How to Create Time Lapse Videos with Pan and Zoom

In This Issue:

• How to create Time Lapse videos with Pan and Zoom
• 20-second Photoshop Tips
• Shooting in Cold Temperatures
• The Usual Announcements
• A new Zoom lecture for Photo Clubs

How to create Time Lapse Videos with Pan and Zoom

Have a look at the time lapse video below:

Time lapse videos like this are produced by placing your camera on a tripod, taking a series of pictures at regular intervals (in this case 217 images taken every 10 seconds), and then turning those single images into a movie using video editing software later on.  But notice that in this brief clip, the camera is panning left-to-right.  That usually requires an expensive motion control rig that I don't own.  So how was it done?

The ability to pan after-the-fact in a video like this is possible thanks to the relatively small size of video files compared to the large number of megapixels modern cameras can capture.  For example, in the illustration below, the green square represents the image size in pixels of the Sony A7R V, where the pink square represents the size in pixels of an HD video:

So realistically you can move that pink square anywhere in the frame and achieve your panning effect.  If you're rendering in 4K, you have a little less leeway but it is still possible:

I've used this technique many times in the past - replacing several cameras with just one 4K wide shot, and simulating many different camera angles, like in this blog post here.

So that's how it's done in theory.  In practice you need a video editor that has pan and zoom capabilities, which most of the free online video editing apps lack.  For years I've used a video editor called Vegas (once owned by Sony; now owned by Magix), and I can show you what I did in that program to achieve the effect.  Adobe Premier Pro (probably more popular than Vegas) can do this also.

How I created the video

1. First, I captured the time lapse with my camera.  (Most modern cameras have this feature built-in; but if you don't there are 3rd party devices that can automate this.)
2. DON'T use the software that came with your camera to make a video first.  That will just produce an HD video and you won't be able to pan around in that.  You want to start with the full-resolution images so that you have room to pan and zoom.
3. In Vegas, go to OPTIONS --> Preferences --> Editing, and set "New Still Image Length (seconds) to 0.051.  Also set Cut-to-overlap conversion (seconds): to 0.051.  Hit Apply and OK.

4.  Watch the video below for the rest:

20-second Photoshop Tips for Impatient Photographers

Programs like Photoshop and Lightroom have extremely steep learning curves, and I'd speculate that most users of those programs aren't familiar with most of their capabilities. 

Lately I've discovered short videos on Instagram which show you how to do some very cool things with Photoshop.  Check out these accounts:

• graphicdesign.tutorials
• photoshop_blog
• smart.graphics
• photoshoptrainingchannel
• _bodiab

All of these accounts show you how to do something cool in Photoshop in 20 seconds.  I actually learn something new from most of them.

From a learning point of view, these videos probably don't go much beyond "Wow, I didn't know this technique".  The downside is that without some practice and reinforcement you'll be less likely to remember the technique when you need it.  And it's the nature of Instagram to not be able to find things again once you scroll past them. :-(

In the Pipeline

• v2.0 of the A7R V book should be completed before the end of April.  It will include new material for the recently announced Firmware 2.0.  You'll automatically receive a new download link if you purchased the download from the FriedmanArchives website or you registered your purchase (from somewhere else) with me.
• .epub and .azw3 versions of Tony Phillips' Fujifilm X-T5 ebook are now available!  You should have received a notification; if not email me your purchase receipt.
• No, I won't be writing a book on the new ZV E-1.  I've learned that the demographic for the ZV series doesn't care to read; they just want to press the big red button and video themselves.

Shooting in Cold Tempertures

Real Letters from Real Readers

Dear Gary,  It would sure be helpful if you have some insights on doing expedition or other type photography in challenging temperatures or other challenged etc. to have some information in your excellent texts. I often photograph in up to minus 15 C with a Sony A1. - Wynne Powell

Dear Wynne,  

I try really hard not to just mirror manufacturer's specs in my books (you can find those just by googling them - you go to my books for insights you can't google), which is why I never mention temperature ranges.  It's a very fickle thing to specify anyway; as it is the nature of electronics from any manufacturer to fail at low temperatures, and usually it's the batteries that die first.  (And even then it depends on the % change of the battery.)  The advice I offer for cold-weather shooting is:

1) Keep lots of spare batteries in your pants pockets, close to your skin to keep them warm before using them.

2) Try to keep the camera warm when not shooting.   (That one's kind of obvious.)

3) Use the electronic shutter when you can.  Lubricants for moving parts (like the shutter) can freeze at sub-zero temperatures; using the electronic shutter means practically no moving parts.

4) Keep a lens cloth available to take care of condensation which never seems to go away.  One time while in Newfoundland I applied anti-fog drops (designed to keep scuba divers' masks clear) on my lens.  It worked marginally well.

5) KEEP THE LITTLE COVER FOR THE HOT SHOE IN THE SLOT AT ALL TIMES.  Moisture, ice, and conductive rocks can get in there and short out those little tiny electrical contacts at the front edge of the hot shoe, causing all sorts of strange error messages and camera lock-up.

Hope this helps!  GF

New Zoom Talk on AI-generative Imagery

I'm in the process of creating a new zoom lecture for photo clubs, talking about the new field of AI-generative art.  I'll provide examples, how they're made, the history of lying with the image, and what repercussions this new capability will have for photographers in particular and society in general.  Let me know if your photo club would like to be put on the waiting list!

Type in some words, get an image.  What will this mean for the future of photography?  And what are the potential implications for society in general when it becomes so easy to create believable disinformation??  

Until next time,

Yours Truly, Gary Friedman

This content was created by a human, without the aid of A.I. or machine learning tools.  (Except for that last image of the frog, of course. :-))