producing panoramas using a digital process called
stitching means that anyone with an eye for a scenic
vista—even with a basic digital camera—can pro-
duce a panoramic image with relative ease. Gone
are the days of using special cameras, tripods, and
large format negatives or creating complex montages
that required the services of an artist to air-brush the
seams. Gone too are the days where the process of
capturing and then reproducing a panorama took
many hours—the process now is almost instanta-
neous and available to all though, like any other
form of photography, the art of composition is still
the key to producing a memorable image.
MatthewButson
Seealso: Aerial Photography; Contact Printing;
Klett, Mark; Koudelka, Josef; Sudek, Josef; Traub,
Charles
Further Reading
Burleson, Clyde W., and E. Jessica Hickman.The Panora-
mic Photography of Eugene O. Goldbeck. Austin: Uni-
versity of Texas Press, 1986.
Coe, Brian.Cameras: From Daguerreotypes to Instant Pic-
tures. New York: Crown Publishers, 1978.
Fletcher, Stephen J. ‘‘A Longer View: Cirkut Photography
in Indiana since 1906.’’Traces of Indiana and Midwestern
History(Indiana Historical Society), vol. 3 (Winter
1991):18–31.
Hales, Peter B.Silver Cities: The Photography of American
Urbanization, 1839–1915. Philadelphia: Temple Univer-
sity Press, 1984.
Hyde, Ralph.Panoramania!: The Art and Entertainment of
the ‘‘All-Embracing’’ View. London: Trefoil Publica-
tions, 1988.
Meehan, Joseph.Panoramic Photography. New York: Am-
photo, 1990, 1991.
Muybridge, Eadweard, and Mark Klett. One City/Two
Visions: San Francisco Panoramas, 1878 and 1990. San
Francisco: Bedford Arts, Publishers, 1990.
The Panoramic Image. Exhibition catalogue. Southampton:
John Hansard Gallery, The University, 1981.
Panoramic Photography: Grey Art Gallery & Study Center,
New York. New York: The Gallery, 1977.
‘‘Panoramic Photography.’’The Photo-Miniature vol. 7
(October 1905): 1–12.
Pearce, Joseph N. ‘‘Panoramic Photography.’’The Camera
vol. 8 (October 1904): 381–389.
Thomas, W. ‘‘Some Practical Notes.’’The Amateur Photo-
graphervol. 32 (October 5, 1900): 272–274.
MARTIN PARR
British
Martin Parr came to prominence in the early 1980s
documenting and reflecting the diversity of British
society. He has been fortunate to see his career
incorporate various disciplines and practices within
photography. As a member of Magnum Photos, he
is classified as a photojournalist though his work has
been exhibited widely throughout the world and
published as photo essays in numerous books. As
his influence has grown, his subject matter has broa-
dened to include the idiosyncrasies seen worldwide
within society and culture.
Born in 1952 in Surrey, the heart of suburban,
southern England, Parr’s photographic education
took place in the northern, industrialized town of
Manchester in the early 1970s. Differences in class
and the definitions and substance of ‘‘Englishness’’
wouldbecomeanearlyandimportantthemewithin
his work. Influenced by the documentary tradition, he
also placed the importance of humor firmly within his
earliest work. For his graduation show in 1973,Home
Sweet Home, he created a stylized idea of an English
sitting room, his photographs displayed in picture
frames normally used for family snaps. Staying in the
North, Parr worked on several projects, documenting
aspects of working class life, supplementing his income
by teaching.Bad Weatherpublished in 1982 was his
first work to reach a wider audience. Shot over seven
years, mostly with an underwater camera, the book of
black and white photographs portrays a cold, wet,
windswept Britain. Subject matter and humor com-
bine visually through Parr’s diligent editing.
The Last Resortin 1986 was the book that truly
launched his career and reputation. A reportage on a
working class, seaside town long after its glory days
of the late nineteenth century, Parr by now had
switched to color using medium format cameras,
heightening the clarity and detail of his photography.
The work is severe in its outlook showing dirt and
PARR, MARTIN