A love letter to panoramic film cameras


Panoramic film photos have been an obsession of mine for several years. I love the way they capture the moment. There's a certain cinematic beauty in everything that they share about a scene. My first Pano camera was a Wide-lux and I took it everywhere with me.

There's a beautiful simplicity with the Wide-lux, there's no focusing to worry about and only 3 options for your shutter speed. With nearly 180 degrees in the field of view, one of the hardest parts of shooting this camera, is making sure your fingers don't end up on the edges of the frame.



I took this photo on a foggy February day, it wasn't where I had planned to go but was where I ended up. This was the first panoramic print I had ever made, it's 4 ft wide and hangs in the entry way of our home. This photo marks a change in my life, it was the first day I ever got to meet Cassie.

Unbeknownst to us, we’d get married here 3 years later.



The Wide-lux traveled with us everywhere we went. From a creek in Arkansas, to a summer vacation at the beach, I love how it captures a scene. You may notice that Cassie is often the subject in front of my camera.



One thing about the Wide-lux is that it’s unrefined, there’s no way to focus. One camera that I’ve always coveted was the Hasselblad Xpan. It’s a beautiful camera that takes some breathtaking pano shots. Cassie got it for me as a wedding gift. My first real time taking the Xpan out to use was a few weeks later on our Honeymoon trip to Italy.


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St. Mark’s Square in Venice is best seen at sunrise before it fills with tourists. I saw this composition and was waiting for several minutes for someone to enter the frame when I noticed a lady jogging around the square, I only managed to take this one frame before she was out of position.



One of our stops during our honeymoon was Cinque Terre, and it’s amazing. We made sure to stop and grab gelato at least once a day, but usually more. At the edge of Vernazza, the town we were staying in, there was a peir where we often sat to eat said gelato and watch the sun go down, and the boats slowly return to the bay.



This photo hangs next to my desk in our office, it’s from a small mountain town called Orvieto that we got to stay in for a night on our way up to Cinque Terre.

This town was one of our favorite stops during our honeymoon. The city felt so romantic and intimate.



Here’s we are at some of our favorite spots along the Oregon Coast from a trip we took earlier this year.



Cape Kiwanda, Oregon



Even though you’re seeing snow, these pictures are from this summer. The day before a wedding in Estes Park, I set out to explore some more of Rocky Mountain National Park.



From Allison and Wesley’s backyard wedding, we have started bringing the Xpan to more weddings, because I’m obsessed with how well it can tell a story in a single image. Panoramic photos can capture so many loved ones in one frame.



Portland is such a cool city, and they had one of the best food truck games I’ve ever seen.


Michael Cardwell1 Comment