Mark W. Decker News Photography

Author: Ziv Haparnas

Panoramic digital photos cover a wide angle of view. In its extreme a panoramic photo can cover 360 degrees of view. Such panoramic photos are for example taken from a sky scraper to convey the view it provides. Most new digital cameras provide a panoramic mode that supports such photography.

There is no formal or definitive definition of what a panoramic photo is. It is common practice to define panoramic photos as such that cover a wide angle of view. How wide? A common definition is �wider than our eyes can see” - or in other worlds - provide an artificial view that otherwise we could not have gotten by just looking at the scene (without moving our head left and right or up and down of course). Panoramic digital photos can be taken in a single shot using special panoramic wide angle lenses. This technique is limited of course as for example a 360 degree panoramic photo can not be taken this way.

Another way in which panoramic photos are created is in segments - a few photos are taken in series and are later attached to each other to create one big panoramic photo. The process of attaching the photos together is fast and easy thanks to modern digital photo processing software (as long as you’re following some guidelines when taking the photos). Panoramic photos are not limited to capturing landscape or wide angle view. They can be very useful when capturing objects that are just too big to be captured from where you stand. For example if you are standing too close to a tall tower and can not retreat to a farther position - using panoramic photography will enable you to capture the complete tower (in 2 or more shots).

Most digital cameras support a special panoramic mode. In this mode the camera optimizes its optical settings for panoramic wide angle photography. But more than just setting the optical parameters the camera also provides tools that allow you to more easily take the photos series and later on stitch them together. When put in panoramic mode the camera will first let you choose if you plan to take a horizontal panoramic photo (i.e. taking photos from left to right or right to left while keeping the vertical position fixed) or to take a vertical panoramic photo (i.e. taking the photos from bottom to top or top to bottom while keeping the horizontal position fixed). You can also choose a combination.

After you choose the panoramic mode - the camera will let you start taking the photos. On its LCD screen you would always see the previous photo you took and the new photo you are taking. This allows you to easily compose each photo in a way that it complements the previous one. You would also want to make sure the photo overlaps a bit with the previous photo - this allows for easier photo stitching later on. The camera also names the digital photos files in a special format that further helps stitching.

Photo stitching can be easily done on a computer at home. Many digital cameras come with a photo stitching software. If your digital camera did not come with one you can find either free or low priced commercial software that can stitch single photos. Basically what the photo stitching software does is: based on the photo file names it orders the photos in their right order. Then it identifies the overlapping areas in each pair of photos and places the photos in a way that these overlapping areas match (this is why having a bit of overlap is important). The final step is to attach all those pairs of files and create a single panoramic digital photo.

Author: I Henman

Dating back to the early nineteenth century when the French used photography from high above the ground to find enemy positions in the First World War, aerial photography or the method of taking pictures with a ‘bird’s eye’ view of the ground below from an airplane, rocket, satellite or kite has become a common method of reconnoitering land features.

Aerial photography is extensively used during war to guide invasions through land and is a guiding factor in naval warfare. Apart from military operations, aerial photography also unravels geological irregularities and can pin point international boundaries with relative ease and conviction.

Aerial Photography - Is it Legal

Though there is an element of foreboding surrounding aerial photography, since it is mostly done without much fanfare, it is considered quite legal since taking photographs do not necessarily involve trespassing or seizing the photographed part of a property - land or sea. However, certain strategic locations in any country are beyond the reach of the aerial camera for the safety and security of the nation.

Benefits of Aerial Photography

It is ideally suited for studying the topography of a region. Mountains, valleys, river systems and terrain can be classically pictured. It helps to select the sites of important installations like hydroelectric power projects or irrigation channel, which otherwise could have posed problematic. Aerial photography is also preferred by real estate developers whose area of operation is usually very extensive, sometimes covering several miles where a complete new township or rural community living quarters often takes shape. These aerial photographs are also useful for promotional work.

The United States Geological Survey has done some remarkable work with the help of aerial photography by categorizing different zones based on altitude, terrain type, nature of sub-soil, vegetation and other resources. Aerial photography is also used in GIS, which deals with maps and charts. Various state and federal governments benefit from this while planning or relocating satellite townships as well as restructuring existing ones.

Aerial photography - the only answer

Natural disasters like earthquake, flood, tornado, timber fire, volcanic eruptions etc can only be photographed from air to ascertain the enormity of the damage. The same is also true for space photographs. Aerial photography done by spaceships in mapping our planet is simply remarkable. Aerial photographs of the moon’s surface and the interior of Mars is yet another achievement, hitherto inconceivable to mankind.

Aerial photography - for the wicked one, too

Paparazzi all over the world are ready to pay anything to get aerial photographs of celebrity activities that are usually away from the public eye.