Category: People

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Time lapse movie: an hour in a child’s day

20120530-185543.jpgAfter exchanging the Contour+ camera for the new GoPro HD Hero 2 (the push-button interface of the Contour+ was just too inconvenient), I set up a test, again using my daughter as a model. She was hanging out with her toys, while my wife and I did some housework. I aimed the camera at the baby and let it roll for an hour, taking a still picture every 1 sec. The camera was set to “wide” (170 deg field of view), and the image resolution corresponded to 5 megapixel sensor size.

To assemble the images into a movie, I created a new iPhoto library on my MacBook Pro and imported all pictures into it (about 3000 files altogether). After that, in iMovie, I imported the stills into a new project, setting the mode to “Fit”, disabling the default Ken Burns effect, and setting the duration of each still image to 0.1 sec.

The entire clip was initially 6.5 minutes-long, and I edited it down to about 3.5 minutes. I wanted to keep the final clip as short as possible, but found it very difficult to cut it down – as a parent, I find my daughter’s every smile and gesture adorable and just cannot get rid of the otherwise rather boring footage.

The result is this clip:


Note that the image above was not taken with the GoPro. It was shot with a Canon 5D Mark II with a 24-105 mm lens.

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POV video: sports or family movies?

20120525-015930.jpgA common advice for using point-of-view (POV) video cameras is to experiment with a variety of camera placements and angles. After all, the main advantage of the POV cams is their ability to be installed where the conventional cameras cannot fit and/or survive (helmets used in various sports, surfboards, motorbikes, etc.)

Actually, my plan for the new Contour + camera is to use it on my motorcycle. The first experiment, however, was to let my 7-months-old daughter lay her hands on the camera. This was the maximum amount of extreme action that could be readily arranged in our living room. The result is this 1-minute clip.


Perhaps, documenting my daughters adventures will be the main use for the Contour + ? It is interesting how various projects often develop into something quite different from the original idea. For example, my wife recently pointed out, that our interest in travel and portrait photography stemmed from the interfacing an SLR camera with a telescope for astrophotography – something that we both wanted to do but never actually did.

P.S. The image above was not taken by the Contour +. I used a Canon 5D Mark II with a 100 mm macro lens.

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Paragliding

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Paragliding is a very photogenic sport. While the images are filled with action, they are actually quite easy to capture. If the wind conditions are right, the paragliders can hover in place, giving many opportunities to take photos without requiring extremely fast shutter speeds. They can also fly very low to the ground and maneuver precisely, so that the background landscape can be included in the frame.

Here are some general suggestions:

  • Find location where air flow is relatively steady and is directed upwards, such as at the edge of a cliff – the paragliders can hover in the rising airstream. (In Victoria, paragliders often fly at the Clover Point).
  • Do not shoot against the light to avoid dark silhouettes (unless this is the effect you want).
  • Try to capture interactions between paragliders in flight or between the paragliders and the spectators.

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Please let me know if you have other related tips on photo techniques and/or locations and dates of the flights.
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Salsa Dancing

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Last Friday, we took pictures and danced at the Salsa Caliente Red & White Anniversary Ball.

Photography notes:

  • Flash is compulsory. We tried two types of flash diffusers that night: Gary Fong’s “Lightsphere” and STO-FEN “Omni-bounce”. The “Lightsphere” produced slightly better results overall, so we later returned the “Omni-bounce” to the store. The only apparent disadvantages of the “Lightsphere” are higher price and larger size. If you have experience with these two types of diffusers, I would appreciate your comments.
  • Lenses: relatively short focal length is recommended. We used Canon EF 16-35 f/2.8 L and EF 24-105 f/4 L. The wide lenses are useful because one needs to be close to the subjects to benefit from the flash. The composition is also easier with wide lenses, as there is more flexibility during shooting (mistakes can be corrected by cropping in post-processing).
  • Camera settings: ISO: 800+; manual mode; shutter speed: 1/80 – 1/250, aperture: f 2.8 – 4. We didn’t have a chance to try “dragging” the shutter (using slow shutter speeds (approx. 1/10) with flash), but the diffuser produced reasonably balanced exposure. For more information on this technique, see Canon digital photography forum.

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Please share your tips and techniques on dance and night club photography.