Last week I showed you some night sky photography with some stills blended together. When shooting night skies getting some detail into the foreground takes a bit of work when you are shooting in a dark skies compliant area like Sedona, Arizona. While I was capturing those images with my Lumix GX85 I set up the Lumix GX8 on a tripod for a time lapse sequence.
The lens was the Vario 12-35mm f2.8 set at f2.8. ISO 200 and 30-second exposures. I set the interval to 32-seconds to give the camera a little time to reset. Noise reduction setting was disabled as the camera would have been taking an extra 30 seconds to create the noise reduction for each image. Way too long for what I was trying to do. Using the camera’s processing I was able to make videos at various settings without any problems at all. Here is a minute and a half video showing all of the results including an edit with Photoshop.
Stars are making a circle around the north star. Funny how they twinkle just as they do when you are looking at them live.
Time Lapse Video of 140 images processed in-camera at twenty-four, twelve , eight and four frames per second. I also processed the images in Adobe Photoshop using the timeline to create a ten frames per second video.
One note. I was able to take the RAW files into Photoshop and process the red rock area different than the sky area which allows more detail and color to be in the final video. All the files were imported into Adobe Premiere and resized, captioned and rendered to HD. The videos I made in-camera were processed out as 4K files which gives more possibilities in the final movie. I could have left them large and then had the possibility of movement like panning or zooming through the video to create even more interest.
Here is a still image processed from the same scene. A one second and a thirty-second exposure blended with extra process in MacPhun’s Intensify CK
Happy Independence Day! Fireworks lined my frying pan yesterday with a sizzle and a pop in anticipation of the holiday.
Everybody likes bacon.
Almost.
For those that don’t, you can leave the post now unless you want to follow along and see how you pull a still photograph from a video clip shot with the Lumix GX8.
4K video bacon frying (you can almost smell it MMMM)
Now this was not a commercial photo shoot. I just grabbed my camera while I was frying up some Smithfield Farms bacon so it was a handheld grab using 4K Photo Mode. The Photo Mode sets the video so you can pull still images from the video without the problem of ‘rolling shutter’. Rolling shutter is what would happen if you tried to pull a still from ‘normal’ video where you are trying to absolutely smooth video. Because the video capture is 4K, four times the size of HD video, it’s possible to pull an 8MP still frame. That’s good for a twenty-inch size print.
Bacon photograph
When choosing the above still frame I was able to step through the video one frame at a time deciding on the best grease bubbles formed from the heat as the bacon browned. I uploaded the MP4 video to Adobe Premiere Pro played the video until I was close to the image for which I was looking. Then I was able to quickly step through individual frames using the arrow keys. Once the frame is selected a simple push of the camera icon saves the image out as a still. Easy as that. You could also easily save the image out using the back of the camera but I prefer using the larger screen to make my decisions.
There are a number of Lumix cameras that have the 4K Photo Mode including the Lumix G7, GH4, LX100, FZ1000, and more.
Arizona Professional Photographers Association has scheduled their Fall Fest event for November 4, 5 and 6 of this year. We’ll be traveling to Page, Arizona for lots of landscape photography opportunities. The highlight will be a tour of Secret Canyon. Secret Canyon is a beautiful slot canyon that we will access via Hummer Tour Adventures.
Also on the docket is a visit to sunrise and sunset locations that are quite beautiful. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. How about a video to describe the adventure?
Fall Festival video for Arizona PPA
There are limited spaces available for this trip. Initially, it will only be open to AZPPA members. Then if any spots are left it will be opened to non-members as well. If you would like to get on the waiting list to get in touch with me and I’ll get you hooked up.
The video and stills from this production were captured with a Lumix GX8 and Lumix GH4 cameras and assorted Lumix lenses. You may have noticed the time-lapse. It was created with the camera on a small tripod held on the dashboard with images taken every one second. Those images were processed in-camera to a 4K video at 24 frames per second. Adobe Premiere Pro the editor of choice for assembling all the pieces.
Lumix GH4 Lumix G Vario lens 7-14mm @14mm (28mm full frame equivalent) ISO 200 – Processed a three frame bracket spaced one stop apart in Aurora HDR software
Images were captured with the camera mounted on a tripod. When photographing in slot canyons you need to expand the dynamic range by capturing multiple exposures because light floods in from the open top but there are many dark corners. Being able to blend images together makes it possible to see all the varied detail that has been etched into the walls by wind and water over multiple years.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
PS – More information on this trip or the monthly meetings and other benefits of Arizona PPA can be found on the website
Here’s a different time lapse from the same location as a few days ago at Sound Bites Grill. Was able to set the tripod up on the deck that overlooks this wonderful scenery in Sedona.
This time I set the camera behind a red rock stone column in order to stay out of the gusts of wind that caused some extra work on my last time lapse at this location. I also unclasped the camera strap and tied down the camera for even more stability. I was able to do this quickly because I have the Peak Design Camera Strap. I really enjoy the ability to quickly be able to remove the camera strap when shooting video or time lapse images. This cuts down on the wind profile of the gear leading to to steadier capture. It also make it easy to change the type of strap if I’d rather use a wrist strap instead of over the shoulder. This is a pretty cool system with lots of options.
But I digress… How about the video Bob? Here you go…
Sunset time lapse in Sedona
I used similar settings as the last time lapse on the Lumix GX8 capturing a frame every three seconds processing out to a 4K video .MP4 in camera at 24 frames per second. Then taking that video into Adobe premiere Pro to add some Ken Burns movement through the scene.
I was hoping that the clouds your view scudding across the scene were going to be there as the sun snuck beneath the horizon and giving spectacular color, but alas, it did not. Such are the vagaries of predicting the weather.
Of note, as you study this time lapse be aware of the look of the red rocks after the sun has gone down and the sky begins to move toward cobalt blue and the density range begins to tighten up. This is an ideal time to capture the red rocks as the light is being reflected off of clouds and there’s lots of depth and dimension and beautiful color. I can’t tell you the number of times I will be at a scene with other photographers and they pack it up and leave moments after the sun sets. I wait that extra fifteen to twenty minutes AFTER the sun goes down to get much more intense images. Does it always work? Nope. but way more often than you might think and the rewards are worth it. I’ll address this in more detail in a future post.
Lately I’ve been capturing time lapse sequences of sunsets here in Sedona, Arizona. And by photographing them I seem to have reprogrammed my brain for the way it sees light change. Almost as if by capturing and working with images that compress time into a shorter period I am extending my vision of light and time.
Let me explain.
Because of this new awareness I am now seeing the shadows slowly crawl across a scene as if I am becoming hyper-aware of the changes. Capturing a time lapse makes you take time to slow down because it takes a fair number of images created over a relatively long time period to have enough material. In a sense it becomes a meditation.
Now in this particular case it was a bonus to set the camera up then retire to the bar to observe the changes taking place which was a fun way to work/play on a personal project. My wife and I got to enjoy a glass of happy hour wine and one of their stellar appetizers. (it was the calamari, cooked perfectly and served with a sweet/spicy sauce over a bed of carrots and light greens)
Images captured with the Lumix GX8 & 12-35mm f2.8 Vario lens. Time lapse was processed in camera then imported to Adobe Premeire CC 2015 for processing slight movement. I was hoping that the clouds you saw in the beginning of the video would have hung around and colored up to spectacular… and they did as they moved out of the frame. Color was bright salmon to the south… Oh well, still nice movement of light on the red rocks.
Time lapse Photography – Sound Bites Grill & Snoopy Rock
aka – Snoopy Goes to Sleep
I get to spend quite a bit of time at Sound Bites Grill, being the house photographer. So I am very familiar with the view. And as many times as I see the sun set on the red rocks I am always amazed at how each sunset differs from the one before. On this day with no clouds to help I decided to concentrate on the comic feature built into the red rocks a Charles Schultz character called Snoopy.
Snoopy Rock Time Lapse Video
The initial images were captured with the Lumix GX8 with a 35-100mm f2.8 Vario lens. The settings were for an image captured every 3 seconds. The video was processed in-camera in the GX8 to 4K video with playback speed at 12 frames per second. I had previously processed the 916 images into a 4K 24 fps video and felt it was too fast.
One problem that I wasn’t aware of during capture (cause I was having dinner at the bar) was there were some very severe wind gusts shaking the camera. That’s not a good way to view video. Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2015 to the rescue. Opened the file in Premiere Pro then added the graphics and music. Even more important used the Warp feature to examine and fix the shaky wind buffeted footage to rock steady. Also added a slight Ken Burns effect zooming slowly into the image featuring Snoopy that is possible because of the 4K size files that still leaves you plenty of quality on an HD timeline.
As an added benefit to shooting time lapses there are individual images to choose from to create stills from the same scene. Here’s one with just a bit more color correction in Adobe Camera Raw and Photoshop.
Snoopy Rock still photo at sunset.
I’m really enjoying the ease with which time lapse videos can be made with the Lumix cameras. You don’t need to take the subsequent video into and additional processing program but that enables the addition of information and flourishes depending on your final output.
For infrared conversion of my cameras I use LifePixel. Infrared allows you to put an older camera to use and opens up a new time time of day for productive image creation.
Fotopro tripods are well worth checking out. You can learn about the ones I use and recommend by clicking on the Fotopro Tripods link at the top of this page. If you want to see what other tripods might fit your needs check out the Fotopro.com website. Check back with me before you buy as a Fotopro Ambassador I’m able to get you discounted pricing including complementary continental USA shipping for my followers that you won’t find through retail outlets.
Learn Photoshop in a fun environment. Aaron Nace applies the right amount of fun with easy to understand and follow tutorials. Actions and brushes are included with lessons!
Lightning, waterdroplets, sound, time-lapse, HDR sequences, smiles and much more control for your camera!
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A High Speed Smart Camera Remote
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Platypod has become a great resource for being creative in getting your camera gear easily into unusual places. As an Platypod Pro I get to work/play with the gear even before it comes out. Head over to Platypod, subscribe to the newsletter and you will get special discounts reserved only for subscribers.
