TROY Casswell is a Gold Coast structural
engineer who taught himself to merge photographs while playing around with some
landscapes he took during a trip to Great Keppel Island 10 years ago.
“I found that I could increase the resolution of
an image by stitching photos together and increase the field of view,” he
says.“You just get more detail and a different perspective.”
Casswell’s first camera was a four-megapixel point-and-shoot by Olympus. He loved it, but soon moved on to SLRs, and now has an impressive array of gadgets that help create remarkable images on sea, land and sky.
His latest is an Astro-tracker, which follows the movement of the stars for night-sky panoramas.
It only works if aligned correctly to the south celestial pole. If you want to annoy Casswell, bump the Astro-tracker.
“I’ve done it myself a few times; you have to start again with the calibrating, it’s frustrating.”
He says patience is required for this hobby, but it is nice to be out in nature with a few beers and his gadgets.
“I’ve always been analytical and a bit arty as well.”
Casswell used to indulge his arty side by doing pottery, though he admits the best bits were not creating the vases and other gifts, but rather making glazes with chemicals and firing up the kiln.
“I used to love watching the flames coming out of the top — it was pretty cool.”
