Panorama Shots		Link to collection of Panamerican Peaks panorama shots. This page features some panorama shots. These pictures are stitched together from 8-10 individual photos. I have been using the following cameras to take these photos: The Olympus D-550 Zoom camera (before 2006), the Canon PowerShot A540 (since July 2006), the Olympus SW 790 camera (since 2007) and the Panasonic Lumix TS2 (since 2010). Most modern cameras now support Panorama mode, which eases both the visual aligning of segments when taking the pictures as well as the stitching in Software later on. The stitching is supported by several photo processing software packages, for example the Camedia software shipping with the Olympus camera. I achieved better results with the Digital Image Suite 10 product from Microsoft. In 2010 I switched to DoubleTake on the Mac, which produces the best results of any package I have used. After the stitching I have post-processed some of the pictures to eliminate white areas on the top or bottom or to auto-fill clipped areas of the sky. Click on the images below for the respective full resolution picture (approx. 8000*1000 pixel, 1.5 MB).
Mt. St. Helens, Washington August11, 2011		During our Oregon vacation Jill and I visited the Mt. St. Helens National Monument in bordering Washington State. From the "Windy Ridge" parking lot a short trail leads up to a viewpoint overlooking the impacted North Side of Mt. St. Helens and Spirit Lake below.
Machu Picchu, Peru September 27, 2008		After four days on the Inca Trail we reached Intipunku, or 'Sun Gate', the first time you get to see Machu Picchu. And it is a magnificent sight indeed.
Harney Peak, Black Hills, South Dakota August 30, 2008		On Labor Day weekend in 2008 we flew out to Rapid City in South Dakota and spent three days in the Black Hills National Forest. In addition to visiting large caves and the Devil's Tower in Wyoming, we also did a half day hike up to Harney Peak with it's fire fighting observation tower. The view on this crystal clear day from the 7250 ft high peak was nothing short of spectacular.
Hochkogel, Salzburg, Austria July 10, 2008		The best day of my July 2008 week in Austria brought ideal conditions for hiking in the mountains of the "Tennengebirge" just South of Salzburg. The picture shows both my dad and my son. After we had climbed this mountain we had the summit plateau all to ourselves and spend a leisure 45 minutes lounging barefoot on the grass of the summit plateau enjoying the spectacular views and dropoffs to the West.
Gullfoss Waterfall, Iceland July 5, 2008		Day 7 of our Iceland trip. Finally we are blessed with a sunny day in Iceland after a week of rain, wind, and low-hanging clouds. The highlight of this last day of our Iceland trip was our visit to Gullfoss, the "Golden Waterfall". 150 tons of water per second, falling over two sets of 15-25m high cliffs - a spectacular site indeed!
Breidarlon Glacier, Iceland July 4, 2008		Day 6 of our Iceland trip. Low-hanging clouds had covered the large inland glaciers earlier in the day at Jokulsarlon, but here at Breidarlon Glacier we were able to see the glacier, mountain and glacier lake.
Hallgrimskirkja, Reykjavik, Iceland June 28, 2008		Day 1 of our Iceland trip. The top of the tallest structure in all of Iceland, the famous Hallgrimskirkja, offers a spectacular city panorama.
San Cristobal Fort, Puerto Rico May 23, 2008		Memorial Day Weekend 2008. We have just arrived in San Juan after flying from Fort Lauderdale on Friday afternoon. Rainclouds in the mountains, but sunshine on the Coast illuminates this 360 panorama from the fort of San Cristobal.
Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania October 30, 2007		The second destination of our 5 days Safari in Tanzania was Ngorongoro Crater. After driving up through lush forest from the Rift Valley you suddenly turn around a corner and are greeted with this spectacular view down into the crater. Our lodge where we stayed the next two days is on the far right: The Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge which offered us fantastic sunset views both evenings.
E Unoto Lodge, Tanzania October 29, 2007		After climbing Kilimanjaro we went for 5 days of Safari in Tanzania. On Day 1 we stayed at a luxury resort called E Unoto near Lake Manyara in trhe East African Rift Valley. On a nature hike to a waterfall near the lodge we looked back at this beautiful panorama of the lodge and its lake.
Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania October 27, 2007		When we reached the crater rim on Kilimanjaro at Stella Point at an altitude of 5725m the sun had just come up behind Mawenzi, the 5150m high sister peak to Uhuru Peak, which stands at 5895m as the highest point of Africa. One can see almost 5000m down to the plains of Tanzania. We continued on the left end of the ridge to Uhuru Peak (next to the full moon). Unfortunately the cold wind and lack of oxygen made it difficult to get perfectly aligning panorama shots. Check out the full The trip report.
Karanga Valley, Kilimanjaro October 26, 2007		Sunrise at our second highest camp on Kilimanjaro - Karanga Valley - one day prior to our summit bid. I stepped up onto a garage size boulder to get this nice view of our campground very early in the morning. The mountain in the background is Mt. Meru, ca. 40 km in the distance.
CN Tower, Toronto, Ontario, CA September 29, 2007		This is the view from the tower with the highest public observation deck in the world: The CN Tower in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. While visiting Toronto for a family wedding we had a few hours on a clear day in late September 2007 which was rewarded with this spectacular view from the Sky Pod some 447m above the city.
Sausteigen, Zell am See, Austria August 1, 2007		On a clear day you can see many mountain peaks from this summit called Sausteigen near Saalfelden and Zell am See in Austria. We had combined the hike for this view with a nice toboggan ride down the mountain on this exceptionally clear first day of August in 2007.
Griesskogel, Hohe Tauern NP, Austria July 26, 2007		Above the town of Kaprun several dams have been built for man-made lakes to generate electricity. Tourists can take a bus up to the top lake and start hikes in various directions. For this panorama we climbed about 3500 ft on a sunny day in July. Most of the high mountains in the Hohe Tauern National Park can be seen in this picture, including the Wiesbachhorn, Grossglockner and Grossvenediger.
Bockhartsee, Gasteinertal, Austria July 25, 2007		The end of the Gasteinertal valley is a beautiful landscape surrounded by 3000m peaks with lush green meadows and rivers of melt water. This 270 degree view greets the visitor of the Bockhartsee-Huette (Alpine Hut).
Berchtesgadener Alps, Bavaria July 24, 2007		In the South-East corner of Germany is the little town of Berchtesgaden. It is surrounded by beautiful mountains as can be seen from the top of the Schneibstein on the German-Austrian border. We climbed about 4000 ft on the first clear day of our 2 week vacation in Germany in July 2007.
City of Salzburg, Austria July 22, 2007		Humboldt is said to have exclaimed that Salzburg is one of the three most beautiful cities in the world. He stood nearby this place on the Moenchsberg and looked at the panorama of Salzburg city, inlcuding the dome and the fortress.
Empire State Building, New York City May 13, 2007		Mothers Day brought a beautiful clear day to New York City. This Manhattan panorama was shot from the viewing platform on top of the Empire State Building.
Loxahatchee State Park, Florida January 20, 2007		Less than 10 miles from my home in Wellington is the Loxahatchee State park. It's a big swamp SouthEast of Lake Okeechobee and West of the Boynton Beach area. There is a 5 mile canoe trail from the levee which makes for a nice afternoon outing on the Kayak. This panorama was shot from a little platform in the middle of the trail.
Acadia National Park, Maine October 8, 2006		Hiking in Acadia National Park during fall season on a sunny day - that's what we got to enjoy in October 2006. One of the many peaks on Mount Desert Island in Maine at the Northeast corner of the U.S. is Bald Peak, which offers a sweeping panorama of the rest of the island and the Atlantic Ocean to the South.
Stone Mountain Top, Georgia September 24, 2006		After visiting the world's largest aquarium in Atlanta on Saturday we drove out to Georgia's Stone Mountain, the world's largest granite rock. Luckily there was a break in the rain long enough for us to enjoy the view from the top and make it down safely on the not-so-slippery-when-dry rock. Click on the picture for a hi-res version of the full image.
Mountain Panorama, Austria July 9, 2006		A gray July morning turned into a blue sky above and white clouds below experience after a 4000 ft climb with Mountainbikes up to a dam in the Austrian mountains near Zell am See. Click on the picture for a hi-res version of the full image (only if you have a fast connection: 18688 * 2330 pixel = 2.7MB file). See also a recent trip report for details of the ride and more pictures.
Wellington, South Florida December 3, 2005		My motor-powered harness lifted me in my hangglider up to about 5000 ft over the community of Wellington for this view. Taking a panorama while in flight is tricky. Click on the picture for more details (1.7MB file). You can see the levee in both directions separating the Loxahatchee swamp in the South-West from the Wellington farms in the North-East. See also a recent flight report for details and more pictures.
Lone Pine Lake High Sierra, California September 5, 2005		I tried climbing 14.494 ft from sealevel in Florida to the summit of Mt. Whitney in California. Unfortunately I failed to obtain the much coveted panorama from the summit due to altitude sickness. During my recovery on the way down I rested at the picturesque waters of Lone Pine Lake. Check the trip report for details. For pictures from the Mt. Whitney summit, see this Webshots album.
Grossvenediger Summit Hohe Tauern, Austria July 28, 2005		I climbed about 9000 ft in a single day for this panorama, to the summit of the Grossvenediger, the 3rd highest peak in Austria. It was a glorious day with ideal conditions, rarely seen on this 12,054 ft (3,674 m) peak with massive glaciers. I sat in shorts and T-shirt on the summit for 1 hour enjoying this view! Standing on a precarious spot on a cone of snow about 10ft higher than the base of the summit cross, I turned very carefully for the individual pictures, as stepping more than 1 ft to the side would have meant plunging into the void. Check the trip report for details.
Skiing in Alta Utah February 21, 2005		A 4 day skiing weekend in February 2005 brought lots of powder snow and mostly snowy, but occasionally sunny weather. I got to take this panorama after a short traverse on a high ridge near 11,000 ft overlooking the Alta ski area. The Salt Lake City basin is 6,000 ft below to the North-West. Check the trip report for details.
Rooftop of my home Wellington, Florida Jan 21, 2005		I only needed to climb 20 ft for this panorama, but with a ladder on the roof of my home in Wellington, Florida. The picture shows the man-made lakes in our Grand Isles community, as well as the neighbour's homes. Our neighbour to the West is playing baseball with his son (next to our hammock between the palm trees), while my son is walking down the SouthEast corner of the roof. I did not post-process the stitched picture, thus leaving the wide angle distortions clearly visible at the bottom of the composite.
Maplewood State Park Minnesota Jan 15, 2005		The Maplewood State Park is located about 50 miles SouthEast of Fargo along Highway 94 to Minneapolis. It is a beautiful recreational area with lakes, forest and hills. It attracts visitors all year around, for swimming, boating and hiking in the summer, as well as for cross country skiing in the winter. I hiked up to an outlook maybe 300ft for this winter sunset panorama. Taking the individual shots without gloves was very cold. (This is only a 270 degree panorama.)
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