Go Big or Go Home!

I have been using Photoshop to create digitally stitched panoramic images for many years, even back in my days of using film. Now I often shoot 5 or 6 overlapping digital images to create a large panorama.

Tombstone Viewpoint - Click for larger

They print beautifully and Photoshop stitches single row images so well that I have very little work to do to finish the images.

Cloud Reflection - Click for larger

We have had several single photos printed as very large panoramic images for corporate interiors. Our images have also been used for billboards. Most recently this image was reproduced as a billboard in England:

Kayaks at Inverness - Click for larger

The above image was shot on Medium Format slide film and scanned with a film scanner. These scans are 500 MB 16 bit images. They look quite beautiful blown up bigger than life size with the largest reproduction being over 20 feet wide. The largest single digital image I have had commercially reproduced was 17 feet wide, shot with my 1Ds Mark III. It looks great a long as you don’t Pixel Peep too much.

Thomas Moran at 44 Wide introduced me to the Gigapan Epic Pro. The images he is shooting with this device are stunning! Large beautiful images that have astonishing detail. I have been testing this Gigapan and plan to add it to my landscape workflow. Although it’s not practical for some situations, the Epic Pro allows you to stitch several rows of images creating mind-blowing resolution. I have stitched up to 88 images together, creating a 1.67 GB image.

Toronto Gigapan - Click for larger

The set up is quite simple.
Here is my work-flow:

1. Charge batteries.



2. Mount the Epic Pro on the tripod.



3. Mount the camera on the Epic Pro and connect the release cable.



4. Determine the zoom setting for the lens.



5. Level the unit.



6. Camera Setup. Pick a point in your image. From the main Menu, select Camera Setup. Adjust so that an object in your scene is at the top of the frame. Once you set this point, move the camera down so that this same point is at the bottom of the frame. This will determine how much the unit must move to overlap the images.



7. Focus your lens and then switch to manual focus.



8. From the main menu, select New Panorama.



9. Set the upper left of the scene. Then set the lower right.



10. Shoot the panoramic.

I always shoot in RAW. This gives me the best image quality and flexibility when processing. I process the images in Lightoom and output them as full resolution jpegs and then bring the images into the GigaPan Stitch software. Once the images are loaded the screen looks like this:
Once processed the image will need some editing and cropping:
There is still a lot to learn about the Gigapan. It certainly slows you down when you are capturing over 70 images. I will continue to share my results as I progress.

The Law of Diminishing Returns

Lori kayaking by an iceberg - Click for larger

I have been coast to coast in Canada many times over the past 20 years. We have travelled in planes, trains, boats and automobiles. We have also travelled in canoes, kayaks and on foot. Some places we have even revisited over the years. Usually the first time is the most exciting. This year, Newfoundland felt like it had lost a bit of its shine. Maybe the bad weather had something to do with my perception. Although I think anyplace would have a difficult time living up to my expectations the second time round if my first visit was spectacular. Our first trip there we kayaked around icebergs and had caribou run past us. We were wide-eyed and smitten.

Caribou Cow and Calf - Click for larger

Ice Floes at La Scie, NL - Click for larger

There are very few places that hold that magic of a first visit. Lake Superior however, has never disappointed me.

Gargantua Rocks - Click for larger

Regardless of the weather, I always enjoy the north shore.

Sandpiper - Click for larger

After braving one of the wettest summers on the east coast in memory, Lori and I loaded up the canoe and headed to Lake Superior Provincial Park. We wanted to enjoy a bit of summer before returning to the daily grind. Waves crashing on the shore was all we could hear. It was so loud, we had to yell to communicate if we were more than 10 feet from each other. It was a little rough for canoeing so we didn’t go far. With little ambition for not much more than reading, swimming, and eating, we somehow filled our day nicely.

Red Sky over Lake Superior - Click for larger

I didn’t pick up the camera much during the week - only if the light was too good to ignore. I did do a little light painting with a big Maglight flashlight. It’s always fun to play and just shoot for the joy of it.

Gargantua Rocks - Click for larger

All in all, it was a great summer! Hope you had a good one too.

Ode to George

Dented Harmonica - Click for larger

I was thinking about George on Monday when a song I had recorded with another friend came on the ipod. I had played harmonica and guitar on this recording. But my harp playing is nothing compared to how George could play it. He was really good. Remembering the fun times we had I thought we really should get together and catch up. Unfortunately George passed away, probably the day I was thinking of him.

We had many a jam session in our day. We performed on stage together a couple of times and we played on our canoe trips.
I remember the first time I met him was on a service call when we both worked for the computer company “Wang Laboratories”. He looked surly and angry. I was a rookie and I was a little intimidated by him. He was one of the best technical support guys there and he didn’t take any BS from anyone. But as I got to know him, I found he was a caring, sweet man.

There are so many things in my life that are influenced by George. Things I say on a regular basis. Things I probably shouldn’t say in public. (George was a sailor after all and he could swear with the best of them!) Limericks, jokes and a bunch of very funny stories flooded my brain when I got the news.

I just pulled out one my harmonicas. There are teeth marks in my G harp from George. From one wonderful beer fuelled night long ago, when we where young and unafraid of the darkness.

George playing guitar - Click for larger

Well old goat, I will miss you. I will pour a glass of single malt and play a sad song for you. I hope you can hear it.

P.E. and I

Well, it’s not that it’s not beautiful. It is.

Prince Edward Island National Park - Click for larger

And it’s not that the people were not friendly, they were. I just don’t seem to get it. I try to get images. But they never seem to live up to my ideal of this place.

Malpeque Harbour - Click for larger

Prince Edward Island is not my favorite province in Canada. Maybe it’s just too gentle. Too tame and tidy. Although we did see many foxes on the island.

Red Fox Kit - Click for larger

I guess if I just wanted to eat oysters and lay on a beach it would be a great place to go.

Osprey in Flight - Click for larger

I even tried to photograph the bridge but the light just wasn’t there.

Confederation Bridge - Click for larger

Maybe we need to book a cottage in a quiet place on a beach. If we could mix a bit more with locals I think we would find more beautiful places. I know they are there. I have seen some beautiful images of this place over the years but I guess it’s just not my cup of tea. We did enjoy meeting up with Adrien Veczan again.

Adrien on PEI - Click for larger

We are slowly heading toward home. Time to acquaint myself with my own bed again.

Off the “Rock” and into the Highlands

We had a good trip down to Burgeo, NL. This is one of the most beautiful places we have visited on Newfoundland. We had a good visit with Lori’s nephew Ben. I had hoped to see lots of Moose and Caribou but I think we were too late in the year. They must head up into the highlands to avoid the bugs. Burgeo is a small somewhat isolated community on the south shore of Newfoundland.

Sandbanks Provincial Park, NL - Click for larger

Cemetary, Sandbanks Provincial Park, NL - Click for larger

We did a few hikes and found orchids and some landscapes. Sandbanks Provincial Park is one of the highlights of this area.

Small Purple Fringed Orchid

We caught the ferry to the mainland at 5 am and slept in the lineup till 3:30. On the ferry we had a berth. This allowed us to get a bit more sleep, do some backups and charge some batteries.

When we landed, it was pouring rain. We headed to Cape Breton Highlands National Park and met up with our friend Adrien Veczan. Adrien is working for a newspaper in Halifax and had a few days off. We camped at Cheticamp and hiked the Skyline Trail.

Skyline Trail, Cape Breton - Click for larger

We saw lots of moose. It really is a lovely trail.

Bull Moose - Click for larger

Bull Moose - Click for larger

Adrien headed home the next day. Lori and I decided to stay a bit longer. We found lots of orchids and wildlife to photograph and the landscape is very dramatic.

Cabot Trail - Click for larger

Black Bear Cub - Click for larger

Coyote - Click for larger

Male Spruce Grouse - Click for larger

White Fringed Orchis - Click for larger

We are heading off tomorrow to the Sackville area of New Brunswick to look for shorebirds and then on to PEI. I think it will be difficult to top this part of our trip.

The Road to Bonavista

Cape Bonavista Lighthouse - Click for larger

The road to Bonavista is paved with good intentions. I set goals before every trip. This year I really wanted a good shot of the Cape Bonavista Lighthouse and a puffin in flight. Well one out of two ain’t bad. I shot over 600 frames of Puffins. They are like fat flying torpedoes. Even with the 1D Mark IV at 10 frames per second, getting one of these little guys sharp in the frame is tough.

Atlantic Puffin - Click for larger

I have a couple of images that are ok but since we will be here two more days I will keep trying for that perfect shot.

Elliston is the root cellar capital of the world. Who knew?

Root Cellar - Click for larger

It also has one of the best and most accessible puffin nesting sites that we have found.

Elliston Puffin Site - Click for larger

Atlantic Puffin Colony - Click for larger

We woke up to the sound of rain again this morning. It’s just one of those years here in the east: cold, damp and dark. The landscape in this area is wonderful. So when we had a bit of light last night we worked until it was gone.

Elliston Shoreline - Click for larger

Don't Be Shy

Lori photographing icebergs - Click for larger

You just have to say it upfront. Say what you want. Be clear, especially when you are dealing with a strong northern peninsula Newfoundland accent. We met a man in Ships Cove while we were sitting up high on a hill looking at icebergs. We hinted, we even told him that we didn’t have a boat but that we would sure love to go out and circle the big chunks of ice. We talked awhile. Then he wandered off. We talked to another man as we walked to the van. That man said, “He has a boat you know. He was just waiting for you to ask him to take you out”.
“Hmmm”, I said, “I even mentioned we wanted to go out. Maybe we didn’t understand his response.”
“Yes, he is hard to understand.” the second man said. He told us where he lived but by the time we got there the man with the boat was gone. The next morning we didn’t have great light but when a fisherman said to Lori, “Do you want to go out?” She pounced on him. Well not really but she made it obvious we were interested. I came back to the van and we settled on a price. We followed him to a dock and we were off. You really get a different sense of an iceberg from the water.

Icebergs - Click for larger

Icebergs - Click for larger

Icebergs - Click for larger

And speaking of not being shy, this fox walked over the hill on the path we were hiking the day before. He walked right past us and lay down in the sun.

Red Fox - Click for larger

I was able to approach quite close.

Red Fox - Click for larger

We have had very little light this trip so far. I shoot as much as I can but I’m getting a little tired of rain. I photographed this iceberg from shore on one of the few sunny days.

Iceberg - Click for larger

We are now heading further east. I hope the skies clear up a bit…