Treatise on Panopainting

Panopainting (verb, noun) – Panoramic photographs captured in real-time with unpredictable, non-deterministic distortions due to movement of the camera (and sometimes the subject). The aesthetic value of these images depends on the camera’s “stitching” algorithm and the physical “brush stroke” performed by the photographer. A degree of “glitching” is expected and often leads to cubist or impressionistic effects. Each exposure is unique due to inevitable variation in subject and technique. [Gallery]

History

Panoramic works of art have been around since early man painted herds of animals on cave walls.

Lascaux Cave – Great Hall of the Bulls [source:pinterest]

Leonardo da Vinci painted his iconic Last Supper in a panoramic format that appeared to be an extension of the room.

Leonardo da Vinci – The Last Supper [source:wikipedia]

Large-scale painted panoramas (aka cycloramas) of major historic events were popular at the time of the Civil War.

Paul Philippoteaux – Gettysburg Cyclorama [source:fandom]

The earliest photographic multi-image panoramas date from around the same time.

1851 San Francisco by Martin Behrmanx [source:medium]

The same technique found its way into modern photo albums…

[source:Diana Pray]

Panographic film cameras were developed and ultimately became inexpensive and disposable.

With the digital age came specialized software that could stitch images together into a seamless whole.

Today panoramic photography is as easy as panning your phone!

Happy Discovery

For the first few years I took panoramas in the conventional way—sweeping the phone in a horizontal arc.

Then one day I faced a novel situation. I wanted to take a panoramic photo of colorful cloth on display in a cramped market. There was only six feet between booths. Using an arc would yield very distorted and unpleasing results, so I improvised. I kept the phone steady and walked parallel to the booth.

The resulting image was flat and undistorted (except the woman who moved as I passed).

Ecuador 2013

I refer to these images as “roll outs” because they remind me of the flattened images of pottery, etc. seen in journals. Link

Mythological Vase, Maya, Late Classic [source:mmoa]

The creative potential of this technique became clear one day when I had some time to experiment on the beach.

The interaction of the moving camera with the surf and my feet created interesting distortions and time lapse sequences. And thus panopainting was born!

Gallery

Here are examples of my best work so far. [Click on each image to see a high res version. More…]

Cellon Oak, Florida
St. Pete Triathlon

I especially like the sense of motion in the runners [detail], while the spectators on the left are totally unaffected!

Bayfield, Wisconsin
#MarchForOurLives Gainesville, Florida
Park City, Utah
St. Pete Beach
BWCA, Minnesota
Two Harbors, Minnesota