Framed Skyline Panoramas

Someone once wrote that great cities have great skylines. Recognizable by prominent buildings and other structures the worlds great city skylines can be seen in many different panoramic photographs.

One example is the Sydney Opera house in Sydney, Australia. The winged design that juts toward the sky is quite distinctive and can be recognized at a glance. The design is an excellent example of expressionist architecture that became popular during the twentieth century. The opera house has served as a venue for thousands of culture events and world class musical performances.

The age of the skyscraper is well documented in many skyline panoramas and one spectacular example is the Sears Tower in my home town of Chicago. Visible for miles from any direction, the tower anchors one of the worlds great skylines. Still one of the tallest manmade structures in world, the Sears Tower rises over fifteen hundred feet above the downtown area known as the Loop.

As home of the worlds first skyscraper, Chicago features many distinctive and historic buildings that tell the story of the how the city has grown and developed. Further up fabled Michigan Avenue is the fourth tallest building in North America, the Hancock Building.

Combined with the distinctive red of the CNA Building, the sweeping curves of Lake Point Tower and the venerable Prudential Building, these two great buildings create one of the most beautiful and recognizable skylines in the world. Lake Michigan and the restored Navy Pier are often included as the foreground of the Chicago skyline adding a mirror like quality to this popular panorama.

For many people, New York City is still the center of the architectural universe. The storied Flatiron Building at the corner of Broadway and Twenty Third Street was the first skyscraper built in New York. The Twentieth Century saw an explosion of high rise building with cities trying to outdo each other. As a result, New York City, like Chicago, features one of the most recognizable skylines in the world. From the strength of the Empire State Building to the art deco grace of the Chrysler Builder, the New York skyline is a popular subject for many skyline panoramas.

The former World Trade Center buildings once anchored the Manhattan skyline. There are plans to replace the towers with the Freedom Tower that is expected to exceed the height of the Sears Tower in Chicago.

Europe is home to many beautiful skylines that can be found as subjects of skyline panoramas. London has Westminster Palace and the tower of Big Ben, the House of Commons and Tower Bridge. London is also home to several very recognizable features such as the Canary Wharf and the Lloyds of London headquarters.

No skyline panorama of the great city of Paris, France would be complete without including the Eiffel Tower. The tower was built in eighteen eighty nine for the Worlds Fair Universelle Exposition. The tower was rumored to be scheduled for demolition some years after the exposition but the City of Paris gained controlled of the structure saving it from the scrap heap. Today the tower is one of the most visited and recognizable landmarks in the world having received well over two hundred million visitors.

Mother Nature has a way of lending her delicate touch to panoramic photographs. Panoramic photos take great advantage of manmade lighting but the availability of nature can serve to enhance greatly the impact and beauty of a panorama. A setting sun or the darkest of midnights can completely change the look and feel of a panorama. Combined with the skill of the photographer skyline panoramas can be unique and special.