Went on a great hike last weekend....some of the Columbia Gorge is still semi-frozen.

Hiked out at about 5AM with flashlight in hand....kinda slow going as the plunge into the gorge wasn't my goal...lol.

Here is the trail I had to navigate (well grommed in this part...but shows the drop off)


And here is what you have to greet you as you tumble off the edge....lol!!



Here is one of the falls I came across on my hike....an obscure litle foot path with a severly worn wood sign...you would miss it if you didnt know what to look for....it was worth the looking though.


A bit down the trail....I found my goal...Punchbowl Falls...once you see the upper view of it from on high...you understand why it is called that.

This shot is comprised of 3 12MP shots done portrait style with a 1/3 overlap....averages out to about a 30MP file....should print super huge.


And this is directly to the left of the lower falls....



And this last image is also a "pano" of three joined portrait style shots.....again....30MP equivlant.....and super detailed.



Hope you all enjoyed the hike....hope your legs arent as sore as mine...LOL!!!

Roman

Oh my, these are wonderful. Looks like you will be taking this walk without me since I like the last one best. Probably because it is closest to the earth!
I am so pleased there are people like you who can show us parts of the world that are this lovely.

Hey Roman,

What a great field trip! This was a wonderful idea, and I think the photos came out spectacular. Can you talk more about the process of having put together the panos of the punchbowl falls?

-James

Well....the process is impressivly simple (My goal is ALWAYS to simplify).....My tripod has a level on the base....and a level on the quick disconnect plat for both portrait and landscape positions.

I just level the tripod....put the camera on the tripod....and tip it over to the portrait side of life....and insure it is level....then I adjust down angle from the level position.

I know this isnt perfect as it is not rotating on the center of the focal point of the lens (expensive pano setups do exactly that....and I do want to get one)

ANway.....I then take the first frame (im a lefty so I start on the left) and unlock the panning portion of my ballhead (its the part that will usually have degrees markings on the base of the ballhead if you have such a feature)

Rotate till you have about 1/3 - 1/4 overlap...lock it down and take your next shot....repeat for the last frame.

Photoshop CS3 (beta right now) has a VERY much improved pano assembly tool....WAY better than the old one in PS2....open the 3 shots in the RAW converter ( I open them as 25MP files)....select the photomerge tool from the automate selection of the "file" menu.....I choose the "Cynlidrical" mode almost always...not auto....and let it do its magic.

Roman

As always, nicely done. The images look perfect on my screen. Your images make people want to visit the places you shoot. Thanks for posting. . .

These are awsome, I wish I had PS skills to do Pano's.

Those are great shots Roman, as usual. They were hard earned as well. Quick question please- do you add saturation in camera raw to your shots? Are the panos in jpeg or raw mode?

Paul, photoshop is a great tool and worth a study. One of the best things I ever did was to take some classes in it.
If I had not learned the basics, all the books in the world would be greek. A few basic classes will open a world to you. I see some great amateur photography that would be far improved with a little tweeking..and personaly I think cs2 or 3 is worth it from the start.
Thanks again for sharing the workflows, Roman. However the artistry and beauty of the location are not wasted on me! You are fortunate to have these parks available- I hope to visit them sometime.
Best regards from Salt Lake City, Utah

I juse almost all the tool in CS3...and one is a page of Saturation, luminosity and hue all in the RAW converter.

I also use curves in all 10 color layers in all the color spaces to fut final polish on the finished shot (Curves in each color space and in each color) CMYK really snaps the colors back into shape...then some mild LAB after to get a small edge on color seperation.

As for the pano....CS3 Pano tools are for the most part automatic and HEAD AND SHOULDERS...above the CS2 Pano tool....it really is amazing....most require ZERO input...including not only a good match, but good blending of colors that are a tad off.

Classes are a good idea....I get my experience from years of playing and learning....but would cut the learning curve quite a bit if I was just shown what to do...(but dont know how creative I would become if I never just explored)

Roman

interesting.....................you like cs3 ..enough to replace cs2? Are you using the beta version?

Yes, I am using the beta....and it is buggy as all heck....and I still prefer using it.....that in itself should tell you all you need to know about how I feel about CS3! : )

Roman