Simple Time Lapse Photos

Not long ago, I was pleasantly surprised to find an interval timer feature in one of the cameras that I was using. With this feature, you can record the progress of an “event” with a series of photos taken at a set time between each capture. It’s commonly referred to as time lapse photography. An example of time lapse is the way that a flower seems to magically grow before your eyes as it blossoms.

Since I was curious about using this feature, I looked for an appropriate subject. It just so happens that we had recently returned from a trip out west and brought back a small collection of “Mexican jumping beans“.
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Once again, patience counts

Sometimes the only way to catch the perfect photo is to take a lot of them until you achieve the desired result. To retain the feeling of motion, I used a slow shutter speed (1/60th of a second). My goal was to “freeze” the young girl’s face, yet convey movement. After taking about twenty photos, I finally snapped one that I liked by being persistent (and patient).
I took about twenty photos similar to this one using a relatively slow shutter speed. While it captures the motion of the young girl, overall the photo is too blurred.	Here I snapped while the young girl is at the top of her swing where her velocity is zero. By waiting for this exact moment, I’ve been able to stop most of the motion.

The Creative versus the Personal

I’ve learned from my many years as a photographer that there are two distinct sides to my work. One side is the creative and the other side is the personal. I’ll explain.

Let’s take the family vacation as an example. The long cross-country drive has all of the family members packed into the station wagon on the road to that fabulous destination. The trip is going take me to some gorgeous landscapes. And when I arrive, my creative juices are screaming to photograph the vistas that I’ve been dreaming about for what seems like forever. But hold on! What’s also tugging at me is the family – remember this is a family vacation.
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