Luminous Landscape Forum

Site & Board Matters => About This Site => Topic started by: Alan Goldhammer on July 10, 2012, 10:40:01 am

Title: Photographing Tuscany
Post by: Alan Goldhammer on July 10, 2012, 10:40:01 am
Thanks for this very interesting article.  We were in Tuscany this past May and there are a lot of great photographic opportunities there.  The pole set up on the SUV is ingenious and offers a solution to the always vexing issue of how to get in the correct position to capture the image.  I was pleased to see that one of the primary cameras used is the Nikon D300 (my own model) and that one doesn't always need huge numbers of megapixels to create good pictures.  Well done!!
Title: Re: Photographing Tuscany
Post by: francois on July 10, 2012, 10:58:22 am
Many thanks for the article. The landscape in Tuscany, with large expanses of land and smooth hills is perfect for this setup.

Bravo for all the efforts and wonderful results!
Title: Re: Photographing Tuscany
Post by: OldRoy on July 10, 2012, 12:44:06 pm
As someone who does a lot of VR panos - mostly interiors - I applaud the ingenuity of this system. I'm a bit surprised that panos created this way aren't being displayed in Flash or Java dynamic versions though. Even here in the UK there are some commercial operations offering similar systems although I don't know if they have refined the capture procedure to the degree exhibited here.

That said, and I hope I'll be forgiven for saying this, the examples shown on the linked Facebook page look no better than pedestrian; if one didn't know that they were shot off the top of a pole, one would assume that they were just conventional extreme wide-angle stitches shot from a convenient vantage point. I'd say this technique would be at least as interesting, and probably more so, if shot in an urban environment or inside some interesting architectural sites. A few people are doing this using hand-held carbon fibre poles - if not quite this high.

Personally I agonise about whether to take a tripod on holiday with me...

Roy
Title: Re: Photographing Tuscany
Post by: OldRoy on July 11, 2012, 12:18:18 pm
By coincidence, someone just sent me a link to this site. Now that's what I call a very tall pole. :)
http://www.airpano.com/
Roy
Title: Re: Photographing Tuscany
Post by: francois on July 11, 2012, 12:35:05 pm
By coincidence, someone just sent me a link to this site. Now that's what I call a very tall pole. :)
http://www.airpano.com/
Roy

Roy, thanks for sharing!
Title: Re: Photographing Tuscany
Post by: BernardLanguillier on July 12, 2012, 12:04:48 am
Very interesting indeed thanks.

I have been considering Rodeon heads for years myself, still hesitant considering the significant investment they represent relative to the manual heads that have been serving me well.

For the application described in the article, it is a no brainer though.

Cheers,
Bernard
Title: Re: Photographing Tuscany
Post by: Jim Pascoe on July 12, 2012, 04:18:30 am
Having been to Tuscany for the first time this May, I was immediately interested to read the article and prepared to see some amazing pictures.  Tuscany must be a landscape photographers paradise - especially if you get out at dawn.  However, although the idea of using a long pole to get a different perspective on the land is a great one, I felt the whole article was a triumph of  the technical over the aesthetic.  The author comes across more as a technician than a creator, and following the link to the website I found very little to inspire.  Even the pictures there are dotted with little sections that are enlarged as if to show how sharp and detailed the pictures are, and yet in the main the pictures themselves are not that great.  If the article and website are just about the technicalities of shooting from a long pole and stitching - fine.  But the authors opening few paragraphs indicate that these pictures are the end result of the project (which is ongoing).  To be honest, because of the hilly nature of the terrain, it is very easy to find elevated positions in Tuscany without needing a long pole, and in my opinion the pictures used do not make a great case for using such a system in that region.
Enrico may be a very good landscape photographer, but the evidence is not in this article.  Perhaps this exercise of using the long pole has come between himself and his art.

Jim
Title: Re: Photographing Tuscany
Post by: Rob C on July 12, 2012, 06:40:53 am
For a moment there, I thought the SUV was a Pajero.

;-)

Rob C
Title: Re: Photographing Tuscany
Post by: dreed on July 12, 2012, 08:15:11 am
What's missing here is something to control the zoom ring on such lenses because you really don't know what the camera will see from up there until you can see what it sees.

And maybe even one of those little spinner things to measure the speed and direction of the wind?

As an example of what is being done professionally for the Olympics that is very similar to this:
http://blogs.reuters.com/photographers-blog/2012/07/04/robo-cams-go-for-olympic-gold/
Title: Re: Photographing Tuscany
Post by: LesPalenik on July 12, 2012, 01:35:25 pm
Quote
And maybe even one of those little spinner things to measure the speed and direction of the wind?

And not to forget a high-sensitivity thermometer that would supply accurate data for the calculation of the coefficient of relative pole expansion due to temperature variation. That could be coupled with an optional air pressure compressor that would dynamically inflate or deflate all four vehicle tires,  thus ensuring an exceptionally  stable and accurate high-elevation platform.
 
 
Title: Re: Photographing Tuscany
Post by: Hans Kruse on July 12, 2012, 01:51:05 pm
Having been to Tuscany for the first time this May, I was immediately interested to read the article and prepared to see some amazing pictures.  Tuscany must be a landscape photographers paradise - especially if you get out at dawn.  However, although the idea of using a long pole to get a different perspective on the land is a great one, I felt the whole article was a triumph of  the technical over the aesthetic.  The author comes across more as a technician than a creator, and following the link to the website I found very little to inspire.  Even the pictures there are dotted with little sections that are enlarged as if to show how sharp and detailed the pictures are, and yet in the main the pictures themselves are not that great.  If the article and website are just about the technicalities of shooting from a long pole and stitching - fine.  But the authors opening few paragraphs indicate that these pictures are the end result of the project (which is ongoing).  To be honest, because of the hilly nature of the terrain, it is very easy to find elevated positions in Tuscany without needing a long pole, and in my opinion the pictures used do not make a great case for using such a system in that region.
Enrico may be a very good landscape photographer, but the evidence is not in this article.  Perhaps this exercise of using the long pole has come between himself and his art.

Jim

I could not have said it better. When I saw the title of the article I couldn't wait to see it, but was quite disappointed. I agree it is not difficult to find good positions although it can be a challenge from time to time. But honestly I couldn't see myself moving around with a pole like this.
Title: Re: Photographing Tuscany
Post by: Ben Rubinstein on July 12, 2012, 02:06:04 pm
Have to weigh in to agree with that.
Title: Re: Photographing Tuscany
Post by: Jim Pascoe on July 12, 2012, 02:10:09 pm
Prompted by the article I have posted a couple of pictures I took in Tuscany this year in the User Critiques forum - not claiming they are great or so different from what hundreds of other photographers have done before, but I think they represent the Tuscany I saw recently.  I'm all for trying a different angle - which is why I hoped to be inspired by the article.

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?topic=68761.0

Jim
Title: Re: Photographing Tuscany
Post by: collum on July 12, 2012, 03:39:15 pm

Jim,

Now, *those* images make me want to go to Tuscany.. well seen & captured!!

Prompted by the article I have posted a couple of pictures I took in Tuscany this year in the User Critiques forum - not claiming they are great or so different from what hundreds of other photographers have done before, but I think they represent the Tuscany I saw recently.  I'm all for trying a different angle - which is why I hoped to be inspired by the article.

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?topic=68761.0

Jim
Title: Re: Photographing Tuscany
Post by: Eric Myrvaagnes on July 12, 2012, 05:23:42 pm
Jim,

Now, *those* images make me want to go to Tuscany.. well seen & captured!!

+1.
Title: Re: Photographing Tuscany
Post by: Hans Kruse on July 12, 2012, 05:35:14 pm
For me Tuscany is like the following:

(http://www.hanskrusephotography.com/Landscapes/Tuscany/i-hWZJ8Gr/0/L/MG3915-L.jpg)

(http://www.hanskrusephotography.com/Landscapes/Tuscany/i-hgrZFRR/3/L/MG3514-L.jpg)

(http://www.hanskrusephotography.com/Landscapes/Tuscany/i-CmbtGsd/4/L/MG3372-L.jpg)

(http://www.hanskrusephotography.com/Landscapes/Tuscany/i-Rw6fx48/0/L/MG2603-L.jpg)

(http://www.hanskrusephotography.com/Landscapes/Tuscany/i-K9ws6b4/0/L/MG9002-L.jpg)

(http://www.hanskrusephotography.com/Landscapes/Tuscany/i-JHKkjKx/5/L/MG8984-Edit-L.jpg)

(http://www.hanskrusephotography.com/Landscapes/Tuscany/i-F6CWmzK/0/L/MG6098-L.jpg)