Gigapixel photography is the way to go for this DPReview reader

Community member John Freeman, known as john80504 in the forums, loves peering into the distance at intricate landscapes, capturing them at the highest resolution possible, then framing multiple shots on a wall to admire. Some of his murals are as large as 15 feet by 50 feet, showcasing wide mountain ranges and vast river valleys.

According to John, he’s the only person in the world who teaches a workshop on Gigapixel Photography, the art of taking dozens or even hundreds of photos and stitching them together into a single image with a resolution that measures in the thousands of megapixels.

Editor’s note: because of the nature of the gigapixel images Freeman creates, we don’t have a way to post the full-resolution versions to our site in a way that would let you sensibly view them. Where possible, we’ll provide a link to his website that lets you experience them in all their glory.

Our ‘What’s in your bag?’ community spotlight series features readers sharing their favorite gear and photography, including from past DPReview collaborators. See below for what John has to share.

Spruce Tree House, Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado.
Canon EOS R5 | 600mm | F11 | 1/640 sec | ISO 400 | 2651 imagesJohn Freeman

Meet John Freeman

Home base: Longmont, Colorado, USA

Photography has been a lifelong pursuit for John, one that has evolved significantly over the decades. It eventually led him to a highly specialized niche that combines technical precision with artistic vision.

“For more than 58 years, starting at age 13, photography has been a central part of my life. My parents gave me a Kodak Brownie camera for Christmas the year I was in 8th grade. Over that time, I’ve explored many different genres and techniques, but few have challenged and rewarded me as much as gigapixel panoramic wall mural photography. My gigapixel photos are among the largest, highest resolution Fine Art Wall Mural Photos available on the internet.”

That specialization is gigapixel panoramic photography, a field he has spent more than a decade refining and pushing further with advanced techniques.

“When I first started doing gigapixel photos in 2011, I entered a niche market. Gigapixel photography is the process of capturing hundreds – or sometimes thousands – of individual photographs and stitching them together into a single seamless image. Over the past 10 years I have been doing focus bracketing/stacking of the individual images that are stitched into the final image. Adding focus bracketing/stacking has been the single most important skill that has improved my work.”

What’s in John’s bag

John Freeman’s camera bagJohn Freeman

Favorite camera: Canon EOS R5 Mark II, though he still carries a Mark I for nostalgia.

“For the past five years, my main camera has been a Canon EOS R5, but before a trip to New Zealand this past April, I added a Canon EOS R5 Mark II to my bag. It has quickly become my favorite. I especially appreciate that it stores focus-bracketed images at 14-bit resolution rather than 12-bit, like the original R5, and that it captures focus-bracketed sequences much faster, which is a big advantage when photographing large landscapes. Most of the time, you’ll find my Canon RF 100-400mm F5.6-8 IS USM mounted on the camera.”

Lenses used across all cameras:

• Canon RF 100-400mm F5.6-8 IS USM
• Canon RF 28mm F2.8 STM
• Rokinon 14mm F2.8

Palouse Falls, LaCrosse, Washington.
Canon EOS R5 | Canon 100-400mm | 300mm | F11 | 1/60 sec | ISO 400 | 5133 imagesJohn Freeman

Any experienced photographer is going to have a set of gear that works well together and is ready to go at a moment’s notice. Apart from the cameras and lenses above, here’s John’s other interesting gear he takes with him on trips into the mountains.

Support gear: “For panoramic photography, I typically carry a Nodal Ninja M2 manual nodal head mounted to a SLIK carbon fiber tripod with a Really Right Stuff leveler, along with a Vello Wireless ShutterBoss remote shutter release to minimize camera shake. For longer hikes, I also pack granola bars, a CamelBak water bladder and a phone running the PhotoPills app for planning.”

Camera bags: “For many years, I used a Tamrac Expedition 9x backpack, which had plenty of room for all my gear but became too heavy for long hikes. Last fall I switched to a lightweight Mosiso backpack that’s just big enough for my camera, three lenses and the Nodal Ninja. It also has a side pocket for my tripod, although that part could be better.”

What are some great locations for super high-res shots?

Frozen In Time – Dream Lake, RMNP.
Canon EOS R5 | Canon EF 100-400mm f4.0-5.6 | 300mm | F11 | 1/100 sec | ISO 400 | 7090 imagesJohn Freeman

When John goes to a location, one of his goals is to shoot the largest, highest-resolution photo ever taken there – not just by him, but by anyone else.

“One of my most unique and difficult shoots was one I did in February 2026 of the frozen waves that occur in winter at Dream Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. The frozen ice waves are an unbelievable wintertime phenomenon that is caused by freezing temperatures and strong, dry winds. It is called sublimation, the process in which solid ice changes directly into a gas without becoming a liquid first. The result is a 4.63 gigapixel focus-stacked, stitched image made up of 7090 individual focus-bracketed images. This yielded 225 focus stacked sets in a 9 row by 25 column array.”

While Dream Lake stands out as one of his most technically demanding projects, John is always planning his next destination in search of another record-breaking panorama. Earlier this year, that pursuit took him to New Zealand.

“My wife and I just returned from a second honeymoon trip, a 27-night camper-van tour of New Zealand, in April, 2026. During the trip, we visited both the North & South Islands. While not every photo met my 1 gigapixel requirement, I did manage to capture numerous photos of some of the most beautiful areas of New Zealand.”

Techniques that captured that perfect gigapixel shot

Lake Matheson Reflections – New Zealand.
Canon EOS R5 II | Canon RF 100-400mm F5.6-8 IS USM | 300mm | F11 | 1/125 sec | ISO 100 | 1790 imagesJohn Freeman

“Even after decades behind the camera, I still find myself excited by the challenges and possibilities of gigapixel photography. One of my current projects is what I call Virtual Rocky Mountain National Park – a long-term effort to create immersive panoramic experiences throughout the park and to preserve these remarkable landscapes in extraordinary detail. This virtual tour of RMNP is free to the public to view and enjoy.

Projects like Virtual Rocky Mountain National Park have also pushed John to refine the technical side of his craft. One of the biggest hurdles comes when photographing scenes with an extreme range of light.

“One of the biggest challenges in gigapixel photography is dealing with scenes that contain both extremely bright and extremely dark areas. Unlike traditional photography, where HDR techniques can often solve these problems, focus stacking and HDR do not work together because the camera cannot perform both focus and exposure bracketing simultaneously. To overcome this challenge, I rely heavily on a technique called Expose To The Right (ETTR). This approach has become an essential part of my workflow, particularly when photographing complex landscapes that contain bright skies, deep shadows, waterfalls, and other high-contrast elements.”

John’s advice for photographers

Mt. Rushmore Sunrise, South Dakota.
Canon EOS R5 | 300mm | F11 | 1/5 sec | ISO 125 | 85 imagesJohn Freeman

“I always tell my workshop students, don’t be afraid to make mistakes, just make sure that you learn from your mistakes and avoid them next time.”

John really enjoyed participating in this spotlight article and would love to hear what you think of his photography and to answer any of your questions in the comments below.

You can check out John’s other work at abbascreationsphotography.com.

Editor’s note: This article continues a series, ‘What’s in your bag?’, highlighting DPReview community members, their photography and the gear they depend on. Would you like your photography to be featured in a future installment? Tell us a bit about yourself by filling out this form.