'Looking out From the Top of the Rock'

[Akash]

Below is a panorama from the top of the GE building in the Rockefeller Center, Manhattan. Click on the image to go through to see the full resolution image and EXIF data on Flickr.



The actual panorama is made of 6 vertical images in full manual mode using the steps below. It was very difficult to take the photos here as they only allow you to use tripods closed and these shots were 0.6s exposures. It was also very crowded. I also don't have a remote so had to use the 10s self-timer function. Post processing involved making a 'fake HDR' by adjusting the exposures in Lightroom and combining the generated images together.

Below are the detailed steps:

1. Set camera to Aperture priority mode and set aperture to around F10 to F14. The lower the aperture, the more is in focus. I was forced to use F10 as it was very difficult to take longer exposures and would have preffered to be at around F14. Also set the ISO as low as possible. I again had to compromise here and use ISO400. ISO200 should be low enough.

2. Meter and auto focus on the subject of choice (in my case the Empire State Building). Take a test shot and review. Note down the shutter speed. If satisfied, switch the focus to manual, making sure not to change the focus.

3. Now switch to manual mode, entering the aperture used before. Use the shutter speed noted down previously, making any slight adjustments you feel are necessary. Switch the white balance to manual and turn off any vibration reduction or image stabilisation.

4. Start taking shots! Ideally use a remote or like I did, use the self timer function. The images should overlap by about 30% to be on the safe side.

5. Post processing - Convert the RAW files to JPG and stitch together. I used Hugin which I found to be very easy to use and produced much better results than Photoshop.

6. Optional processing - for this image I decided to make a 'fake HDR' of the image by producing 7 (probably over the top) different exposures from the same image in Lightroom and then combining them together in Photomatix. I then took the produced image back to Lightroom to finish it off.

Feel free to ask any questions and critique is appreciated.

Akash

[arlon]

Great shot. How did you get permission to shoot from the top of a building??

[Akash]

Originally Posted by arlon

Great shot. How did you get permission to shoot from the top of a building??

Thanks! They allow people to take cameras and use tripods as long as you don't spread the legs out (you can extend them). Even when I tried to spread the legs only a tiny amount, I had security telling me off.

[tott7000]

I love it. I have always been partial to cityscapes though. I went to flickr and looked at the original size and just got lost for an hour on all the detail. Thanks