The Legendary Panorama Ray

When I first started out on my career as an independent artist and began making costumes, I was blessed to meet an artist that would inspire me for the rest of my life.

Panorama Ray was a brilliant and highly creative photographer. He owned one of only a few remaining original panoramic cameras in the world and was doing cutting edge work. The camera, over 100 years old in 1996 was originally owned by his friend Fred Hess,

who photographed many famous people in Atlantic City in the 1920s and 1930s. The photo here pictures the 3 Stooges, among others. Let me know if you see anyone else you recognize.

Panorama Ray, as Cabbage Town and the Atlanta arts scene, came to know him, had developed a technique with the camera that had never been done before. He would direct his subject to move through the frame as the camera made its rotation. This would create the illusion that the person was actually moving or being multiplied through the photo. Holly Hollywood was one of his favorite subjects and of course, he loved all of the people of Cabbage Town, which he photographed often. In those photos, you can find a rare glimpse at the life of a rural culture that somehow found its home in the tiny town of Cabbage Town, inside the city limits of Atlanta, Ga. 

 

He also traveled to Egypt to photograph the pyramids, New York City’s Time Square, Paris and ??? among others, creating stunning and historic works of art.

Panorama Ray was good friends with Jimmy Carter. Here is a rare image of one of the first Habitat for Humanity builds. He also photographed numerous pictures of Atlanta and just before his passing, he donated all of them to the Carter Center.

I had the great honor of working with him and together we created some works of art that I will forever be proud of. It was this initial introduction to working with such a brilliant photographer and creating living characters that would encourage me to move on to make costuming a key form of art in my career forevermore.

Sometimes he hand-colored the photos, as seen in these.

Sadly, I only got to be close to him for about a year before he passed on too early for his age. Twenty years later, his legend has never been forgotten by me. And it is my intention to ensure that Atlanta remembers him always.