Beautiful Examples of Timelapse Photography

Timelapse photography is a truly fascinating art form. It is used frequently for tv production, most commonly in documentaries focused on science, nature, geological, and architectural subject matter.

Speeding up natural and made-made events gives a unique insight into the passage of time. The most dramatic results come from filming natural cycles such as cloud movements, rising of tides, and the rotation of the earth with it’s relation to the stars and galaxy.

Fundamentally, timelapse photography is achieved by using a SLR camera and a piece of equipment called an intervalometer. This device allows automatic opening of the shutter at set intervals, hence the name! The type of subject and speed of movement are important factors to help determine the amount of time needed between exposures, as well as considering how long each exposure is.

After a timelapse shoot, post production is required to create a finished piece. Essentially all the frames need to be added to a timeline to create a movie, much like regular film-making. When done well, the results are memorising and awe inspiring.

I have decided to study timelapse photography in more detail, time permitting, so will revisit the subject in the future, hopefully with some of my own experiments. For now, feast your eyes on some really great examples I have discovered recently and feel free to discuss them in the comments.

Timeplase Examples

A timelapse of the recent Eyjafjallajökull (no, I can’t pronounce this either!) volcano showing the infamous ash-cloud in action.

This is a beautiful series of shots taken in The Alps. I really like the cloud movements towards the end.

This movie features absolutely sunning views of the milky way shot at the 2009 Nova Sedis Fall Star Party at Chiefland Astronomy Village in Florida.

The shots in this movie are shot entirely in HDR capturing incredible detail. The amount of post-processing involved in HDR timelapse is immense to say the least.

These unusual sequences by xRez Studio were made by mapping the camera to digital terrain models in Maya (3D Digital Effects), giving some interesting, albeit fabricated, effects.

Some fantastic cloud shots displaying the majesty of our atmosphere at work. There is also some interesting night-time traffic shots. The airport sequence is expertly shot.

This movie has a great variety of shots including the night sky, mountain views, and even a car journey. I particularly enjoyed the depth-of-field shots and the sunset over the airport looks fantastic.

Tom Lowe from http://www.timescapes.org/ is essentially a timelapse god! This movie displays just some of his outstanding work. The Milky Way shots are simply awe-inspiring.

Another video by Tom Lowe featuring production footage from his debut film “Southwest Light”. I’m looking forward to this release, which is sure to be an exemplary piece of work.

This is a music video made completely with timelapse shots. It shows one of the many ways timelapse can be used to convey emotion in relation to the flow of time.

This amazing short movie is an ethereal view taken 9000ft above sea level.

To end, check out this tilt-shift style timelapse of New York City. Superb!

Further Info

Timelapse tutorial by Timothy Allen from the BBC
Timelapse Guide (The Basics – Part 1 by Milapse)
Timelapse on Wikipedia