Jon Stecker Photography

Rainy day time lapse with a double rainbow

Over the past year (or more) I've developed a number of hints and tips on how to do better Time Lapse photography that I didn't find in other places. This is after you have learned the basics of Time Lapses and will hopefully allow you a better approach to thinking about, planning, and executing a Time Lapse. Here's the full list from the video: • When not to do a time lapse ○ Little to no movement over time; boring ○ Too much movement in the foreground; distracting ○ Clouds if it's just overcast and you can't see movement ○ Stars if there's too much light pollution ○ Stars if there's too much air traffic • Slider ○ Must have something in the foreground (or even mid-ground) ○ It doesn't have to be level; try some angles or vertical slides • Plan the shot gear ○ Create the set up ahead of time ○ Include all cables, lenses, battery packs, tripods, etc. ○ Test your rig at home ○ Consider weight ○ Bring extra cables, ropes, tripods, connections, etc. • Shots over several hours ○ Use external power when possible ○ Add a battery pack (but be cautious of the extra weight) ○ Extra power from a portable power source • Plan for weather ○ Protect your gear; your camera may be weatherproof, but not all your gear is ○ Wrap the camera and gear in a cover if there's rain ○ Protect the batteries if it's cold ○ Protect yourself • At the location ○ Run through the movement to make sure there are no obstructions ○ Run through the movement to check framing ○ Remove neck straps or anything hanging down ○ Velcro anything hanging that you can't remove ○ Sand bag everything you can • Just before starting ○ Image review off ○ Fix your focus and turn off auto-focus ○ Fix your zoom; gaffer tape it ○ Clear your memory card • While shooting ○ Watch the battery ○ Watch the rig • After shooting ○ Plan plenty of time for post-processing

I love the Syrp Genie system and would love to have a Slingshot to do time lapses that I can't do with just a Syrp Magic Carpet. But I'm not yet ready to spend the money on the Slingshot. So I checked Youtube, found a few DIY versions, and used one of those videos to create my own. Here's the link to the video of the DIY I started with: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftKnRuNUPgQ

While setting up this time lapse, it became complicated. So I decided that a "How to" video might be useful to show others how it was done for information. Link to the final Time Lapse video: https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=F38nJFnzTb0

This is a time-lapse of the setting sun using a Syrp Genie mounted on a Syrp Magic Carpet (for the vertical drop) and a Genie Mini for the panning.

A number of large cloud banks formed around my house on August 17, 2019. I had to get some time lapses!