Samsung Galaxy S8 – Streaming thru America

On a hot and lazy weekend afternoon, a dip in Madeira’s community pool seemed like a winning idea to escape the heat, but to my surprise (and delight), no one else was there to take advantage of the water. Having the pool to myself was a blessing, if only the oncoming clouds that were assembling could keep their distance.

“You’re welcome to join me,” I offered Leah earlier. However, Leah had settled for the comforts of air conditioning and a Kindle moment.

“Y’know, it’s supposed to rain,” she forecasted.

“But it’s a swimming pool, and wet is wet,” I theorized with authority.

The expectation of rain is ever-present during Florida summers, and today was no exception. In the distance, despite the stillness of the air, the clear sky was yielding to a dark mass creeping in my direction and threatening to blanket the sun.

I floated on the water–as if in a trance–listening to the foreboding rumble, and watching the evolving cauliflower clouds occasionally glow with the flickering incandescence of faraway lightning.

In no time, the war clouds were upon me, but the sun would not surrender gently.

I cursed my misfortune for not having my camera with me as the billowing thunderhead gradually edged out the sun–it’s luminescence taking on an eerie beauty.

However, my Samsung Galaxy was with me and it would have to suffice.

While it wasn’t my first choice for resolution, the camera phone adeptly managed to capture the nuance of color radiating beyond concealment…

until the sun was vanquished and the rainbow had retreated.

Once I managed to locate and retrieve the files uploaded to Google cloud storage, the captured skyscapes were no longer obscured by clouds.

Every so often, when visiting many of the iconic vistas across America, I’d struggle to capture the overwhelming awesomeness of the landscape around me.

Grand Canyon NP — *South Rim, Grand Canyon National Park*

Framing the image through my viewfinder frequently posed a tremendous challenge to adequately represent the expansive angle of the surrounding landscape.

That’s when I knew it was time to put down my Lumix and pick up my phone.

Mount Victoria, Banff NP — *Lake Louise, Banff National Park*

By turning to the panorama feature of my Samsung Galaxy S8,

*Johnson Ridge, Mt. St. Helens National Monument*

I found a tool that brought me closer to recording longer distances.

Zabriskie Point, Death Valley NP — *Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park*

By instantly and seamlessly stitching successive shots with integrated photo-manipulation software,

Iceberg Pass, Rocky Mountain NP — *Iceberg Pass, Rocky Mountain National Park*

I found another way to express the world around me.

Shenandoah Valley — *Blue Ridge Mountains, NC*

Panoramas provide an opportunity to share multiple perspectives simultaneously,

gathering as wide an angle as the scene allows–

Watermark Vista, Capital Reef NP — *Watermark Vista, Capital Reef National Park*

–eliminating the frame lines and expanding the aspect ratio to maximum effect.

When used appropriately,

High Bluff, Redwoods NP — *High Bluff, Redwoods National Park*

whether in color…

Great Smoky Mountains NP — *atop Clingmans Dome, Great Smoky Mountains National Park*

or black and white…

Mount Rushmore National Monument — *Mt. Rushmore National Monument*

there is no better way to establish a field of infinite view without sacrificing the integrity of the image.

Badlands NP panorama — *Badlands National Park*

Conversely,

Bald Butte, Cypress Hills PP — *Bald Butte, Cypress Hills Provincial Park, Saskatchewan*

a case can be made for showcasing the apparent aberrations and distortions that can arise from difficulty interpolating the multiple parallax points across a scene,