What makes a panoramic photo? (SWPA 2013)

[sarahhj]

Browsing through the SWPA 2013 open competition commended images in the panoramic category, I started to question what makes a panoramic photo.

The WPO entry blurb stated...

"Often referred to as wide format photography, panoramic photography requires technique, patience, skill and the right tools. Some cameras enable you to create a panoramic in just one sweep, but alternatively, to create the ideal panoramic shot you must use special equipment and software to stitch your panoramic image together. Think cityscapes, landscapes and infinite views of stunning scenery to impress the judges in this tricky category."

Should cropping an image taken with a 70-200mm into a panoramic format be a strong contender in this category? Is the result a "panoramic"? Surely there has to be the element of a wide-angle view in there rather than juding it on an aspect ratio?

 

[george g]

the definition of panoramic is here:

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/panoramic

1. An unbroken view of an entire surrounding area.
2. A comprehensive presentation; a survey: a panorama of American literature.
3. A picture or series of pictures representing a continuous scene, often exhibited a part at a time by being unrolled and passed before the spectator.
4. A mental vision of a series of events.

A stitched image from a 70-200 lens is just as panoramic as a wide angle lens according to that definition.

A wide angle lens just give another perspective that isn't usually seen with your eye.

 

[GHP]

It is an aspect thing, although you're right, there is more to it.
Generally, a panoramic is a number of shots,panned horizontally, with a bit of overlap, often, but not always, taken in portrait format, and stitched together in software.
Depending on technique, and the amount of "sweep" used, dictates the amount of panorama taken.
I think just to take a single shot, and then crop it to "letterbox" format would still be a panorama, I would suspect that for a competition they would be looking for a bit more?

 

[sarahhj]

the definition of panoramic is here:

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/panoramic



A stitched image from a 70-200 lens is just as panoramic as a wide angle lens according to that definition.

A wide angle lens just give another perspective that isn't usually seen with your eye.

I wasn't referring to stitching images from a 70-200 though, but cropping to a panoramic aspect ratio from a single frame...

Like GHP says, I also thought that the competition would be looking for more. After all, the official blurb talks about patience, skill and the right tools, sweeping...infinite views. Which to me doesn't include just cropping a single image from a telephoto.

It just seems like some bizarre judging :shrug:

 

[ChrisGilbert]

I would argue that a true panorama, merely through what you need to do with the optics or the assembly, presents in a single composition a field of view that cannot be seen with the unaided eye. By their nature they tend to be long and thin because the interesting detail tends to be stretched out across the centre. Including an appropriate proportion of sky would detract from what it is that the panorama has captured. Merely recreating the dimensions of a panorama by cropping would satisfy the presentation style but probably not the content and defintely not the intent, unless you capture the original frame with and ultra-wide lens.

IMO

 

[george g]

I wasn't referring to stitching images from a 70-200 though, but cropping to a panoramic aspect ratio from a single frame...

Like GHP says, I also thought that the competition would be looking for more. After all, the official blurb talks about patience, skill and the right tools, sweeping...infinite views. Which to me doesn't include just cropping a single image from a telephoto.

It just seems like some bizarre judging :shrug:

Sorry, I miss read.