Tuesday is for…

Posted on by Live & Learn

Tuesdays are for….time lapses.

You may be thinking that due to the dearth of blog posts recently, that Wednesday’s, Thursday’s, Friday’s, Saturday’s, Sunday’s and Monday’s are for Time Lapses as well — and, you wouldn’t be far off the mark.

I know that you’ve all been anxiously waiting to learn about the time-lapse process. Here’s the secret sauce.

  1. (The Scene: It’s dark.) You walk to the end of the breakwall, taking particular care not to jam your foot into a rock, trip and send your gear airborne into Holly Pond.
  2. You strap your smartphone onto the claws of the tripod, with the cameras facing forward, and take care not to affix the tripod clamps to the power button. No Power — No time lapse.
  3. You adjust the legs on the tripod so it’s steady (to avoid toppling in wind gusts).
  4. You hit the camera app button on Photo, yes Photo, and hit Night Sight (because its dark!).
  5. Through the phone screen ensure the camera isn’t pointing downward into the rocks, or straight up to the heavens, but centered with enough earth, sea and sky to capture the sunrise. Because, if this step is not done right, investing 1 to 2.5 hours of your time for a time-lapse that is sh*t, may, well, you know… “I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe.”— Mary Shelley, Frankenstein.
  6. Now, with your camera pointed at the desired target, with the level indicator on, adjust the camera position so its level. (This is to avoid your audience getting vertigo from head-tilt watching your video.)
  7. We’re approaching the launch point here, Please pay close attention. Now, move from “photo” to “video” on your camera AND HIT THE TIME LAPSE button. You might say, well that’s obvious you idiot, and you would be right. Refer to You think you know, but you have no idea for painful lessons learned.
  8. One hour = ~15 sec video. 2 hours = ~30 sec and so on.

So, this morning, we were at it again. It’s 1,547 consecutive (almost) days on this daybreak walk at Cove Island Park. Like in a row.

And I pace, and I circle, and I glance at my watch and I do it over and over and over again in a loop waiting for night to turn to day in my rush to finish this time lapse and get on with my day.

As Freud wrote about Rilke, this “pessimistic poet admired the beauty of nature around us, but without enjoying it …”

But I can feel the noticing is taking place within me. “Attention begins to give way to understanding: The three single-word lines that conclude Clare Cavanagh’s translation of “Transformation” — “lightning, / transformation, / you.” — expand and then contract. — Jacob Brogan.

In Week 2 of the new time-lapse journey, I find myself (find myself) slowing down, accepting that this process is going to take 1-2 hours, and I slowly lose myself into the rhythms of the morning. There’s no speeding up the sunrise as I graft myself into the changing tides, the bird song, the gentle breeze off Long Island Sound — and I begin to take root into Cove Island Park like I’ve never had in the prior 1500 days.

Alexandra Fuller, “If I could do it all over, I’d do it all again but slower—much slower.”

45 thoughts on “Tuesday is for…”

  1. First. I’m glad you’re back. Was worried I would be taking over this blog sooner than I anticipated.

    Second, where did you learn of this “secret sauce” of time lapsing? Is there a book? A YouTube channel? A tik-tok tutorial that you followed?

    I will say the idea of you slowing down and taking more laps makes me happy. There is so much more of Cove you will see, now that you’ve committed to 1-2 hours each day rather than the 30-45 minutes you were completing prior.

    Lastly, don’t worry…. I can keep you company if you want. I have also been one to commit to time lapsing…. It’s just….I had to move from my favorite spot. It’s been hijacked.

    2. Glad that I took your little and so beautiful cloud video at Cove Island Park and made it bigger deal (so much so)! Aren’t you?

  2. I’m delighted that you are reaping the benefits of what time-lapse photography takes in the waiting — “find myself” “graft myself” “take root”.. 🙂

          2. Based on your previous post, I was concerned that learning how to do “Time-lapse” was going to cause you to jump off a bridge! 🙂

            Not sure I trust that this is good for you yet. If it makes you happy and makes you feel more peaceful, then go for it! If it’s driving, you crazy, stop! Please!

            Great video by the way 👍
            (just stay away from that bridge!)

          4. Well… It certainly makes sense to run the experiment. If you start looking for bridges just quit. And if “Time-lapse” doesn’t do it for you, there’s always alcohol and cigarettes LOL!

      1. I actually do remember reading it. But since it was in a physical book form, I took no highlights and I just cannot bring myself to write in my books!

          1. I half admire those who do, believe it or not.
            One of Claire Fuller’s books “Swimming Lessons” is partially about a man who collects old books but ONLY if they are annotated and otherwise marked within the pages.

  8. Delighted that the pace of the morning is seeping into your own rhythms. There’s a little irony that the advancement in photography demands that one slow down and just take in the day as it wakes

      1. The two minutes it takes to brush my teeth, I start a load of laundry, decide what’s for dinner and take it out of the freezer to thaw, add what I need to the grocery list. 2 minutes is way too long for my inpatient self.

  13. Dear David, this is an amazing adventure, experience, story, and video. And also your addition quotes are really hitting all of them… You are now more than to be a photographer, I admire how you run with your Morning walk moments… Thank you, Love, nia

Leave a Reply