panorama

Not long ago, we brought Ryan Brenizer into the B&H studios to talk about the Brenizer Method. This technique involves taking numerous photos in a panoramic portrait and stitching them together in Photoshop. However, you don't necessarily need Photoshop to stitch the photos together as this can be done with Photoshop Elements. As we've stated before in our posting on Minor Retouching, many of the features that most people need and use can be done with the more affordable option.

Not long ago, we spent some time with famed wedding photographer and guest blogger Ryan Brenizer. One of the reasons why Ryan is famous is because of his unique style of shooting portraits known across the net as the Brenizer Method. Ryan talked with us about the gear he uses to do it, how he came up with the idea, the post-production phase, and also gave us some tips for beginners. Take a look at the video after clicking Read and Discuss.

How wide is wide? Picture this. You're standing on the gangway of the US Intrepid Sea and Space Museum facing the Hudson River, with New Jersey dead ahead of you. The USS Intrepid is on your left, the cruise ship Princess Dawn is on your right, and Manhattan is behind you. You aim your camera, a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX1, towards the bow of the cruise ship, press the shutter button and start panning the camera across your field of view.

Back in the mid-70s Nikon made a 6/2.8 fisheye lens that captured a 220° circular image, which is 40° wider than the standard-issue 180° fisheyes manufactured today. Weighing in at 11 lbs, it had a front element the shape and size of a small goldfish bowl (9.3") and all-but-dwarfed the Nikon F hanging off the back of it. You could actually see behind the camera. And it could be had for about $13,500 in 1975 Yankee dollars.

Fast forward 35 years and I find myself palming a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX1, a sub-compact bridge camera with a 9.1Mp Super Exmor CMOS sensor (1/2.4"), full-res burst-rates of up to 10 fps, a 20x Sony G-series optically-stabilized zoom lens, and a long list of features you'd expect to find nowadays on bridge-style digicams.