Panoramas in Photoshop CS3

I recently installed the new Adobe CS3 package on my Mac and have started to play around with some of the new great features such as the previously mentioned Fireworks CS3 slideshow option. Another great new feature is the Photomerge in Photoshop CS3 which among other things can be used to stitch adjacent photos together to stunning panoramas. It is quite amazing how well this works as the program blends the overlays very very well. Usually it is impossible to see where the photos have been stitched, and the main thing you have to worry about is to get the perspective right (by selecting Perspective, Cylindrical, Reposition etc.). Well, take a look at some of the panoramas I created with this new feature by clicking here and judge for yourself.

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New additions to my website: slideshows and publications

For quite a while I have been wanting to add picture slideshows to my website, but I couldn't find a suitable software solution. I was thus very happy when I recently installed Adobe Fireworks CS3 on my Mac and discovered the "Create slideshow" command. This piece of software is just excellent and it couldn't be more simple to make good looking slideshows for the web! This weekend I have thus added a couple of slideshows to my website on hiking and nature & wildlife photography on New Zealand.

This weekend I also organized the climbing articles I have published over the years. This was also something that I have wanted to do for quite a while, and the recent publication of my article on climbing in Red Rocks, Nevada finally gave me the kick in the butt to make the overview page. Click here to see the page where you can download all my articles in PDF format.

I had actually planned to go to Sweden to climb this weekend, but it seems like the Danish summer will not start this year and the last couple of days we have had a months worth of rain! At least it gave me a perfect excuse to stay inside and work on my website!

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Training for my next trip: Kayaking in Spitsbergen

To celebrate my 40th birthday in August, my wife Elvira has given me a trip to Spitsbergen (Svalbard) where we will be kayaking for a week at 7o° N latitude! I am pretty psyched by the prospect of kayaking in the icy waters among lots of interesting wildlife. On one side I also hope to see polar bears, but not too close to my kayak of course!

We both have some experience with kayaking and canoing, but thought that we should get to a higher level before engaging in such a wild trip.
This weekend we thus met with my climbing friend Martin Ploug, who is one of Denmark's highest accredited kayak instructors. One of the main purposes of the weekend endeavors was to enter and exit the kayak under all kind of conditions.
We were thus taught partner rescue and self rescue using a paddle float (which is what Martins demonstrates with Elvira watching on the picture on the right).
Most importantly, we also trained how to stay in the kayak whenever possible by either making quick moves with the paddle - or by the reputed kayak rolls.
Much to my surprise, I was able to make a 180° C to C roll on my second attempt. Finally, just before we stopped the training I tried to pull a 360° Eskimo roll - and succeeded! Wow - I could hardly believe my own eyes when I came to a stop on top of the water after rolling all the way under the kayak. Elvira shot a short video of Martin (in front) and myself (in the back) making Eskimo rolls, which you can download in iPod format by clicking here.
Very cool weekend - and now I cannot wait for the trip to Spitsbergen!

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