As my timelapse photography mission continues, this past weekend took me to the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle, home of Kerry Park. If you are a resident of Seattle, Kerry Park truly needs no introduction. For previous visitors, chances are you have been to Kerry Park but did not know “Kerry” was the park’s name. People have proposed to their significant others while innumerable wedding parties have “crashed” the scene at Kerry Park on any given day of the week (mostly weekends, though).
Arguably, Kerry Park may truly be the Emerald City’s most renowned park because it offers, essentially, the quintessential view of the Seattle skyline adorned by the iconic Space Needle. On especially clear days, one may also be fortunate to see Mount Rainier along the southern horizon as well. You may have never visited Seattle or lived in Seattle, but it’s entirely probable that you recognize or have seen the view from Kerry Park at least once in your lifetime.
Kerry Park was one of two locations in Queen Anne where I conducted some timelapse photography with Alpharetta, my Sony a6000 camera. In this blog entry, please enjoy a 70-second timelapse video featuring all the activity that transpired at the park within the span of 90 minutes. The timelapse was captured at 3.5-second intervals, so the video is compiled from approximately 1,500 exposures.
Later the same evening, during a separate timelapse recording at Kerry Park, I got caught in the rain. Fortunately, I had an umbrella handy! (No lens or camera body was affected by rainwater during the production of this flick).
After a month of producing these timelapse videos, I have noticed one humorous aspect. When I am post-processing and editing the images that will inevitably be conjoined to make a single video, some of the individual images become noteworthy as a result of where the camera was located when executing the timelapse.
For example, when I am on location, I can have different setups for Alpharetta and my tripod (which still needs a personal name). Sometimes, I’m standing right next to my camera and tripod while observing my subject matter. Alternatively, if I’m physically close enough to Alpharetta, I might be seated in Sydney (that’s my car’s name) reading a book and sipping hot cocoa or coffee while monitoring the operation from inside (sometimes it’s very cold for the early morning timelapses, and I prefer to be cozy inside my automobile rather than stand in chilly conditions unnecessarily).
However, there are certain times when I’m standing or sitting just a few meters away from my setup. These are the scenarios when pedestrians and passersby occasionally take direct notice the camera and tripod which, upon first glance, appear to be unattended or unguarded. I assume, typically, that they inevitably see me nearby and can deduce that I may be the owner of the apparatus. (At least, that’s what I hope because I would be very sorry for the individual who ever contemplated publicly stealing my equipment). In these quirky moments, sometimes people notice the camera, realize that it’s in operation, and pose. Yes, they pose! In other cases, they wave at the camera. Some individuals showcase curious or quizzical expressions as to why the camera and tripod are just standing there, before them, unmanned. It’s funny to me because it’s like inadvertently observing an experiment in human behavior to a certain degree.
Alas, with the Kerry Park timelapse, I thought I would entertain you with some of the individual images of people who took note of my camera and their reactions, each captured by Alpharetta. I may start sharing more funny moments like these for future timelapses involving people in public spaces. Some people really aren’t shy and that’s a beautiful and humorous thing.
EXHIBIT FIVE: This one (below) is my favorite. Just watch and you’ll see why!
More timelapses in the works! Stay tuned!
Thanks for reading this article. If you enjoyed the timelapse video here, please visit my official website @ www.tia-international-photography.com for an indelible, visual experience.
Fabulous! It’s nice to see people having fun posing for the camera.
Cheers, my friend. ;o)