This post is part of a series from Rick Braveheart. our wonderful resident photographer. Please see more of his work here.
“To photograph truthfully is to see beneath the surfaces and record the qualities of nature and humanity which live in all things.” – Ansel Adams (landscape photographer, 1902-1984)
Time is an element in each moment of our lives. Everything we do like driving to work, taking a vacation or even capturing a photograph occurs over time. Some things we do may take just a few seconds, and others perhaps minutes, hours or days. For example, if you were visiting this section of North Carolina you might spend an hour driving past the picturesque barns on Route 63 or half a day hiking a trail in the Pisgah National Forest.
While not one of the “five senses” like touch or smell, time is part of everything we experience. A photograph reveals the beauty of a single moment, But for the photographer at least, capturing that photograph included other experiences which do not appear in the image like clouds moving in the sky, an animal running in a field or leaves blowing in the wind.
For the past year I’ve explored various ways to visually convey the passing of time—photos that show not just a beautiful subject but that subject observed over time. My wish is to use photography to help convey both a sense of place and of time–something like what you’d experience standing next to me as I captured that photograph. After various experiments, I’ve now settled on what I believe to be an ideal way to do so.
Please don’t skip ahead or jump down to what might look more interesting on this page. I want to demonstrate something that will take only 30 seconds but provide an important experience. Below is a photograph taken of the valley located in front of my cabin. It’s a lovely image which shows the clouds and fog that had settled into the valley, and the outlines of several mountain ranges fading into the distance.
A “Fine” Photo But Not the Complete Story
While the above image shows the valley during one moment in time, it doesn’t convey the dramatic scene I was watching that morning which inspired me to make the photograph. To see what was actually happening, click on the image below (it may take a few seconds — please be patient).
Both of the two examples above were created with the same digital camera. The time-lapse movie however was made from 540 individual photos taken 5 seconds apart and displayed one after the other. With this technique I’m able to compress this 45 minute event into a quick 25-second experience. During my time here, my plan is to create additional time-lapse movies and incorporate them along with dozens of standard photographs into a 3-4 minute video about the mountains of Western North Carolina. Stay tuned for more!
ABOUT THIS PHOTO TECHNIQUE: Time-lapse movies are possible because of a device called an intervalometer—an optional camera attachment which plugs into the camera and automatically presses the shutter button after a specific amount of time has passed. For my Canon digital cameras, I use Canon’s intervalometer called the TC-80N3 (read more about it here). Nikon also makes an intervalometer called the MC-36 (read about it here) for use with many of their DSLR cameras.