Time Lapse: Dobbins Landing

This is a short video to show, so I’ll keep the corresponding post short in length as well.

I tried out my first time lapse with the Canon 7D and TC80N3 last Friday night before a shift at the Erie Times-News. I took an EMTA bus from my apartment to the tip of the city and tested out my new Zoom H4N audio recorder on the way. More on that awesome piece of gear in my posts next week.

I had originally planned to shoot a time lapse on the bus, but it proved to be too small and cramped to properly set up the tripod. I’m sure I’ll get another chance to follow through on that idea again soon.

Having been foiled out of the bus piece, on a whim I walked from the Intermodal Center to Dobbins Landing. It was in the mid-40’s when I left my apartment, but by the time I reached the lake, the sun had set, the wind picked up, and it was pretty frigid.

Needless to say, I didn’t feel like staying for long.

But I did compose my shot overlooking the bay west of Erie’s Bicentennial Tower, set up the intervalometer to record a frame every 10 seconds, and stood back trying to stay warm. It might be the only time in my life I consider myself crazier than the ice fishermen, of which I saw several pulling their sleds in for the night just as I was setting up.

As for the camera settings, I shot at ISO 100 on aperture priority at f3.5 when I set up at 5:15 p.m., then dropped down to f8 as the sun set for a deeper depth of field. The shutter speed dropped (similar to the temperature) from 1/80 to a full 5 second exposure during the half hour I was there. By 5:45 when I left, the shutter was basically opening and closing in rapid succession due to the quick reset during the constant 10 second exposure rate.

Despite the cold, I really enjoyed simply standing there watching the sun reflect off the ice as it set.

Even more rewarding was watching the sky turn from grey to blue during the editing process. This turned out as a result of leaving the camera’s white balance on auto. I’ll have to experiment a bit more with this during the next few attempts to see which setting I prefer for sunsets. I’m sure it will vary.

The major technical problem I ran into, as you will see below, was the high winds blowing around the cheap plastic tripod that I brought along for mobility’s sake. Several frames obviously change the shot’s angle during the 12-second finished product. The solutions are pretty simple. Next time I will have to either a. bring small weights to ensure the legs and head remain in one place for the duration or b. bring a stronger setup. Live, shoot and learn.

As mentioned in the post title, I’ll have more frequent posts on personal and professional projects that appear on a cyclical basis this year. First, of course, are these time lapses. I plan to record at least 12 in 2010 around various locations on Mercyhurst’s campus and in Erie.

Next will be 30 Days & 30 Clicks. This is a variation of the “365 Project” or “A Photo A Day” that many photographers take up. Instead of posting every single day, I plan to shoot a series for 28, 30 or 31 days, then create a post at the conclusion of each month.

Finally, Sights and Sounds of Mercyhurst will be a portfolio builder. Thanks to my new Zoom H4N, the possibilities for recording quality audio on any project have greatly increased. Prior to this, I shied away from audio slideshows after learning how to create them in summer 2008. I decided that, though I could make quality imagery, not producing audio slideshows was better than producing them with poor quality sound.  No more. The first will be coming in a few weeks.

As always, thanks for reading and watching!