Sorry, I still don't have any timelapse photography of my own, but I just couldn't pass up on sharing this one...

As I've mentioned before, I check the Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) daily and very much enjoy the night photography.

Aurora Borealis timelapse HD - Tromsø 2010 from Tor Even Mathisen on Vimeo.

I'm really hoping to be able to buy the necessary pieces to take my EOS 7D on our upcoming diving trip to Indonesia, and if I do, I fully intend on trying to get some timelapse astro-photography there. Though I know I won't get any Aurora australis there, so that will still be on my list.

- Bill

"That was a-MAZ-ing!" - Nick Frost, Hot Fuzz.

First, if you have never seen Hot Fuzz, do yourself a favor and go watch it. Then you'll understand where the quote above comes from, and you'll be able to use it after watching the clip below.

Timescapes Timelapse: Mountain Light from Tom Lowe @ Timescapes on Vimeo.

That clip comes from Timescapes.org which is apparently the site for an upcoming feature film that appears to be chock full of incredible time-lapse photography.

Time-lapse photography has always been something I've been very interested in but never tried. I do have a Satechi Timer Remote Control for my Canon 7D, so I have the means - I just need to actually try it out.

I was also extremely impressed with the time-lapse photography done in the BBC Series - Life (which is another place I like to get photography inspiration).

Enjoy the video, I am sure it will be a while before I have some time-lapse of my own to share, but for now that stuff is incredibly amazing, and despite really wanting to go on a dive trip, I wouldn't mind the chance to spend a night or two out in the south-west.

- Bill

Well, that last post with the night sky photography seems to hit right in time for some more night sky photography - fireworks!

I plan on trying my hand at getting some explosive shots this weekend, so I took a look for some pointers. Check out this video from AdoramaTV.

Good luck if you try and photography this weekend, and have a safe and happy 4th either way!

- Bill

So I stumbled on this site today, and found this project created by the New York Times.

The project is called A Moment in Time. Basically the premise was to create a huge virtual gallery of photos all taken at the same moment around the globe - 15:00 U.T.C., Sunday, May 2.

The post here goes into more detail about the project.

As the application loads, it very aptly gives you the warning to 'not make any plans for the rest of the day'.

Enjoy!

- Bill

PS: Sorry about the low frequency of posts recently. I've been working on the site more recently, but all on behind the scenes stuff. I'm not going to go into details in case I'm unable to make the stuff I want to do work out.

I still have one or two posts from my photo session with that crab spider. However, last week I found a website that I think will end up being a bit of a time-sink, but in a good way.

I am talking about TED.com. Apparently the TED (which stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference has been going on for years, and is some of the best thinkers of our time giving some of the most engaging talks I've ever heard.

The video here is the first one I found - purely by accident - that lead me to view some others on the TED.com website. It sure beats watching some of the other mindless videos out there.

I've always been interested in the way our senses work, in particular sight. That might be why I'm interested in photography - the idea of capturing a frozen image of what I see. But as my last post, even the tiniest changes can have a huge difference in the final photo. This discussion by Beau Lotto about some optical illusions spoke directly to me on multiple levels, but I thought it spoke very loudly to me about some of the challenges we face as photographers in trying to capture that image to show others exactly what we are seeing.

I've watched the video several times at this point, and each time I'm just as impressed with it. I continue to be amazed with the human senses and to feel a little overwhelmed at how daunting at task it actually is to make photographs in such a way that they portray what it was we were seeing through the viewfinder when we took the photo.

I've added the site to my RSS reader, and it looks like I've got a hundred items just there to watch, and I've already seen several topics that I'll probably be reposting here.

Enjoy the video.

Drop me a comment and let me know what you think.

- Bill

Yeah - I know - I've been slacking and haven't posted for a while. I promise I'm working on getting out of the funk I'm in. I will be posting soon.

In the meantime, I know my birthday and Christmas are just barely passed, but if you're looking for a gift to get me, here it is!

A travel thermos mug that looks like a Canon 70-200mm L series lens.

If only I had somehow started into photography at a much younger age, and been a professional photo-journalist that got to go to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, I would have one of these for free.

Instead, I have to wait around till mid-April supposedly, and then it looks like pay about $60 for mine.

But it does look awesome.

And I *need* one.

Wonder if they include the tripod mount so you can have a handle...

- Bill

Wow - remember what I said about looking at photos?

Go check out the National Wildlife Federation's 2009 Photo Contest winners.

Stunning. I only wish to be that good/lucky some day.

- Bill

I'm going to change things up today. I hope it won't disappoint anyone, but no photo to critique today. Instead I want to talk a little bit about one of the places I've received a lot of inspiration and subconscious instruction.

I'm talking about the many photography books I have. I've still got to work up the Photography Books page, but I figure I'll spotlight my favorite photographer from these books. His name is Thomas Marent. Wait! Wait! Before you click on that and go looking at his site, read the rest of my post since if you're anything like me, you'll get distracted for hours browsing through his gallery.

So far, he has three books published, and Anya and I own all three. The first is his Rainforest book, which is by far my favorite. Then he also has specialized ones: Frog and Butterfly.

It appears that they are all being re-issued as paperbacks which while it will make them cheaper, I definitely recommend seeking out the hardback versions if you can - there is just something more satisfying about a nice heavy coffee table book that paperback just can't achieve. The original Rainforest release came with an audio CD filled with the sounds of the rainforest - insects, frogs, birds, monkeys, rain, etc. It is an awesome disc to put on and relax listening to - kind of like one of those soothing sound machines. Plus if you have dogs, it is always fun if they're like our dogs and look around the room trying to locate where the strange sounds are coming from.

Really - next time you're at a book store, look for one of his books and check it out, then take it home and adorn your coffee table with it. You won't regret it.

I was unaware of it at the time, but when we started collecting these books years ago, it was inadvertently shaping my interest in photography and probably subconsciously training my eye for things to look for in a good photo. Things like composition, framing, focus, depth of field. All of those things can probably be learned more easily subconsciously than they can be in a classroom.

Many of the places I've looked at trying to learn how to take better photos will give you plenty of suggestions, the most common of which is 'get out and take photos as often as possible'. However, I've never seen anyone suggest that you also just look at lots of photos and see what you like, see what other people like.

So I am now. Go look at photos. Lots of photos. You can start here.

By doing so, you'll shape your own preferences, and then when you see it through the viewfinder of your own camera, you'll know to flip the shutter and you'll have that photo to be proud of and show off to everyone. You can thank me for it later...

- Bill