony Ericsson's Smartphone in Xperia series.
See also
References
- ^ http://www.kennethsnelson.net/articles/camera_arts_charles_hagen.htm
- ^ a b Littlefield, Rik (2006-02-06) (pdf). Theory of the "No-Parallax" Point in Panorama Photography. ver. 1.0. http://www.janrik.net/PanoPostings/NoParallaxPoint/TheoryOfTheNoParallaxPoint.pdf. Retrieved 2007-01-14.
- ^ "Very Large Telescope Ready for Action". ESO Picture of the Week. European Southern Observatory. http://www.eso.org/public/images/potw1130a/. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
- ^ Kerr, Douglas A. (2005). "The Proper Pivot Point for Panoramic Photography" (PDF). The Pumpkin. http://doug.kerr.home.att.net/pumpkin/Pivot_Point.pdf. Retrieved 2007-01-14.
- ^ van Walree, Paul. "Misconceptions in photographic optics". http://www.vanwalree.com/optics/misconceptions.html#m6. Retrieved 2007-01-14. Item #6.
- ^ "Shooting Panoramas with the Fujifilm FinePix S1800". January 14, 2011. http://www.novascotiaphotoalbum.com/blog/2011/01/panoramas-in-the-fujifilm-finepix-s1800/.
- ^ "Capture 3D Panoramic stills with Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX9V Digicam". May 31, 2011. http://www.wizardjournal.com/new-gadgets/sony-cyber-shot-dsc-hx9v-digicam-features.html.
Further reading
- Johnson, R. Barry (2008). "Correctly making panoramic imagery and the meaning of optical center". SPIE Proc. 7060: 70600F.1–70600F.8. ISSN 0277-786X. OCLC 278726950.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Panoramics |
- Panoramic/360° photography techniques and styles at the Open Directory Project
- Panoramic image galleries at the Open Directory Project
- A timeline of panoramic cameras 1843–1994
- Stanford University CS 178 interactive Flash demo explaining the construction of cylindrical panoramas.
- How to build a panoramic camera with intricate technical details and optical specifications for constructing a swing-lens panoramic camera.
- A home-made panoramic head bracket for taking panoramic photographs.
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Oxford Companion to the Photograph
The Oxford Companion to the Photograph. Copyright © 2005 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
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