A few days ago, in my “Couple of New Portraits” post, I spoke briefly about using my Gigapan Epic to shot my self portrait. One of the things I’m working on with this piece of equipment is intimate panoramas, instead of the usual “Grand Vista” panos. It’s coming along, but still needs some work. The idea of the intimate Pano is using the Gigapan rig as “large format” digital capture device. Hey, don’t ya just love techno speak! Digital capture device instead of camera! OK, I mentioned that the original self portrait was a 54 megapixel shot. That means, the dimensions of the final stitched file is 9341 x 5798 pixels.  

In the post I must reduce the file size down so to put the image on the web. The dimension on the long side is about 600 pixels. That;s quite a drop! So, you’re not really seeing the detail that is in the file. So, I’s thought I’d give you an idea of what this actual looks like, relatively speaking. Relatively because I still must reduce the file down to a 600 pixel width. I shot the files as RAW captures, and converted them to JPEGs for the Gigapan software. I’d rather control the JPEG conversation in Photoshop, than have the camera process the files.  

First, I would like to show you what the 12 images file look like in the Gigapan Stitcher image.  

Gigapan Screen Shot, with the 12 photos

 The next image is the full panorama with its Photoshop retouch.  

Full panoramic image

Now, here is a detail that’s taken from the full panorama. The original selection that this image represents was about 1100 pixels wide.  

This detail is a selection from the full panorama.

And finally, here’s one a little closer.  

An even closer detail. Since this is a photo of me, I don't want to get too close!

The people over at Gigapan have just announced a new rig for DSLR cameras, the Gigapan PRO. I use a Panasonic LX3 10 megapixel point & shoot on my Gigapan Epic. I can wait for the bugs to be worked out. The also have released an upgrade for the Stitcher software. The program I was using was still in beta. I’m looking to see what improvements they’ve made. While the Gigapan can’t take quick snaps of moving objects, for what it can do, it’s around $2500 less that even the least expensive medium format digital camera out there. I’m gonna work it all I can.

 

For the last week I’ve been working on a project sponsored by the DC Commission of the Arts & Humanities and FotoWeek DC. It is the, DC Counts Census 2010 Photography Contest. I’d been thinking about this for awhile. Coming up with a couple of ideas I thought would work just great. Well, I should have followed my own council when it come to preparing for a competition. That’s , “Read the prospectus carefully!” Ha! I was putting my package together, and now  decided to give the prospectus a thorough once over to insure all would be well. I guess I should have read the thing thoroughly last month! On the second page on the second line it stated that only headshots would be accepted. Headshots!?  What the hell is that all about? It’s about leveling the playing field AND having a consistent exhibition presentation, you jerk. Oh…, i see. OK man, move on to the next project.

I was experimenting with using my Gigapan as a “Large Format” camera, not just a panoramic camera. The resulting images,based on the scene, are creating 50 megapixel or higher images. Shooting portraits with this thing is a challenge, because the subject must remain still during the exposure. So with this high tech imaging equipment, I’m going back to the 19th century. But more on that later. So, all the best laid plans of mice & men were cast to the wind with that headshot deal. Oh well.

But… these shots look pretty good. One pano portrait and one standard approach done portrait.

 Martha Jackson Jarvis and her dog Ming

I had originally shot Martha in her studio with the Gigapan. Earlier that afternoon I had shot some of her new works on paper and some shots for Panasonic’s Digital Photo Academy using the Lensbaby system. When I got around to doing the Pano Portrait we were spent., and it looked like it. So a few days later I shot the photograph above at her home office. No fuss,  just a bounced flash as a kicker. Her buddy Ming  jumped into the scene, not wanting to be left out.

For this pano portrait, I was able to find a very cooperative subject, who really didn’t mind several takes and a battery change, to help me get the photograph I wanted.

 Laundry Room Blues: Pano Self-Portrait of photographer, Jarvis Grant

I’ve been thinking about this self portrait for awhile, and I’m fairly pleased with it. I learned a lot from the session I did with Martha in her studio. This image was made by stitching twelve images. The actual image is 9341 x 5798 pixels. Still some bugs to work out. But all in all, I pleased with the results. The visual effect was made using the Highlight & Shadow command in Photoshop CS4..