Panoramas are pretty easy to do these days. Many digital cameras even have a Panorama setting. Basically, it just fixes all the exposure settings for a series of photos you shoot from one spot, something like 6-10 shots, ideally from a tripod but handheld is OK, too. Then the software stitches all the equally exposed photos together by searching for matching key/marker spots in adjoining pictures. You can set them by hand if the software gets it wrong, but that's rarely necessary. It will also handle the lens distortions automatically. The free software I use is called "ArcSoft PanoramaMaker" and something similar can probably be downloaded for free:
"The program does most of the work for you by automatically selecting an entire group of pictures with one click, automatically organizing the photos into the proper order, then seamlessly stitching the photos into a panoramic masterpiece that you can print, share or post to the web. Create horizontal, vertical and 360° panorama pictures."
The software came with my former Nikon snapshooter and should work with any series of photos with the same exposure.
There's a free trial version available at:
http://www.arcsoft.com/products/panoramamaker/?l=v
P.S. An even easier way for a panorama photo is shooting a scene at the highest resolution your camera supports with the widest angle lens you have. Then cut a horizontal, vertical or diagonal slice out of the huge picture by simply cropping it in any image handling program.
That's how I do most of my own "panoramic" photos in the Lamma-zine, for example this picture below, shot from the open-access rooftop of the Waterfront Restaurant, one of the best picture taking spots in the village, especially for bay, sunset and night shots.
I put the camera on the rooftop's handrail for a stable, really sharp shot at the necessary long exposure time and used the standard Night mode of my Nikon D80. Using my tripod, a remote control, Mirror Lock-up, Exposure Delay or a higher ISO setting (400 in this case) could get this shot even sharper and richer, if needed for fine print quality.
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