New Article:The Long and Skinny of it.

 Some subjects look best photographed long and skinny. Even if you don’t own a panoramic camera, you can fairly easily elongate an image by adding in a small slice of a second image to either the top or bottom of the original scene.

But first, what subjects work best with a long format? I like to photograph objects that are already vertical by nature, such as roads, train tracks or boats. The skinny length of a vertical pano emphasizes the length of these subjects and often adds more perspective and the illusion of depth of field. Another idea is to show the relationship between a foreground and background. Use a wide-angle lens and get close to an interesting foreground for your first image. Then tilt your camera up and take your second image so that you capture more details in the sky or background. Look for visual elements in the background and foreground that either compliment or contrast to tie the image together. For example, clouds can mirror foreground rocks or plants in pattern, colour or line. Finally, vertical panos are a creative way to emphasize repeating, horizontal layers in a tall format. (Continued)