Mississippi River Panoramas

This was the week for shooting panoramas of the Mississippi River. Friends Bob and Claire Rogers are walking to the very tip of Illinois where the Ohio (left) and Mississippi rivers join at Fort Defiance. The Mississippi must be running slightly higher, because you can see that it is holding the Ohio back. Click on the photos to make them larger.

There are seven frames stitched together by Photoshop in this panorama. What’s amazing is that Bob and Claire were walking away from me when I swept the scene, so they appeared in two photos and different locations. The program was smart enough to know that there’s only one Bob and Claire in the world and not to duplicate them.

View from Trail of Tears

The overlook at the Trail of Tears State Park offers a beautiful view of the river. While we were there, we spotted a guy in a rowboat making his way downstream. The way his gear was packed, we figured his destination was New Orleans.

“If he lands in Cape,” I commented to my friends, “I wonder who is working the Huck Finn Beat now that I’m gone.”

This was made of five frames.

4 Replies to “Mississippi River Panoramas”

  1. Great shots…I always miss the river thanks for adding these. Like you I would not trade a bucket of Gulf water for two drops of river water.

  2. Before that new and “improved” overlook was built at Trail of Tears there was an easy way to bypass the old railing and climb down twenty or thirty feet to a rock outcropping at the very lip of the precipice that fell away toward the railroad tracks. I could sit there for half a day, watching the hawks and an occasional eagle navigate the air currents and the tows and pleasure craft navigate the river’s currents, while joining the bluffs on the west bank and the Shawnee Forest to the east brooding over it all. I can hardly count the frames my mind stored (way more than five) in recording those scenes. Thanks, Ken, for the panorama that marshaled a grand recall of those memories.

  3. @Rich: Nice memories, good writing Rich. Quite a spot.

    @Ken: I’d like to see Photoshop let you show us twice! We went back to the confluence for a long lunch and some private time, wonderful spot. Ky Lake for a day or two and a long bike ride down the Land Between The Lakes. Great visit. You are a very special tour guide! SE Missouri is a special place.

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