A History of Panoramas

by: Michael O'Brien

Early panoramic images were the work of artists and painters who sought to capture nature scenes and architecture in a wide angle view. Historic events were also a popular subject of panoramic drawings and paintings. Though many panoramic images could be found in a flat plane format, some artists, seeking to push the boundaries of the genre created works of enormous size.

Dating back to the late seventeen hundreds one of the first uses of a cylindrical format was developed by artist Robert Barker. The Irish artist painted striking panoramas of the Scottish city of Edinburgh. With its beautiful architecture dating back to medieval times, Barker presented the world with what he called Panorama. His use of a cylindrical viewing surface was a first, giving the viewer a feeling of being part of the scene. These images are still considered a truly amazing visual achievement for the time.

Other artists soon began to copy the style of Barker in their own work. Trying to outdo one another, the size and scale of the panoramas grew. Viewed from inside the cylinder, the images could reach heights of over forty feet. Even more impressive was the overall size of the cylinders which be as larges as fifty feet in diameter.

Modern versions of the cylinder panorama can be seen in IMAX theaters presentations. These presentations provide the viewer with a perspective that is very similar to the work of Barker. Viewers are made to feel as though they are part of the imagery.

The advent of photography changed the way panoramic images were produced and viewed. Early photography was indeed faster than painting but was still a laborious task. Hours may have been spent capturing an image on a photographic plate only to have the image not be properly fixed or otherwise unusable. In spite of these difficulties, early photographers of the early nineteenth century were undaunted and managed to produce images of striking clarity and visual acuity.

As the process of photography improved, becoming more reliable and predictable, creating panoramas began to shift from paintings and drawings to wide view angle photography. The truly unique works of art that were early panoramas became photo collages. Photographic panoramas are produced by pasting together multiple photographs to form a single image that reflects a very wide viewing angle.

By pushing the limits of equipment, lighting, film quality and processing, photographers have discovered new and exciting ways to create photographic images. The advent of digital photography has raised picture taking to an entirely new level. Digital technology has made the creation of panoramic images much easier. Even the invention of the airplane provided photographers with opportunities to give us images that were impossible to capture before the invention of powered flight.

The introduction of digital photographic technology has advanced the science and art of building spectacular panoramic images. This advance is a fully integrated approach to creating panoramas that utilizes hardware and sophisticated software tools. Digital cameras have reached the stage to where image resolution can meet or exceed that of film photography.

The ability to manipulate digital images by using the latest in software tools makes the process of blending and stitching individual images faster and more precise. Digital images are a compilation of tiny images called pixels.

Each pixel represents a fraction of the total image. Stitching individual photographs together can be done pixel by pixel, producing an almost flawless image. Effects can be added to enhance the image along with adjusting color intensity and contrasts. The result is a panoramic image that has less visual distortion.

Shopping for panoramas and photoramic prints is easier than ever since the advent of online shopping. Consumers can find panoramic prints depicting an almost endless variety of subject.

About the Author

Michael O'Brien is a writer for many popular websites.