Panoramic Photography
Is this our real viewing sensation?
We don't have the tunnel vision the average photographic camera has accustomed us with.
Our set of eyes/brain is not working as the "normal" 50mm SLR camera lens is.
We live immersed in a sensation of a wider space, thanks to the simultaneous use of two eyes and lateral vision.
The panoramic camera may render the scene in front of it in a more realistic way, giving a better sensation of space, of being immersed into it with an angle of 120°.
The 35 mm film (in the smaller and cheaper versions) receives light from a rotating 28mm lens, giving a 58x24 mm negative per each shot.
... beautiful. Too bad there is no way of doing this with digital nowadays.
Landscape photography is what the panorama camera is made for, after all.
It can give a well proportioned wide image on a 58x24 mm negative or slide, which gives very good enlarging results even with high speed films.
Deformation is reduced to a bare minimum, perspective is greatly enhanced by the use of the rotating wide-angle lens.
Panorama images are perfect for capturing space, but there is sometimes an unavoidable distortion.
It's an optic law, not a lens defect, and it can be easily solved with Photoshop.
But distortion is not necessarily unpleasant, it's part of our way of seeing, and the brain corrects it in the end, anyway.
Low light situation, narrow places, need of a lot of depth of field.
Here the technical situation.
But more important is the rendering of a reality that only the eye can perceive, a 180 degrees reality made of "being there".
More than a picture is a participation to that reality, all photographs here are done without the use of a tripod and in natural light.
A portrait with a panorama camera is something really special: it is a way of establishing a strong relationship between the portrayed subject and the ambiance to which he/she is related.
A possibility of working in very close contact with the person, and keeping the environment in focus and well open to the view allows to give a very "in deep" vision of the person and the surroundings.
Although it seems the panorama camera is made for taking landscapes pictures only, its real power is in doing reportage shooting in tight spaces - low light conditions.
The wide angle of view helps a lot, although the rotating shutter provides plenty of vibrations and some awful noise.
This goes quite a bit against the idea of "invisibility" that a reportage photographer has to work with, but at the same time, being able to make a shot and one shot only of each situation, we can better focus on what we really want to achieve.
All images & texts: Copyright Roberto Delpiano - 1997-2024
LANDSCAPE panoramic photography
View from the Rialto Bridge in Venezia
Valentino Park in Torino - The Month Fountain, 12 statues
Roma - View from the hills
Roma - Under the arch of the Coliseum
Venezia - contrast of building's façades
Downtown Rio de Janeiro - Several architectonic styles all in the same view
One rainy day in Venice during Carnival
Amsterdam - Porn Shop window
Torino - Industrial area 'Le Ferriere'
Les Halles in Paris - The Merry Go Round
Piazza Solferino, Torino - Statue of Fernando di Savoia
Roma - The Coliseum, inside view
This is an experience to live: Maracaná Stadium, Rio de Janeiro
Roma - Piazza Navona
Parochia dei Carmini in Venezia: shopping time
All images & texts: Copyright Roberto Delpiano - 1997-2024
ARCHITECTURE panoramic photography
Parlamento Subalpino in Torino - The first Italian Parliament
Roma - Basilica di San Pietro
Palazzo Carignano in Torino, heavy Baroque style
One amazing thing about Amsterdam is all these buildings which seem to be falling all the time
Rome - The Pantheon top
Castle of Valentino in Torino - it's a fake
Ceiling of Saint Peter's Church in Rome
Toronto, Canada - Airport Hall
Saint statue in the Basilica di San Pietro in Rome
Torino: bust of Garibaldi in hall of Public building
Venezia and its floating landscapes
MAM - 'Museu de Arte Moderna' - Rio de Janeiro
All images & texts: Copyright Roberto Delpiano - 1997-2024
INTERIORS panoramic photography
Amsterdam: American styled props in antique shop
Old kitchen in Castellinaldo, Piemonte, Italy
Palazzo Reale: Royal Palace Museum in Torino
A special occasion - Lights setting on the Zemi in Studio Delpiano
My photographic studio organization - 1992
Torino - Egyptian Museum
Entrance of my former photographic studio in Torino - Personal computer, 1992
Close-up on Egyptian statues - Museo Egizio, Torino
Old dusty abandoned ambiance - Castellinaldo, Piemonte, Italy
How to make a good still life - Lights setting in Studio Delpiano
Old wine barrels - Castellinaldo, Piemonte, Italy
Bric à Brac somewhere in France
Some objects may have a very strong personality
All images & texts: Copyright Roberto Delpiano - 1997-2024
PORTRAIT panoramic photography
Barber at work - Torino, Italy
Playing for busy people at the Carioca Metro station - Rio
In the Sambodrome kitchens during Carnival in Rio
Nice swank coffee shop in Torino
A portrait in the crowd, I mean two, no three ...
Rio de Janeiro - the Italian Samba School of Cento parades in the Sambodromo Sapucaí
Furnishing restauration - Moncalieri, Torino
Amsterdam - impromptu cyclist portrait
Director of Institute of Anthropology - Torino, long time ago
Getting an ice cold beer in a 'boteco' in Rio de Janeiro
Public in the Sambodromo. Around 60,000 maximum capacity (always packed)
Life on a plane crossing the ocean - Feeding time
Rio de Janeiro: kindergarten on top of a building in Copacabana - Taking a shower
Proud owner of salamy factory - Italy
Where all shoes go to be fixed - Rio de Janeiro
Waiting for someone in a Parisian bistrot
Hey! That's my girl! - Maternity Ward in Torino
Studio practicing: I'm on the saxophone - Photo: Marco Corongi
Rio de Janeiro, Sambodrome: close contact with the public
All images & texts: Copyright Roberto Delpiano - 1997-2024
REPORTAGE panoramic photography
Free concert on the Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro
Torino - Mercati Generali - 4:00 A.M.
Me at an Art Exhibition vernissage - photo: Sandra Assandri
'Murales' in Amsterdam - End of the nineties
Rio Sambodrome - Kids all well organized in aviation disguise (Samba School Tradição)
Praça Mauá, Rio de Janeiro: candies vendor
Where is my kid brother? Torino
Rio de Janeiro - Kids playing in the street in one poor area
Rio de Janeiro - News readers
Carnival in Rio - big Samba School float in the Sambodrome
Venice on a rainy day - The Telephone Booth - Pre-cellphone view
Rio de Janeiro kindergarten - Happiness in simple things
Participating to an Art vernissage - Torino, Italy
Sapucaí is the name given to the sambodrome in Rio
Soccer playing in Venice street
Rio de Janeiro - Street kids taking a break reading comics
Music and more music - wide view in a closed space - Photo: Marco Corongi
Rio de Janeiro - the Italian Samba School of Cento with a big float in the Sambodromo Sapucaí