Life is not still

Being on crutches, I am having to find things to do whilst not moving. So, I decided to experiment with time lapse:


Life is not still from Adam Clark on Vimeo.

These livingstone daisies that live in our garden open and close on sunny, warm days, so I spent a couple of hours taking photographs every few seconds as they opened up to the morning sun and then again as they closed as the shadows lengthened across the garden in late afternoon.

I learnt a couple of key things by doing this - I attempted to add a bit of interest to the shooting by zooming in, and I think this was a mistake as it actually is quite clunky as the zoom is not smooth. The other issues is that I don't have a remote control for my camera, so although it was a on a reasonably stable tripod, there is still some camera shake. I think time lapse probably works best with a totally static shot or alternatively a really smooth dolly-based tracking shot.

The other thing that I learnt (or re-learnt) was that sitting still is the best way to see nature, as it comes to you. As I sat there taking the shots, birds came and went around me - for example two goldfinches came in to the birdbath, one at a time, whilst the other kept guard from the hedge. And then later, I saw that a grass snake had come out and was basking on the sun-warmed paments by our pond. Wonderful.