Monday, September 21, 2009

Pano in the Pink...

A panorama is easy to shoot, and easy to merge with Photoshop's Photomerge tool. With this simple two shot vertical pano, I hand held the camera and photographed two images overlapping by about a third. No fancy equipment needed (other than the infrared camera that I shot with) and Photoshop or Elements. Photomerge creates a beautiful panorama at the touch of a button.

The infrared camera I use is converted using the enhanced color infrared filter, (665 nm). The colors in the panorama are altered bit for fun and interest. Having a little extra color to start with, and use creatively in an infrared image makes a big difference.

I usually start by using the Channel Mixer when working with infrared images, swapping the channels (tutorial on my site). To fabricate my "poster-look" panorama, I followed up using several different Photoshop plug-ins.

Interested in infrared photography? I teach a 4 week course online at BetterPhoto. Also, look for my book "Digital Infrared Photography." You can find it online at Amazon and also Barnes & Nobles bookstores.

The camera I use was converted to infrared at Life Pixel. If you've upgraded to a new camera, now's your chance. Infrared conversion will give your old camera new life. You can hand hold the camera during exposure, it functions as normal except it records in infrared. How cool is that? Please feel free to use code DEB for free ground shipping.

Have fun, do something different, shoot infrared and create great panoramas!