Slideshow: Photographer Seeks Resolution

Crisscrossing America taking giant, ultra-high-resolution photographs of cities and landmarks, retired Reagan-era Star Wars physicist Graham Flint has custom-built a camera that captures gigapixels. By Leander Kahney.
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Here's the couple in the left of the photograph. Return to the original shot, and it's hard to believe there's anyone in the picture at all.Courtesy of Graham Flint

See related story: Photographer Seeks Resolution

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Adam Tow
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Crop further -- to just 7 percent of the original -- and you can see someone sitting on top of the nearest pier.

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Courtesy of

Adam Tow
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Retired physicist Graham Flint and his wife, Catherine Aves, pose with the custom-built high-resolution camera.

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One of the images Flint captured with his gigapixel camera is of Bixby Bridge on California's Big Sur coastline.

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Another photograph taken with Flint's custom high-resolution camera shows the reflecting pool in Balboa Park, San Diego.

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Above the arch is a stone badge. This cropped image is just a fraction of the original photograph.

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Zooming in to 20 percent of the original picture, you can see cars on the bridge and details of the art deco piers.

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Zooming in, you see people sitting on the bench at left, and an arch to the right.

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Crop further, and the founder of California's missions, Father Junipero Serra, can be seen riding his donkey. Details like 0.25-inch-high bricks in a wall can be picked out.

Courtesy of Graham Flint