Harvard Forest: “Nichewaug Panorama” Photographic Mural Project

“Nichewaug Panorama” Hi-resolution panoramic stiched image by Roberto Mighty, 2021

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Nia Holly, Roberto Mighty, Clarisse Hart. Photo by Shawn Read

The Story Behind the Mural

(See panoramic image above) In the spring of 2021, Clarisse Hart, Harvard Forest Director of Outreach & Education, asked me to create a mural (24 feet wide by 8 feet high) for a wall in Harvard’s Fisher Museum of Forestry in Petersham, Massachusetts.

The theme of the photo involved Harvard Forest’s historic and current relationship with the Indigenous Nipmuc Native Americans, original inhabitants of the Central Massachusetts Plateau since before First Contact and colonial settlement. Nia Holley, a contemporary member of the tribe, would also be deeply involved in the visioning for this project. My job was to artistically and technically create the image using a high-resolution camera and lens, multiple vertical photographs, and post-photography stitching using software in my studio.

The project took several weeks from conception to completion, and also involved expert design specifications and printing by Vermont-based design company Shadows & Light, and the Wilmington-based printing company Advanced Imaging. They did an excellent job of printing and mounting the piece, still on display at the museum since 2021.

Roberto at work, early morning, on the river. Note the mosquito net over my head! Photo by Clarisse Hart

PROJECT SPECIFICATIONS

PHOTO FILE: max resolution, full frame, stitched panorama based on PORTRAIT camera orientation (to obtain max resolution)

COLOR: Full color

MIN. CAMERA RESOLUTION: 45mp Full Frame

ASPECT RATIO of final file: 1:3 (8ft x 24ft)

PRINT RESOLUTION: approximately 100 pixels per inch (camera resolution not up-sampled)

DEPTH of FIELD: sharp throughout

TIME OF DAY: Sunrise and early morning, ground fog or special light if possible

TIME OF SEASON: leafing time

AESTHETIC CONSIDERATION: no large, prominent foreground objects