Panoramic iPhone Photography
A Disquisition
Draft, Converting From Old Site
Richard Rathe 2008 (Travel)
About a year ago I upgraded the iOS on my iPhone 4s. A few days later I discovered a new option in the Camera App—Panorama Mode! Over the next few months I slowly realized that this was a serious photographic tool. Now I take it along as an important part of my photographic gear. It appears to work like a slit camera, but instead of moving the film, you must move the camera. This has interesting ramifications if some or all of your subject is moving (see my Treatise on Panopainting).
Let’s start with a typical landscape panorama covering about 270°…
As you can see, it does a great job of capturing the sky and its reflection. But notice how far away everything seems. Unless the sky is the major subject, it is better to place a few objects or people in the foreground…
A shorter panorama is also a great alternative to a wide-angle lens for subjects that are large and close. Notice that the photo below appears flat with very little distortion…
An Alternate Technique
Typically you rotate the camera from left to right and try to keep it level.
There is another technique however, you can move parallel to your subject to get a flat rollout even in tight spaces.
The next example was taken in a crowded market, along an aisle that was no more than six feet wide. I simply held the camera steady and walked twenty feet to the right. I did not even notice the woman peering through the opening until afterward. Notice the colorful hangings are distortion free, while her face is a bit off (she moved)…
Working on this…
(click any image to view or advance)
