Nest with a view

Gallery: LandscapePosted September 24, 2010696 views22 comments

PLEASE VIEW IT LARGER

The sun has just set behind the mountains of Corsica far in the distance and over the calm, still waters of the Thyrrenian Sea around Isola del Giglio, a small, wild island part of the Tuscan Archipelago. Here's the rough rocky coast of Faraglione peninsula in the northern part of the island, dotted with junipers and small bushes of strawberry, just the ideal nesting area for sparrows and seagulls.
Not a cloud in the sky - just like most of the days I spent on the island - but a bit of mist in the distance was quite enough for spreading the light and tinging everything with beautiful warm tones.
This is a mosaic of 10 horizontal frames, disposed in two rows of five frames each. It can really print huge, as big as your living room longest wall... a click on the larger file therefore is really a must ;-)

Your C&C are as always highly recommended, thanks in advance for your time.

Techs: Eos 50D, Tokina ATX-Pro 12-24 f4, tripod, GND 8x (on the upper row). 2.5" f16 each frame

Comments

22 comments

Comment posted by Daniel Cartamil on September 24, 2010 at 12:50 PM

This is amazing, but I'm not sure about those top corners. I can see them being dark, but they are really dark, and this tends to distract me from the rest of the scene, It seems like the GND effect is too much in those parts, and they could be lightened. Other than that, I love the scene, the pano format, and the rocks visible under water...

Registered on November 15, 2007, 50 Posts, 601 Comments

Comment posted by Paolo De Faveri on September 24, 2010 at 1:00 PM

Hi Daniel, thanks for commenting. The point here is that this picture covers about 180° in field of view. I mean, you are looking west when you look at the sunset, south when you look at the moon, and north when you look at the tip of land on the far right. So it's pretty natural that the sky look dark there, as it was very dark indeed. The GND has certainly increased the natural darkness in those two areas, but not as much as you might think.

Paolo

Registered on August 29, 2007, 318 Posts, 1651 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Chambers on September 24, 2010 at 1:01 PM

Beautiful vista Paolo - love the clarity of the water too. This works very well as a pano, great detail!

Registered on April 10, 2005, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments

Comment posted by Balakumar Kaushik on September 24, 2010 at 1:37 PM

Beautiful scene Paulo. Fine job in stitching as well. Loved the FG U-shape leading into the waters.
Bit unsure about the dark regions in the top-left (on the cliff) but your explanation serves well.
I see some posterization in the sky on my monitor.

Registered on January 4, 2008, 98 Posts, 1403 Comments

Comment posted by Paolo De Faveri on September 24, 2010 at 1:55 PM

Thanks Bill and Balakumar, I appreciate your comments.
Balakumar, no posterization here. It's only the huge difference in tones and colours due to the extremely wide FOV.

Paolo

Registered on August 29, 2007, 318 Posts, 1651 Comments

Comment posted by dean hebert on September 24, 2010 at 2:05 PM

Great image and stitching. I understand what your saying about the light fall-off but I still find it visually distracting. I might try lightening the land in the corners to at least even out the exposure a bit.

Registered on August 4, 2010, 70 Posts, 1132 Comments

Comment posted by Paolo De Faveri on September 24, 2010 at 2:21 PM

It must be my monitor that has gone off calibration, because if you all fellows see those aeas as too dark, it must be actually too dark...

I addressed the issues mentioned and although now it looks unnaturally bright on my monitor, I'd love to hear if you see any improvement on the repost. If this is the case, I will definetely have to re-calibrate my monitor right away.

Thanks,
Paolo

EDIT: I notice it's a bit hard to tell at 720 pxl, it should be at least 1200 as the original large file I posted, to clearly see the difference...

Registered on August 29, 2007, 318 Posts, 1651 Comments

Comment posted by mark cillo on September 24, 2010 at 2:34 PM

This is a beautiful scene! I really like the colors on the horizon and the overall composition. The darker edges of the sky look quite natural to me given the area of coverage and the luminosity of the moon. Great work

Registered on July 27, 2008, 143 Posts, 1483 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on September 24, 2010 at 2:57 PM

Much better on the repost. Recalibrate your monitor.

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Paolo De Faveri on September 24, 2010 at 3:12 PM

Ahah! Ok Phil, I will definitely do that!

Registered on August 29, 2007, 318 Posts, 1651 Comments

Comment posted by Buck Ward on September 24, 2010 at 6:15 PM

An impressive stitch job. I like the shape of the U embracing the glow of the sun over the horizon. One thing that I noticed that seems a little odd. I attribute it to a bit of time having passed as you were making all the different photos. The illumination of the moon seems not to be from the direction of the sun.
Your repost does not seem too bright on my calibrated monitor

Registered on December 8, 2003, 96 Posts, 1917 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on September 24, 2010 at 7:21 PM

I would love to see this as a huge print. What a great scene you have created with your pano! Great use of color and light as always.

Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on September 24, 2010 at 7:31 PM

Repost is magnificent Paolo. I like the like on te foreground land. The light from the sun below the horizon is nuclear in a beautiful way.

Registered on January 4, 2009, 1015 Posts, 13229 Comments

Comment posted by Vance Gese on September 24, 2010 at 8:10 PM

Fantastic Paolo. Amazing light. Must join with others in liking the repost a bit better over the original, as far as the corners go. Both are gorgeous though.

Registered on November 13, 2008, 298 Posts, 6629 Comments

Comment posted by Anders Engström on September 25, 2010 at 9:16 AM

A beautiful image, great light and a great stitching job! Its a good composition, the U-shaped land works well.

Registered on September 21, 2010, 21 Posts, 83 Comments

Comment posted by Dorin Bofan on September 25, 2010 at 10:15 AM

You have an amazing vision and skill in doing these panos, Paolo! The light is incredible here.

Registered on April 30, 2007, 122 Posts, 3086 Comments

Comment posted by Shane McDermott on September 25, 2010 at 1:32 PM

Beautiful and very unique composition! This really pulls the eye into a wonderful journey through a spectacular landscape. Well done!

Registered on November 12, 2007, 49 Posts, 1074 Comments

Comment posted by Shane McDermott on September 25, 2010 at 1:36 PM

Paolo

I personally wouldn't change the corners. This is a very surreal dark seascape, the dark corners add a ton to the drama and mystery of this place. That is just my opinion though.

Shane

Registered on November 12, 2007, 49 Posts, 1074 Comments

Comment posted by Paolo De Faveri on September 25, 2010 at 1:43 PM

Thanks Shane, I guess I won't in the end...

Registered on August 29, 2007, 318 Posts, 1651 Comments

Comment posted by Prashant Khapane on September 27, 2010 at 5:23 AM

lovely use of stitching here paolo. Wonderful pano.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 492 Posts, 4580 Comments

Comment posted by Tom Nevesely on September 28, 2010 at 10:30 AM

Look great Paolo! The comp and colours are excellent.

Registered on June 14, 2005, 147 Posts, 1550 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Smith on October 1, 2010 at 12:39 AM

Stunning and beautiful! I am held fast to discover all the textures and colors. I could stand for a long while and absorb more and more. The foreground seems a bit tight, wishing for a little more rock. Other than that...4.999 stars out of 5!

Registered on September 5, 2008, 449 Posts, 2444 Comments