Panoramas

Behind the bright lights illuminating the speedway, a whole culture watches from the darkness. Some watch televisions, others climb atop their campers and motorhomes and see the race action first-hand.

Panoramic photo composite by Gary O'Brien - gobrien@charlotteobserver.com

In September 2008, ironworkers were erecting scaffolding to support concrete forms for the lowest level of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, just outside the curved wall of the Full Throttle Theatre.
Panoramic photo composite by GARY O'BRIEN - gobrien@charlotteobserver.com

A brief, fast-moving rain shower left a long-lasting double rainbow over the Charlotte uptown skyline on this sultry summer afternoon. GARY O'BRIEN - gobrien@charlotteobserver.com

Backing away from the Lunar Module, Neil Armstrong shot 11 frames on a specially modified Hasselblad camera, capturing the scene at Tranquility Base. Behind Armstrong, the sun, unfiltered by any atmosphere, causes lens flare in two of the frames. Near the LM, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr. unpacks a passive seismometer and a retroreflective array, two of the science experiments carried to the Moon by Apollo 11. NASA photos by Neil Armstrong, panoramic photo composite by GARY O'BRIEN - gobrien@charlotteobserver.com

On July 20, 1969 Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr. walked on the face of the moon. Their primary mission was to gather lunar rocks and soil, and take pictures to document the landing site. This panorama was compiled from one of the four panoramas they took during their time on the surface. In order to work in the harsh conditions of temperature extremes and vacuum, the astronauts used specially modified Hasselblad cameras.

The term sol is used by planetary astronomers to refer to the duration of a solar day on Mars. The Spirit rover has spent 1905 sols (1854 earth days) working on the Martian surface as of June 27, 2009. The panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took the hundreds of images combined into this 360-degree view, the "Husband Hill Summit" panorama. The images were acquired on Spirit's sols 583 to 586 (Aug. 24 to 27, 2005), shortly after the rover reached the crest of "Husband Hill" inside Mars' Gusev Crater. The panoramic camera shot 653 separate images in 6 different filters, encompassing the rover's deck and the full 360 degrees of surface rocks and soils visible. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell

At 6593 feet, Mt. LeConte is the third-highest peak in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It's one of the more remote sites for a mountaintop lodge anywhere in the Southeastern U.S. Panoramic Photo Composite by John Simmons - jsimmons@charlotteobserver.com

The only way up to the top of Mount LeConte and the LeConte Lodge is by foot. And the only way for the lodge to get supplies is through the efforts of Alan Householder and team of llamas three times every week. Householder loads large saddlebags on each animal with 60-75lbs of food, mail and all sorts of other necessities for lodge visitors and staff. The team then heads up the 6.5 mile Trillium Gap Trail through rain, fog, snow and the occasional black bear. But there's a treat for the llamas once they reach the lodge - a break from the hike, water and something they love, leftover pancakes from that morning's breakfast. After they rest behind the lodge dining room, Householder repacks the saddlebags with outgoing materials and they complete the 13-mile roundtrip journey back down the mountain.

A long-time tradition in the infield of NASCAR events is to fly flags showing support for drivers or car makes. The "Confederate Flag", a rectangular combination of the Army of Virginia battle flag colors with the Confederate Navy Jack is a common sight above the campers parked in racetrack infields. (Source: Wikipedia) May 18, 2007 file Panoramic Photo Composte by Gary O'Brien - gobrien@charlotteobserver.com