Video Documentation - Time-Lapse Composites
Time lapse videos detailing a new process
Posted May 25, 2010
Over the last few months I've been experimenting with longer shoots. After scouting a location, I'll setup several cameras and weigh them down with sand bags and bungee cords. Then, over the course of a day, I expose multiple rolls of film, keeping the camera absolutely still. After recording these images, I combine them - distilling the collective energy of a day into a single image. People, animals, weather, light - all are changing according to unique rhythms. The unchanging city structures provide a monotone backdrop for these patterns. A war between man-made and natural light plays out in front of me. With such diversity of information, each time lapse has the potential to yield multiple prints. The process is still experimental, and it's exciting for me to see how it will evolve...
12 Hour Cycle: Venetian Night (Capture)
These are the actual 170 captured images in chronological order, spanning the full 12 hr shoot. My goal with this process is to unite the day and night - documenting patterns and cycles not normally visible. Following the belief that humans are a natural occurrence - by extension, our constructions and actions are natural elements. This idealized stance lays visible a general harmony within the natural world. Viewing the world at this distance from reality, I'm searching for an evolved rhythm in our relationship with nature. View the Venetian Night print in more detail
6 Hour Cycle: Metra Power Station (Buildout)
The first 10 frames are a sample of the 96 exposures I took over a 6 hour cycle. The remainder of the animation allows you to view the print taking shape as these exposures are combined, layered and masked - infusing the final image with a surreal mix of elements - selectively compressed time. In the foreground, the warm, light streaked roads get their hue from the white headlights and red taillights of moving cars. The play of natural and man made light lets us see into open doors and windows. I manipulate this balance, revealing patterns normally invisible. View the Metra Power Station print in more detail
4 Hour Cycle: 1620 S. Michigan (Capture)
34 of the 60 exposures recorded during the shoot - the sun disappears and city lights ignite. The neighborhood corner gives way to glittering buildings and flashes of human movement. These secondary light sources rival the sun as the evening grows longer. View the 1620 S. Michigan time lapse composite image in more detail