A behind the scenes interview with pro photographer Rob Van Petten during a high-fashion shoot to test out the new flagship camera from Nikon…the D3x DSLR.
Nikon Podcast #16: Behind-the-Scenes with Rob Van Petten and the D3X
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 Oxbow Bend, Grand Tetons NP - 7 segments |
Photographers have been creating panoramics for quite some time. And while many new photographers think that stitching together multiple images to form a panoramic image is new to the digital age, this is not the case. As far back as 1864, George N. Barnard stitched together three horizontal format frames to form a panoramic view from the top of Lookout Mountain in Tennessee. He was a photographer for the Union Army in the American Civil War and created many striking panoramas in this manner.
The capture medium (solid state cards) we use today may be different from our predecessors, as well as the post processing tools, but the concept remains the same. Take multiple frames covering the scene in question, and append one to the other to construct a much larger image. Today, many photographers are using Adobe Photoshop to accomplish this construction. It’s the tool that I use as well. The latest version of Photoshop (CS4) is remarkably accurate in its alignments and blendings, and its Photomerge function is extremely easy to use.
In this blog entry I’m going to talk about very basic panoramas and not get into the topic of “Nodal Points”. I’ll leave that for a future blog post. So what equipment do I use to create my panoramic images? Well, I have a sturdy tripod (Gitzo 1348), a large ballhead (Kirk BH-1) and my Nikon D300 DSLR camera with an attached L-bracket. Sometimes I will also use a macro focusing rail, but that leads back to the “Nodal Point” topic. The lenses I use will vary. I tend to not go too wide in my focal length choices as I find it makes it more difficult for me to get the natural look I’m going for.
 Mormon Row, Grand Tetons NP - 7 segments |
Creating the Panoramic Segments
Once I’ve selected the scene that I want to photograph, the first thing I do is to firmly plant my tripod. I’ll set my tripod down, and then press down on the legs to make sure that loose soil or debris won’t cause it to move (or drift). I then take time to make sure that the head plate and camera are level.
With my camera mounted in the vertical or portrait position, a tip I learned from E.J. Peiker, I pan across the scene counting how many photos (or segments) it will take to get the coverage that I want. I make sure to overlap the segments by 25 to 33 percent. This overlap will help later on in the stitching process. Let’s say I determined that it’ll take five segments. I’ll then position the camera to the middle (3rd) segment and then pan to the left two more segments to get my starting position. Finally, I will capture the five segments using a cable release to help ensure sharpness.
Stitching the Panoramic Segments
Because I shoot in RAW format, I need to do RAW conversions into TIF files. During this conversion, I make very few adjustments. The adjustments I do make, I will do so for all frames in the set so that I don’t create problems for the stitching and blending process.
Once I have my TIF files, I will load them up into Photoshop CS4. CS4 has a tool called Photomerge that I use to actually do the stitching and blending. I simply select the Photomerge option from the menu (File | Automate | Photomerge) and then set it to the “auto” layout type. The “auto” layout usually does an excellent job. Very rarely will I have to pick the layout type myself. It does happen, but not that often.
Now this is where shooting our pano segments in vertical format comes in handy. Because this gives much more vertical coverage than I would’ve had if I’d shot horizontally, there is now more flexibility for cropping my stitched pano image. When you start creating your own panos, you’ll notice that after the segments are stitched together, the edges of the image are jagged and uneven. This is one of the main reasons for cropping the image, other than for compositional changes.
Finishing Touches
Once I have my stitched, blended and cropped image, I’ll begin my normal post processing routine that I would do to any other photo I bring into Photoshop:
This has been a very high-level look at what goes into making a panoramic image. At times it can get a little more complex. But hopefully, this should be enough to get you going. In the near future, I should be posting an article on some of the more technical aspects of panoramic photography such as “Nodal Points”. Until then, get out there and start shooting.
 Middle Falls, Hocking Hills Ohio |
 Lower Falls, Yellowstone NP |
Recently I’ve been getting a lot of questions regarding waterfall photography. I have to say, this is one of my favorite types of photographs to create. While I’m by no means an expert, I have had some success in capturing nice waterfall images. The first thing I do is identify the type of waterfall I am going to photograph. For me, this comes down to two options, “Large and Powerful” or “Small and Graceful”.
Small and Gracefull
For this type of waterfall, I believe that long shutter speeds and soft, diffused light are the keys to getting the image. I usually shoot this type of waterfall early in the morning. Very often, right after sunrise. This helps me get longer shutter speeds. I also use a polarizer to help lengthen my shutter speed and also to cut the refelction coming off the wet rocks. If the sky is overcast, that is another bonus. It too helps with longer shutter speeds and has the added benefit of allowing me to see into the shadows while not forcing me to blow out the whites from the flowing water. My goal is to achieve a shutter speed somewhere from 1/4 to 2 seconds in length, at my desired aperture.
Large and Powerfull
This is a different beast all together. In this case I usually want to convey power and speed. With the water current’s strength and the volume of water flowing over the falls, as in the case of the Lower Falls in Yellowstone, how can one not focus on its power and grandeur? So here, I use faster shutter speeds. I don’t want to absolutely freeze the water in position, but then again I also don’t want to veil the water and give it that milky look that I like for small waterfalls. If you freeze the water too much, you’ll loose that sense of motion and thereby loose the feeling of its power. For these larger waterfalls I’m looking for a shutter speed of approximately 1/13 to 1/20 of a second.
Keep in mind that these are just my preferences. If you’ve never photographed waterfalls before, you might want to use these ideas as a starting point. But eventually, you’ll want to start experimenting to find out what works for you in expressing the feelings you have when standing in the presence of these wonderful scenes.
 2009 Adult Sectionals - Michigan |
My wife competes in Adult Figure Skating competitions, so this past weekend I had the opportunity to put my D300 to the test in some poor, low light conditions. For any of you who have photographed in an ice rink, you know what I am talking about.
Very few rinks that I’ve been to provide enough light to effectively capture action photos. Also, the light quanity changes as you pan with the skater over the ice. Because of this, I usually shoot in shutter priority mode and set my shutter speed to 1/400.
In the latest rink I was in, this made my camera select an aperture of f/2.8. It was the widest aperture it could get using my Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens. Even so, I still couldn’t get a good exposure, which was understandable considering my ISO was set to its default of 200. I wound up setting my ISO to 3200 and didn’t dare go any higher. Honestly I didn’t think I would get any usable photos at this ISO, but I had no choice. If I didn’t bump it up that high I would’ve been way underexposed. However, this still wasn’t enough light, so I also bumped up the exposure compensation by 1 stop.
I was pleasantly surprised to see how nice the photos looked on my camera’s LCD screen. But, I knew I wouldn’t be convinced of the quality until I started to process these photos later on my iMac. When I finally got the chance to do some RAW conversions, and to run a few photos through my Noiseware plugin in Photoshop CS4, I was amazed. I was able to get usable results on a majority of the photos that I processed.
I don’t plan on shooting at ISO 3200 often, but it sure is nice to know that the option is there should the situation present itself.
To see more examples from the shoot mentioned in this blog entry, please visit the store…
 Canada Goose cleared for take-off! |
This past weekend I didn’t listen to the advice I give to other photographers…”BE READY”. Recently, due to various work related issues, I’ve been locked up indoors and unable to go out and shoot. So last weekend, when my schedule cleared up, I jumped at the chance to go out and shoot. If for nothing else, just to keep in practice. I decided to try and find some gulls or Canada Geese somewhere along the Scioto River. I use them to practice birds-in-flight shots (BIF).
Anyway, I was standing out along the edge of the river, on a snow covered bank, just shooting away and having a blast. Many may consider these species to be too common to be of interest, but I don’t agree. After awhile, I decided to move to a new location. As luck would have it, as soon as I picked up my gear and began to move, a bald eagle drops out of the sky and lands no more than 20 feet from me.
Usually, if I was out shooting birds, I would have both of my cameras with me. One attached to my 200-400mm and the other attached to either my 70-200mm or my 28-70mm. Unfortunately, at that moment, I had my long lens mounted on my D300. Sure, it can close focus at 6 1/2 feet, but I wanted something a bit better than an eyeball shot. The 70-200mm would’ve been perfect and I had it with me. The problem was, I didn’t have my other camera body. There was no time to change lenses, because only a few seconds after it landed, it launched itself up and flew away. I missed a rare opportunity to photograph a bald eagle within the city limits of Columbus Ohio. Never again will I go out to photograph birds with just one camera body.
