Learning To See Through A Wider Eye
June/08/2011 Ireland Journal
My first day with Peter started at his studio, where he showed me how to determine and set the nodal point of the lens, which is vital when you are using a rotating panorama head. After the tripod, pano head, and camera were sorted out, we set out for the woodland we had visited the day before. There Peter helped me with the workings of the pano head and both the technical and artistic choices involved in creating a panorama composition
We started with a simple composition using the trees and pathway as primary subject matter. Next, we walked to a shelter made of sticks and branches and used it as the central element of the second panorama, designed to be printed as a black-and-white image. When we finished shooting for the day, we went back to Peter’s studio where he walked me through the steps for merging the sections of each panorama. I haven’t had so much fun since my first days in the darkroom when when watching an image develop was like magic! Here are the images from the first part of the day’s shoot:
For the second shooting location we drove to the nearby Clare Glens, where we would photograph the beautiful waterfall along the Clare River, which is sheltered by rocky wooded hills with paths that are approachable on either side. We walked the slightly steep trail to the falls that is well worth the climb. According to Peter, we were lucky not to find any swimmers in the river to have to work around. Here Peter is checking the adjustment of the camera, and in the image below it, he caught me while I was making exposures.
Here’s the final color image captured at a slow shutter speed to show the movement of the water:
