So, its the weekend and probably, just like many of you, I'm trying to catch up on the massive sleep debt that i accrued over the week....Going through the daily grind of work and the rat-race can't be good for us....hence i try to make myself daydream about as many of my past travels / adventures as possible.
The one memory that keeps coming up in my mind was my wanderings through Yosemite National Park in California, USA. This was such an amazing experience it is so hard to put into words!
Let me just SHOW YOU:
From a location just west of the above shot I took a time lapse shot of the sunrise (from pitch black darkness):
(see below for location details)
Standing atop Glacier Point (where i took the above time lapse) and watching the first rays of sunlight EXPLODE over the mountain ranges is something that can only be experienced (and to a lesser extent shown).
If you only have time to see one thing in Yosemite National Park, make it this!!!!
What I'm trying to get at with this blog and my ramblings is to tell and show you that you don't need super fancy equipment which costs thousands of dollars. I took the above photo with my little Cannon Powershot D10. Its not an SLR, nor a DSLR, it had no special filters or "thingamajigs". Its more about being at the right place, at the right time and knowing how to use your little camera. I'll cover panoramic photography in later posts.
Anywho.....let me continue with another time lapse tip...
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Tip #8 - Small Tripods Work Just As Good !!!!
Having a normal sized tripod (the ones that are about 4 feet high), are good....BUT SOMETIMES...it is better to have the tiny miniature ones. I'll explain....
Sometimes (as previously stated) you may find yourself in a very high traffic "touristy" area where there are many people who may "accidentally" bump your camera, my tip was to PROTECT YOUR SPACE....now if you have a big tripod, you'll have more area to protect and also more chances either you or someone near you may bump your tripod's long legs (while you are busy trying to protect your space). A small tripod makes your area of protection much smaller, you can basically cover it with your body and arms!
On top of that, if you are on the edge of a cliff / mountain (which is already very high above the ground), having a tall tripod (i.e. 4 extra feet high) is not going to make much of a difference.
Finally if you have to hike several hours to your special location, you're going to want to minimize your pack's weight. If your little tripod is going to do just as good a job as your big tripod then why take up the extra room and added weight?
The above timelapse was taken using just a mini tripod (shown below):
So having a mini tripod is: light weight, small sized and handy.....but let me also warn you that having such a small compact piece of equipment near a cliff edge is VERY EASILY knocked over/off. So be careful and stay clear of it once you have set your time lapse up.
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Location: Yosemite National Park
Camera: GoPro HDHERO2
Settings: 11 mp on .5 sec interval
Time of Arrival: 5:30 am
Duration of Time Lapse: 1 hour 50 minutes
Number of shots in sequence: 11,875
Total size used: 17.3 Gigabytes
Wind condition: Negligible
Temperature: 15 to 18 degrees Celsius ( 59 - 64.5 degrees Fahrenheit)
Hiking time: 10 mins from trail head
Lessons learned: Small tripods work just as effectively on the edge of cliffs/mountains as tall ones. Save yourself the weight and space and carry more food, water and clothing instead!
(click on the map to enlarge it)
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