Creating the Image

     Accurate panoramic photography is a process of engineering an image. For architecture and urban planning the subject matter can be shown in context with its surroundings. In landscape photography you are not restricted to just what is covered in your viewfinder.

Another aspect of the process is matching the right focal length to the subject. In the case of capturing a photograph of a site that is so large you would have to be quite a ways away to see all of it, the process might require using a 100 – 200mm lens and indexing the lens to shoot in 5 – 10 degree increments. It is best to have a 1/3 – 1/4 overlapping of the images.The best results are achieved by having a perfectly level camera and the parallax has to be removed. This allows for a perfect stitch between images. The final result can be an image well over a 1000 MB or a giga-pixel panoramic, AKA “gigapan”.

Town Squares in the Small Towns of Iowa

     The panoramas shown here were created for an architectural firm providing assistance in designing and restoring storefronts for a state wide grant program. This panoramic photography process for creating the visuals is perfect for this project.  Not only were they great for in-depth study, showing the different facades in one image. Architectural elevation photography is used here to just show just the facade.

The Facade Grant Program

The “Facade Grant Program“ in Iowa  provides financial assistance to communities under 2,000 persons. The purpose is to support the revitalization of business districts in small towns that enhance the appearance of there buildings and properties. Usually the facades facing the town square are the main area of focus. Most of the panoramas were shot as architectural elevations and were utilized in a variety of ways. The physical size of the printed material is 44 inches at 360 ppi.