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Okavanga — Mersey Weir Pano
Published: 2017-10-27 11:14:59 +0000 UTC; Views: 247; Favourites: 28; Downloads: 1
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Description
This is a 13 shot (portrait mode) panorama image of one of the weirs on the River Mersey at Northenden in Manchester, UK. All shots were hand-held, sweeping from left to right. The image was stitched and cropped with Lightroom's Photomerge tool, processing taking ca. 15 seconds. The field of view is about 120 degrees, Tv 1/160 s, Av 8.0, ISO 100, Lens EF-M55-200mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM set at 80 mm.The full file came out at about 110 megabytes, too large to be imported into DA as its image file limit is 80 megabytes. Consequently, I reduced the scale down to three-quarters and this file is about 66 megabytes. Even with this reduction, there is a huge amount of detail in the image if you zoom in. Try looking at the cement silo, and then try to find the nearby graffiti and the construction site warning. Try finding the vase of flowers in the window of a block of flats to the right.
This image illustrates a point made by many pano photographers - while looking like an ordinary photograph there is an enormous amount of information packed into the image. In essence, such photographs are small scale versions of the images used by Google Earth, condensing detailed views into overall pano shots.
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Comments: 29
Pans are not an exact science. The margin for error in minimal, but you have nailed it. I did pans with film, you want to talk about no margin for error. A lot of fun though.
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Ah, so you were into film panoramas, Sheri - very impressive. As you say, there is no room for error. I think the modern software has made stitching much easier (including averaging of exposures) and so you can attempt scenes which otherwise would have been too difficult.
Many Thanks.
David
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Maybe I should have been a bit more clear. I did attempt pans in film, a lot of times without success. Even in film class, I never exactly got it right, somewhat right...but never perfect.
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Many, many years ago, I tried with film. I got good enough overlap, but the exposures were all different and the overall image was poor. So, I know how difficult it is, Sheri.
Cheers
David
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Yep, it was a pain in the butt with film for sure.
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I adore panorama and wide angled shots like these. You get so much more of the scene captured this way
Great shot! You've captured and enormous amount of detail in this. We don't have many weirs in Australia (not many rivers to use I guess?). It's quite an interesting spectacle for me
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Thank you for that, Rachel. I'm just starting to appreciate the importance of pano work for storing information, and trying to get a good in-the-field technique. So much has progressed since even 3 or 4 years ago in terms of software that some aspects of post-processing are now a dawdle. Consequently, the photographer can now concentrate on building up, literally, a big picture.
Weirs - yes, very common even on big rivers in the UK, like this one on the Mersey. They are used to control water flow over stretches of rivers - helps in flood defences, making bits of the river navigable, allowing water to be drawn off for water mills (at least in the past) and for oxygenating the rivers. I didn't see any in Oz. In fact when I was in Bright we did a couple of walks along the rivers there and I commented at the time that there was no flow control. On one to the tributaries where there had been dredging for gold in distant times there had been some form of dams built so that the dredgers could work, but not really the same as permanent weirs.
Cheers
David
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You're most welcome David.
Exactly so. Digital processing is really opening up the doors for the amount of information we can edit and store with our work.
I can understand their necessity over there. Quite useful structures! Most of the time we only deem it necessary on large flows of water, particularly those near larger populations.
Most of ours are on the Murray River and smaller flows of water like near Bright tend to be neglected/left as is. There were probably more around the gold rush time but most structures by now have been swept away.
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I love to see so many clear details. Great work.
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Thank you, Mayumi. There is a very great deal to see in this, but I'm going for something even bigger!!
Many Thanks
David
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Hope to see it! You're welcome!
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Thank you kindly, Maria - lots to see in this one.
Cheers
David
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You're so welcome dear David
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These panos become a bit addictive, Linda - how far can you go in stitching them together - I'm aiming for a 1 gigabit image - not that I could post it here because of file size limits, but I could post a small version.
Many Thanks
David
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just a plain comment: the level of detail is weird(!), there's a big bird in there too. knowing this can be done out-of-hand and simply with LR opens possibilities that cry for experimentation (by me, that is), some day.. wonderful, stupifying work david!
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Thank you kindly, Rob. I think I'm working one level up now from the basic pano that anyone could do. The workflow needs some thinking about, but finding out that PhotoMerge in Lightroom could actually handle this is a step forward. That other software, Microsoft's ICE, also handles it. But it is the amount of detail that can be stored in such images that I'm coming to terms with. I've read about GigaPanos - panos that are made up of gigabits of pixels, but I always thought you needed those medium format Hassleblads and the like to attempt such work. Perhaps not - maybe a humble hand-held Canon M5 might do the job. After all, the files size of this one is 1/10th a gigabit!
BTW - where's that d*****D bird - I can't find it?
David
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haha, 66 Mb, pardon 100 Mb and you can't find the bird?? look just left of the dry mortar silo.. it just took off, but it is not going anywhere! glad i looked at your shot in some detail 
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Good One, Rob.
Cheers
David
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I dug deepest to find a word or words to express what I feel. My digging implement broke. I could only find the word "stunning"! My eyes also squinted and landed on the two objects on the right nearest bank of the river( is it a river?) there, near your signature. Thank you for the details. It sounds as if you had the whole day or even a month to work on this image. In a way, the details depict (incorrectly) a lazy man who has his whole world to himself. My poor choice of a word: "lazy" will definitely not offend you, because surely, you are the opposite! Inspiring shot, indeed David! Makes me think that most of the things created by the Creator, at some point, have identical tendencies. That water flowing ghastly - I wonder if it knows whereto it is rushing. Just like a child growing up, not knowing what life has for him/her in future. Never mind my "Madness"!
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An inspiring comment, Henry - thank you very much. Yes, this is a river - the River Mersey in its upper reaches before it flows down into the huge estuary at Liverpool, many miles away. There are several weirs along the way to help the flow and oxygenate the water. There has been a weir at this spot for about 200 years, and in the late 1800s water was drawn off to power mills that were situated on the bank that you see across the water. The river has a moderate flow in this shot, but can rise up to the levees that you see on either side. In extreme weather there are flood contingency plans whereby gates in the levees are opened and water is diverted into several large flood pans that extend for several miles along both banks.
As to the work on this image, the shots took but a minute or so to think about, set up and take. I did four sets, this being the "best". Processing took a couple of hours because I was testing the software. There is a huge amount of detail packed into the image.
Many Thanks
David
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Many thanks to you David, for the details. I love it when I say so much nonsense just to provoke you into this inspired explanation. I hate to think even about my previous life, let alone asking other people about theirs. I am tempted though, to ask if you were once a 'teacher' in your previous life? Taking care of the 'details' is a skill not ditched to many. I'm sure, it is for the reason that some will be given the abundance of it. You are in that grouping. I thank you!
Cheers
Henry K.
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I was a lecturer at some different Universities before running my own business for a bout a decade, after which I retired. Trying to help people learn is my career, Henry. People with enquiring minds are those who can learn the most.
Cheers
David
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My observations are good! Thank you for proving me right! At least I know now that, I am drinking from a PURE fountain!
Cheers, David!
Henry K.
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