Time-lapse photography (LO 2,3)
Time-lapse photography is a technique in which a photographer takes series of the same frame in the same interval for a certain period of time. When the images are played altogether time appears to be moving faster and therefore “lapsing”.
Time-lapse is an important technology because it allows us to manipulate time to show natural processes that would take too long to show in a single shot.
Equipment needed
Camera
I used my Nikon Z6 camera but any camera will be just fine as long as you can use manual set up.
Lenses
It really depends on your expectations and what you are aiming for. I used a wide angle lens 14-24mm, f/4S as I wanted to capture quite a wide picture - sky with moving clouds, water and traffic movement on the bridge.
Tripod
Without a tripod it is not possible to do a time-lapse photography.
Some might also add an intervalometer. I didn’t need it as my camera Nikon Z6 has all the settings inbuilt. Once I set up all the parameters I didn’t have to touch my camera.
Process
First I was considering the location and my frame, in other words - composition. I really like the idea of moving clouds, cars and water. Hampton Court by the river seemed like a good spot to try. The composition of the image is very important and should be thought through very carefully.
I set up a tripod, attached my camera on it and framed the picture thinking about the composition. Having in mind the exposure triangle, I started with setting up the aperture, then adjusting the shutter speed. I set up ISO 100 automatic, meaning ISO would automatically adjust in case of change of light.
I planned to have a 10 seconds long video so I did my calculations. The clouds were not moving very fast as it was quite nice calm morning so I decided to experiment with 4 seconds interval. That means that every 4 seconds a new image was captured of the same frame.
25 frames = 1 second
250 frames = 10 seconds long video
250 x 4 = 1000 seconds or about 16 minutes needed for capturing images
I focused manually to make sure the final picture won’t be blurred. I also used a polarizing (CPL) filter to avoid a glare on water and to enhance the saturation.
Later on I edited the images in Lightroom. Unfortunately Squarespace only supports Youtube and Vimeo videos so I had to upload my 10seconds video to Youtube and finally post it here in my blog.
I’m quite happy with the final video. There is a visible movement of clouds, traffic movement on the bridge, a lovely reflection on water and a smooth transmission of light under the bridge. I was only hoping to capture some boats passing by.
Source: book Understanding Exposure by B. Peterson; book Light&How to photograph it by M.Freeman; course materials; internet
