30x120 Pano

[bill t.]

This is my favorite thing to do, making big old pano prints in the classic tradition.  What photography was originally intended to be.  These are Albuquerque's landmark Sandia Mountains.

30" x 120" in the wood framing shown.  A surprise Spring snow dusting on Friday gave me this shot which I thought I would have to wait another 6 months for.  It already has a home in a boardroom above some low bookshelves.  The tendency is to think ratios wider than about 2:1 can not be sold because there's no place to put them, but it is surprising how many places there are for such things, especially in commercial buildings with chairs and bookshelves and file drawers lined up against an otherwise bare wall.  Or in big homes with high ceilinged rooms.

This is a stitched composite of 11 vertical shots, about 100mp altogether.  Would liked to have shot 2 rows by 20 shots per row, but the wind-driven clouds and wildly changing light would not pose that long.  But very sharp even single row.

This type of image looks cramped when you view it small on the screen, but at full size it conveys the size of the mountain much better than looser cropping.  Cropping rules change with size.

The frame in the image was generated in PS by cloning a closeup of a short piece, that's where the recurring pattern comes from.  Coated canvas on Gatorfoam, no glass or plex.  And do you see any silly matte or prissy margin?  NOOO!  Signed right on the print, lower right, the type you see is for web only.

Now I need somebody to buy a 42" x 128" version.  Lots of 'em.

[jim t]

Great stuff Bill.  I see your all about the canvas.

I'm currently working on several panos.  Some close to 4:1.

I've noticed a 40"x84" go up at my local rec center.  Printed on matte paper, foam core backing with a cheap wood frame for $2,200.  Wondering what your image goes for if that's appropriate.

So your saying you have no frame?  

Here is on of the panos I'm working on.  I have streched one on Canson Canvas 20"x48".
   

[bill t.]

Mine is coated canvas glued to Gatorfoam.  A little less than half of a 60 x 120" sheet serves as print mount, the remainder screwed to the he back of the frame for bracing.  I used 3.75" genuine wood, moderately distressed moulding of a classic design that is often seen around Southwest art.  Omega 79314, comes in 120.25" lengths which is a little longer than normal.  Surprisingly good moulding for the price.  Relatively easy to fabricate the frame, although wood moulding of that size can be a serious PITA if it is the slightest bit warped or twisted as it so often is.  Fortunately the long lengths allowed the slight warps in the wood to be taken up over the long span, and I had a fresh box so I picked the straightest pieces.  Didn't take very long to get the framed piece built by running the printing, coating, frame building and mounting in parallel.  This was a commission so would rather not comment on price but it was more than the one at your rec center.

Wouldn't use foamcore for anything that large, yikes!  Gatorfoam costs 5 times more but is 1/20 the trouble.

The frame in the web picture was created in Photoshop by cloning a .jpg of a short section of the selected physical moulding.  Never printed it, although if would be fun to see a scale print put in an architectural model if there was one, I have done such things long ago.  I find it very helpful to make such virtual mockups especially for the bigger images.  Among other things it keeps you from selecting insufficiently wide mouldings and in the right hands discourages prissiness.

Nice lookin' pano, I like your cloud treatment and the overall subject and composition are wonderfully classic.

[Justan]

Both works are very nice!

Bill - your name appears to be printed on the image. Is that how you sell them or was it done due to being reproduced for the web?

Did the printer have any problems with this long of a print?

[bill t.]

Both works are very nice!

Bill - your name appears to be printed on the image. Is that how you sell them or was it done due to being reproduced for the web?

Did the printer have any problems with this long of a print?

The name is on the web image only.  On the actual print the name is ink jetted in small 9 point type in a color that is barely discernible from the underlying background.  Above that I signed in India ink which is entirely under the coatings to preserve cleanability.  A very subtle signature, you would only find it if you went looking for it which is all I ask.

I broke the image into two separate files which Qimage seamlessly abutted during printing.

I have heard rumors that the under Vista64 the Epson driver no longer has the 90.5" length limit, but I don't want to find out for sure the hard way.  Anybody know anything about this?

[Justan]

Thank you Bill.