Daylily Bloom Time Lapse - Manual Process

lifeinfocus

I recently did my first time lapse, well sort of time lapse.

I should have bought a intra... whatever it is called, but I did the manual method. For almost two hours I took photos. Raw, manual focus, manual exposure, f/13, ISO 200. I should have tested f/stop setting to determine ideal setting, but ... next time.

I did no post photo processing (except to convert jpeg) because the lighting was rather uniform - rising morning sun shielded by garage. Create video using Proshow Producer. This was a new daylily plant this year and first bloom so I did not know what the final bloom would look like. I should have researched this because I probably would have taken another 100 photos and been out there another hour.

Another four hours creating the movie. These things take time.

But check it out, set to music, two minutes long.

http://www.lifeinfocusexpressions.com/Nature/Flowers/2011/16429388_chpY9#1425363594_kT9HDgh

ThatCanonGuy

Hey, another Proshow user! (I use Gold). Great video! The only thing I would say is sometimes it appears that the transition is delayed for a few seconds. This may be because you didn't have an intervalometer, so the photos weren't taken at regular intervals? Or it could be that the flower just moves so little that you can't tell.

The light is excellent, and you did a good job with the Proshow effects

lifeinfocus

ThatCanonGuy wrote: »

Hey, another Proshow user! (I use Gold). Great video! The only thing I would say is sometimes it appears that the transition is delayed for a few seconds. This may be because you didn't have an intervalometer, so the photos weren't taken at regular intervals? Or it could be that the flower just moves so little that you can't tell.

The light is excellent, and you did a good job with the Proshow effects

There are a number of things I will do different the next time.

First this was the initial bloom for a new daylily in my wife's garden so I did not know what it was going to look liike. That made it difficult for sizing purposes.

Second, I would take some test shots the day before of a bloom of the same daylily I would shoot the next morning. I would then have a better idea what focal length to use and distance to get the full daylily bloom in the shot.

I am not sure I would use a intervalometer because I adjust the lighting as I go, but I would take many more shots, start earlier and shoot longer. It seems to me that in most time lapse videos I have seen involve changing light. In this case I want to ensure the same color of the daylily as much as possible. Tough thing to do in my limited time lapse experience.

Also, I would consider using some type of barrier to ensure flower stillness. I was fortunate the day I took the photos that there was very little wind. I would probably consider using a hidden prop for the flower stalk to limit its movement.

Phil

lifeinfocus

ThatCanonGuy wrote: »

Hey, another Proshow user! (I use Gold). Great video! The only thing I would say is sometimes it appears that the transition is delayed for a few seconds. This may be because you didn't have an intervalometer, so the photos weren't taken at regular intervals? Or it could be that the flower just moves so little that you can't tell.

The light is excellent, and you did a good job with the Proshow effects

For Photodex users here is a guide to doing Time lapse using Photodex:
http://www.slideshowblog.com/2011/08/how-to-create-a-time-lapse-video/

and a good article on calculating the number of shots needed is at:
http://3exposure.com/2011/08/10/how-many-shots-do-you-need-for-a-time-lapse/

ThatCanonGuy

Thanks!