Recently I read an article about stitching multiple digital
images together to get a higher res, sharper, etc., image. So
yesterday, while on the way home from work, I decided to take
back roads in my jeep and look for some killer farmland shot
that is worthy of this experiment.
Eventually, I venture down a couple gravel roads that I've never
been on before and locate a nice scene. It's a bit tougher than
a couple weeks ago, since the corn is so tall now that the
scenics have disappeared! I shoot a few pictures to start with
to make sure my exposures are good and then lock everything into
manual mode. I rack the zoom lens out to about 100mm where the
lens has fewest abberations and start shooting in a grid pattern
the scene.
So far, so good.
I get home, and copy the images into the computer (10 minutes to
transfer all the RAW files since I left my card-reader at work).
That's OK, I had to grill hamburgers anyway. Then I batch
convert the RAW files into TIFF files for the next step.
Meanwhile, I go outside and mow the lawn.
I come in and batch convert the files into small JPEGS for
experimenting. Take a shower.
Now comes the fun part. Assembly. I manage to get TWO frames
almost stitched together while the tv is tuned to the Democratic
Convention. Wow, is this a RAM intensive process. My computer
is drawling right along with the speaker. By the 27th "John and
I" of the love-fest, I've managed to get the two frames finished
and the third halfway done. Never again will I do this with a
handheld camera!
Local news, weather, sports... The third frame is almost done,
but so is my level of restraint. By the time Letterman comes on
I'm ready to shoot my computer and run naked up and down the
street yelling "Vote Nader!"
You see, I learned a very important lesson here. Photography
and Politics do not mix. I thought stitching photographs and
having the convention on at the same time was good multitasking.
Hardly. By the time the hourglass finally disappears on the
computer screen you want to vote for the Manchurian Candidate.
One can get quite cynical when "Cannot Read 0x800 Block" shows
up on the monitor. If Moore wanted to make himself really
useful he should produce a documentary on B*ll G*tes and the
evils of Windows.
Oh, what about the results? Not bad. Stitching is ok in a
pinch, but I'm still convinced that there is absolutely no
substitute for raw surface area. Case in point, I have a
photograph of an abandoned house that you can make out the
boards in the 35mm photograph. Same shot, taken with the 4x5
reveals not only the grain in the boards, but the nails too.
Back to the drawing board. My experimental pictures last night
were OK, but nothing worth wasting any more time on. I did
learn a few things, which is what I set out to do. I'm just
glad that it wasn't something critical that I HAD to do.
AG
SUVs, food, guns, computers, politics and photography. Did I
leave anything out? Oh yeah, Olympus.
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