On Saturday 27th March 2010 two of our best friends were married... an experiment occurred to me to which they responded with enthusiasm.

When the ceremony at Old Luxter's Barn (near Hambleden, Oxfordshire) was over, and the wedding photographer had just done the big group shots, all the guests were arranged in a large circle around me. With my camera I circled around once to take in all the guests, marked my position and waited until later when they were all inside to take the rest of the view: up and down.

I was on holiday so had to wait a little while before I could do my stitching, but as soon as I could I made two versions:
a Wormhole,
Picture
and a Planet.
Picture
To complete my commission I will print and frame them, and would like to offer smaller versions too presented in different ways... I am in thinking...

I am really pleased with how it's turned out and am excited at the prospect of seeing it framed on our friends' wall.

Every guest and all around the venue in one image: how better to remember the day!

My plan is to print them both out but have only one framed (I will leave the other underneath so the couple themselves can decide which they like best). I know which I prefer but would like to know what other people think. Please let me know by submitting your answer below:
Thank you! (your answers will help me decide which to leave visible in the frame)

(if the pole is not visible, click on the post title and it should appear)

ADDENDUM:

I've had another go at this now (another friend of mine got married recently and didn't mind being another guinea pig). I took on board some of the comments I got about my first attempt and think it is a great improvement. Click on the image to go to the post.
Picture
 


Comments

Crafthole

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 03:50:44

I think the wormhole is a bit claustrophobic for a shot with a group of people.....looks like the group is folding in on itself. The Planet brings them out and makes the wedding party the focus of the shot. ;-)

 

Crafthole

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 03:52:52

Also I find my eye is drawn naturally to Laura & Lee in the Planet whilst the Wormhole I find the group are slip to the periphery

 

Jerome

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 18:56:43

Wonderful photos i love the treatment you add, i've gotten into shooting these panoplanets big time in the last year, And my sister's getting married this year and I had exactly the same thought that it would be a cool idea to try and take one of these. did you shoot hand held or on a tripod? I prefer the planet to the wormhole, in my mind for my sistes wedding i'm thinking of getting the bride and groom much closer to the camera and flying off the planet compared to the other guests

 

Lady Crafthole

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 04:55:41

I did it hand-held.

Yes I had a similar idea, you can see the result of that on my Commissions page. I rejected it only because the couple were taken separately in unavoidably dim light and were really grainy. Next time I'll do better! Good luck with your one: I'd love to see the result :-)

 

Bob

Sun, 02 May 2010 15:48:12

A fascinating effort, but neither seems successful to me. The people are what's important, and they're such a small part of the overall frame. Also, the big center circles of sky and stones aren't very interesting. Maybe a smaller circle of people two deep and closer to the camera so the faces are bigger would help.

 

Lady Crafthole

Tue, 04 May 2010 05:18:34

Bob,

You're right: I don't think anybody would want this as the only group picture of the day, I'd always want traditional ones too which are much more people-centred. Apart from anything else this would bring back more memories because it would represent the day as it actually looked.
As for your other point, you're right again & I'm not too sure what to do about that. I've tried filling up the centre with a close-up of the couple (as I said above) to give the picture more of a focus and fill up the problematic blank area in the centre, or at least lead the eye away from it. I think your suggestion would definitely help.

 

Gill Coote

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 06:06:56

I think these are a unique and fantastic idea. I think the planet looks best, partly because the colour scheme is more of a blue on this than a brown on the wormhole. This would be fantastic as a large picture on a wall, large enough to see everyone's faces.
Well done, love it!

 



Leave a Reply