Now that I’m returning to some semblance of normalcy, I want to revisit my attempts to get ultra-wide panoramic shots out of my Rolleiflex Automat MX medium format camera. I was not satisfied with my previous attempt, even though it did turn into a halfway decent blog post.
That being said, I really want to capture the Hamilton College Chapel – as well as the adjacent South Dormitory – in an ultrawide shot. And since I had business on campus a few weeks ago … I packed the Rollei and some film, and took my shot at the shot.
Part of the problem I initially underwent with this Buena Vista Panorama project was that I trusted the camera to simply turn on the pivot point and everything would be perfect in post-production. Nope. I didn’t factor that the panorama shooting locales would be on hills or inclines, causing my photos to have some godawful roller-coaster twists. Not good. No. No.
So this time, I shot with two rolls of film – the pack of Fuji Velvia 100 that was already in the Rollei (after this is used, I’m now done to ONE final roll of this precious product), and a pack of Fuji Velvia 50 that I found in the camera bag. Waste not, want not, amirite?
So I took the shots … sent the two rolls off to my slide film processing lab of choice, The Darkroom in San Francisco, and waited for the results.
The developed images appeared in my online account last Thursday night, and I stitched together each set. Here’s the Fuji Velvia 100 set.
Okay. We’ve got South Dormitory AND the Chapel, although the ground does still have a bit of warp to it. And although the vertical frame lines aren’t as noticeable as they were in my 2023 series … I can still see them, especially in the blue sky.
Let’s see what the Velvia 50 roll brings me.
Again, you can see the frame lines, especially between the bench and South Dormitory, but this time the buildings and trees actually look more natural and not like they’re emulating a bell tower in Pisa.
Still, I feel more confident on this Buena Vista Panorama series, and maybe … just maybe … I’m closer to the incredible capture that will make this experiment totally worthwhile.
Carissima, brothers and sisters.
Chuck The Writer 
so some vignetting going on and the unavoidable variance in exposure-to-shooting-angle problem. This is why ‘single frame’ panorama shots work better. But what do I know? I don’t even have a camera.
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