Creation of an elongated image/map within a scene in Storymaps

MartinColling1

I'm seeking some assistance inputting an elongated image as seen in the following two storymaps. Particularly that shown within the first link that exhibits the pilgrimage to the Hajj via a tall map image. I assume this is a high resolution image (clipped to a tall portrait ratio) and then with some photo editing to include the text and fade? However, before I set off on this journey could someone confirm this is the design method  to use or if not if there is a simpler way to achieve this effect? Any tips on gaining access to high resolution map images would be great, specifically the North Sea off the East coast of the UK would be most appreciated.

Sacred Places, Sacred Ways 

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=e50efda431924cd7963edd5491867a40 

Cheers in advance

CooperThomas

Hi Martin,

While I'm not the primary author of either story, I can confirm that you're on the right track. To create the tall map in "Sacred Places, Sacred Ways," the author took several screenshots of the World Imagery map, and then stitched those screenshots together and added the annotations and vignetting in an external image editing program. (I don't recall if the author aligned the screenshots manually, but many programs can automatically combine multiple adjacent images, which reduces tedium/guesswork.)

This isn't the only workflow for creating tall maps, though; the maps in "Rivers of Plastic" were created entirely in ArcGIS Pro. The author of that story, John Nelson, used a single portrait-orientation layout containing the entire map extent—thereby eliminating the need to stitch multiple images together—and then added annotations using Pro's built-in labeling and graphics tools. You can read more about how he created that map (or rather, a version of it) in this blog post. At the end of the day, both workflows are totally valid, and there's no "right" or "wrong" approach; it really depends on the tools you have access to and are most comfortable using.

Regarding potential imagery sources for your story, the World Imagery service covers the entire globe, and typically shows the most up-to-date imagery available. If your area of interest is obscured by, say, cloud coverage, you can also look into the World Imagery (Clarity) service, which sacrifices image timeliness in favor of fidelity. Either way, be sure to include proper data attribution.

One last note: Both of the stories you shared were created using the classic Cascade template, which is no longer under active development. If you're just starting a new story, I recommend using the newer ArcGIS StoryMaps builder, which is visually similar to Cascade, but is more robust and receives frequent updates.

I know this response is a little late, but I hope this information is helpful for you or for others working on similar mapping projects. If you have any additional questions, feel free to leave a note below or contact me directly.