Inspired by the newphotoofoldplaces thread and the mention of stitching programs...

...I just use the Photoshop automate program for stitching images

But I'm having issues with images of domes. I mean I'm not really sure what to do different. In Roppel there were some really tall domes that I took photos going all the way up. Of course, this means that what is at my height will be "larger" and the top of the dome "smaller" because of perspective but I'm having a lot of issues keeping that when putting the images together, how to keep that look of height.

Here are two different attempts...this one I let the lines distort but it kinda gives a bowled effect that I'm not really happy with. The top of the image is actually looking straight up.

Roppel-Dome2 by Sunguramy, on Flickr

This one I just tried to shape it to add perspective, it got a bit distorted though and I still feel like I lose the look of how high it is.

Roppel-Dome1-2 by Sunguramy, on Flickr

Thoughts/ideas/suggestions? Do I need to take perhaps more photos "across" as I pan "up" fill in the edges maybe?

The only time I can get pit or dome shots to work is when I can back up enough to get the entire thing in frame, and then fire the flash at different points in the frame and stitch that together. But that's just often not an option. But that keeps all distortion out because it's the exact same framing for each photo in the stitch.

I hope what I'm having issues with makes sense...I have all the original files so it's not like I can't re-make these better once I figure out how =) Although I am wondering if it's a matter of needing to take more "across" the further "up" I pan, which I didn't do so if that's the case I'm screwed.

Amy

I think the ideal for that image would be somewhere between the two! Nice photo, all the same.

I think this is one area where again, a view camera has the edge, as you can shift/tilt the lens releative to the backplate and remove a lot of this distortion. However, that's not really possible here. A stitching program will also let you manipulate verticals and perspective problems far better than Photoshop can, and the projections selected can remove a lot of unwanted distortion.

I use a program called PTAssembler, by Max Lyons, a US photographer who wrote his own front-end to Panorama Tools, a scripted panorama engine by Helmut Dersch. It's very powerful and remarkably good value. It's best used with a special panoramic head, but that's less important for distant scenes, as long as you can overlap your shots enough.

The projections listed below may solve your problem - Max has included a hybrid projection called 'Recti-Perspective' which will remove a lot of unwanted curvature from scenes:

http://www.tawbaware.com/projections.htm

Hope this helps

Phil.

That program looks amazing! I try to edit lines and stuff with the different controls in ps but find it difficult to control and end up warping things too much usually. I think that program will fix the issues...I will work with it and see, thanks!

Haha yeah I'm not using a view camera...my new baby (since the Nikon P60 died) is a Panasonic Lumix LX3 I picked up for $100 (for comparison, about 60 pounds) at Unclaimed Baggage. It is doing a MUCH better job and easier than my P60 did. Mmmmm manual focus and more f/stop options and 24mm lens and I can open the shutter for a whole minute!

Amy

I think it would help, definitely - the program has been designed to solve most of the projection issues faced, although it would obviously take some time to get around most of the controls - but the stitching is always seamless, and the output very impressive. There's also a forum that may answer many specific questions you might have on warping:

http://www.tawbaware.com/forum2/

Cheers

Phil.