For most of his life, as an artist, Mel Theobald has been a painter. His creative interests shifted, dramatically, in the summer of 2001 when he first put his hands on a digital camera. In progressive stages, Theobald began to see the potential for images that would combine the content of his paintings with the freedom to explore the creative manipulation of a photographic surface. With paint and canvas, the texture of the surface is as absorbing as the subject.
Using the computer and mouse as an extension of the brush and paint, it came as a great surprise, to him, that he could think as a painter and work in a photographic medium. From that point, it was apparent that the whole idea of space, surface and texture could be integrated into a most unusual fabrication of seeing broad areas of the landscape without distortion. To that end, Theobald began shooting multiple images across a horizontal panorama using a telephoto lens. This enabled the subject to remain flat without the normal distortion of a wide-angle lens. Combining these images made it possible to retain a vast amount of surface detail and, yet, generate a composition that was natural to the scope of human vision.
Related Links:
- Photography for Fun and Profit
- Assembling Panoramic Photos: A Designer's Notebook (Designers Notebook)
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