Time-lapse Digital Photography
I’ve been interested in time lapse photography ever since our family started playing with cameras and taking and showing 8mm films and stills. My mom’s parents were professional photographers and developers and so my mom got us kids started early. My family has used so many cameras over time that my twin, a professional filmmaker, has rescued a great many and made a “musuem” in the basement of my parents house.
I’ve always liked how varying the time of flickering images can completely change the feel or let you see or experience something you couldn’t see yourself, even when it happened while you were there. For example, watching the stars in a moonless night “spin” around the North Star is something breathtaking and, to me, almost unbelievable. You speed up the playback or time axis, and suddenly it is brilliantly plain and clear.
Just before small digital cameras started coming out, I bought a miniDV Sony camcorder and was determined to have it take high-quality still frames for later assembly into time lapse videos with my computer.
Over 10 years later, and I’m still having fun with ffmpeg and mplayer (although I’ve moved from win to mac) and with PoohBot Pictures. I’ve expanded to other cameras and different techniques, but overall, The Idea remains the same.
