Players Appearing Twice in a Panoramic Photo - Tell Me about the Camera

[Jobu]

In some vintage panoramic photos you will see the same player(s) twice, once at each side of the team. Here three guys, including Oakes and Camnitz, managed to bookend the photo:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...team_photo.jpg

This clearly involved a mad dash around the photographer. I am curious about the camera technology that would make this mad dash work --- can anyone explain to me how these cameras worked?

Given the crisp images it seems like the shutter speed was pretty fast otherwise I would think some players would be a little blurry because of subtle movements. But, if it was a pretty fast exposure I don't know how the players would have time to make the run to the other end.

I am looking forward to your input, thanks!

[mcgwirecom]

I was at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore for the final game in 1991. They set up a camera on the pitchers mound and had the Orioles (past and present) stand in a circle around the camera. The camera was on a device that would spin it around 360 degrees. I'm guessing it was the same thing back then. Maybe just done by hand with the shutter open.

[smotan_02]

Its a series of three or four pictures that the cameraman meticulously cuts together in post-production. If you look at the photo posted above, you can see the "natural" spaces between every 3-4 players. The photographer set them up in a way that would allow him to piece it together using the immobile background as a guide.

We took one of these at West Point in 2002. The photographer did exactly what I explained above and told us all to try and smile the same way each time. Imagine how well that went with nearly 1000 anxious cadets. We did have 3-4 cadets sprint behind the bleachers from one side to the other and ended up in the photo twice.

[Brian Van Horn]

Bryan,

Nice picture of the Pittsburgh Rebels!

[drcy]

My dad told me that when he was a kid (1940s), if snuck around the other side you could get in the class photo twice.

As mentioned, in the real old panoramas, they would actually be side by side photos. In mid 1800s photos you can clearly see the three side by side panels.

[steve B]

There were also special panoramic cameras. Some used what must have been interesting lenses, some rotated on a stand, and others used a pivoting lens.
http://www.vintagephoto.tv/no1panoram.shtml

I'd imagine if the photographer was using the pivoting lens type it would be pretty easy to run around to the opposite side.

[bobw]

Ty Cobb made the mad dash from one side to the other in the 1914 Tiger panoramic

[Jobu]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Great link Steve. Once again, Net54 nailed the answer to an obscure question.