How to handle a large subject ?

[Newt]

A friend has a large saltwater tank in his home and is trying to get a decent picture of it that works decently on the internet.

 

The linked picture is a first effort. Lots of shots stitched together. Problems are obvious but the solution isn't - at least to either of us.

 

Take a look and offer suggestions. The tank is 3ft tall, 9 ft wide, 3 ft deep.

 

http://www5.upload2.net/file22/hSqCG/2mXPJ...Stitched-14.jpg

[RobStubbs]

Newt,

A wide angle lens is an option but that will distort the image. Might however be acceptable for whatever purpose he has. I would then be inclined to just photograph specific elements that he wanted to illustrate. I didn't think the image was too bad (except very large and the obvious signs of cutting images together). To overcome the problem of splicing images if he did the same standing perpendicular to the tank that should make it easier to splice. So if he takes a pic from one end, moves a few feet in and takes a pic again etc...

 

Like I say I think the answer is to work out first exactly what he is trying to illustrate.

 

Rob.

[jeepster]

some digi cameras (mine included) have a 'panorama' function where all the stiching together is done inside the camera, you get guides in the view finder to help with setting up each shot, then the camera does some kind of voodoo and churns out a panoramic shot. dead good it is

 

the camera? a humble olympus c-50 i think most if not all olympus models do this now though, and i'm sure a lot of other makes

[J.K]

get a tripod.

 

Put the cam on it and walk back till you see one part of the tank fully. Once you have done that make a straitish line by the tripod and the move along it with the tripod to take a photo of another part.

 

The photos should then go together easily.

 

Joel

Edited January 13, 2006 by J.K

[chesters1]

what about a video image ,with tech trickery maybe you could scroll along it on the page

[Colin Brett]

Newt,

 

I'm hopimg this is what you are trying to do on the web?

 

Colin

[Guest CJS2]

A large (long) dressinng mirror, set the image up in a horizonaly hung mirror, take a picture of the mirror? crop out the frame??? only way I can see.

 

[Steve Randles]

I would have thought 3 shots would do what you want here Newt, depending on how big a picture you want as a final image, and how big a photo the camera thats being used produces. Where these images stuck together manually or was a photo-stitching software used?

 

As Jeepster says, there are cameras with a panorama setting that could be used, or you could do like I do and use a photo-stitching software to join images together. Here's a link to a two shot stitch, giving the link as its a bit big to display here http://www.cumbria14.eclipse.co.uk/images/butterpan2.jpg

 

If you use a wide angle lens and set up the cam on a tripod, take three shots and stitch them together there may be some distortion (barreling) of the shot but there are some plugins for photoshop that will cure this.

 

It all rather depends on how big the final image needs to be.

[Newt]

Thanks folks and I'll pass along the suggestions. Any more ideas will be very welcome.

 

Brian's main aim was just to get a decent picture of his tank that showed the inside detail of fish and coral as well as possible. Lots of us have asked him for pictures after hearing about his project and this was a first attempt at getting the whole thing in one shot. The tank has only been in place and populated for a couple of months.

 

He used a new and very high end digital camera that he isn't very familar with (even to not being able to give me the model so I could research features for him). The finished product (well, the end result) was done with software of some sort.

[rabster]

Here's a link to a two shot stitch, giving the link as its a bit big to display here http://www.cumbria14.eclipse.co.uk/images/butterpan2.jpg

 

I can't be of any help to Newt re his query (in fact I can't view the picture Newt has linked in his initial post, which is a shame as I would have liked to have seen a shot of a 9 foot wide fish tank) However, I can see Steves "two shot stitch" and just wanted to say - WOW! That's an awesome landscape shot Steve.