There are time lapse photography companies out there developing and using solar paneling and wind turbines to power their cameras!!
What is the point of this you ask? Are they eco nuts…..or just plain eccentric? Well, the companies who use these renewable energy sources do so not only out of choice, but often out of necessity.
The sort of companies using this technology are those s in long period time lapse photography, where cameras systems are often ‘in the field’ in sometimes far flung locations for lengthy periods of time. In such circumstances a normal power supply may be either unreliable, due to frequent interruptions, or, most often, simply not available.
In such cases, solar power may be the first option. A solar panel accompanied by a battery creates and stores sufficient energy to power the camera system and to also compensate for cloudy days and less favorable conditions. Usually in moderately sunny climates the minimum requirement is a 10v or 12v solar panel, feeding a conventional battery.
However, not all climates are moderately sunny! In fact there is a distinct lack of sunshine or even sunlight in some locations or during the winter seasons. In these circumstances the photographer may choose a combination of both solar power and wind turbine power. The principle remains the same and the use of a battery system to store the energy is a constant. However, instead of the singular means to generate power, the wind turbine system is attached as not only an add-on, but a back up.
The wind turbines are generally quite compact and very well designed, and tend not to require a great deal of air flow to feed them. They are usually fitted with a direction sail in order that the blades, which generate the power via a conventional drive shaft, can always face in the best direction to catch the wind.
By using this combination of wind and solar energy, what is created is part of a ‘go-anywhere’ camera system. As either method is quite effective under most conditions; using both methods as good as guarantees operation under all weather conditions.
There are other factors to a go-anywhere system, such as adequate and robust camera housing which need to maintain optimum operating temperature for the equipment. However, harnessing natural sources of power is certainly a vital part of an ‘all terrain’ system.
Not only do time lapse photographers get to time-lapse anywhere for very long periods of time –they also gets a round of applause for being eco-friendly. It’s a ‘win-win’ situation, and as technologies for renewable energy sources get ever more sophisticated and efficient, it will become ever easier for the keen amateur as well as the dedicated professional to use such techniques for their timelapse projects.
Saturday, 4 December 2010
Tuesday, 30 November 2010
Time Lapse Photography: The Latest thing for both the Construction and Security Industries.
In recent years construction companies around Europe have been increasingly using time lapse photography to document and to monitor their construction projects. Construction companies started to use time lapse for promotion and publicity purposes and to show potential clients the entire process of construction projects, which could be displayed at lightening speed, through the sequencing together of individually shot images at around 25 frames per second.
Specialist companies had to be bought in to set up and maintain such time lapse projects, as the equipment used often had to function continuously for months and even years in the case of certain construction projects. Also, the equipment had to operate in extremes of weather, from the heat of summer to the sub-zero temperatures of the winter months.
In order to monitor that their time lapse systems were operating as they should do around the clock, and in order to back-up images being taken to a remote server, these specialist companies needed to network their equipment via broadband or 3G technologies. As they were doing this monitoring themselves, one or two specialists began to offer this service to clients. They reasoned that particularly clients in construction would find this service very useful - because at the same time as producing a time lapse, individual ‘live’ images being captured could be viewed or shared with architects, surveyors, stake holders and so on, who could sit virtually anywhere in the world and see the detail of a site.
Indeed, a site could be viewed in unprecedented detail and clarity, as the cameras used were professional DSLRs and the images they captured were higher than HD (High Definition). This meant that the images could be zoomed into as a means to check on detail, and it also meant that activities such as deliveries, and work flows could be monitored as the images were time-stamped.
Such high specification and high performance time lapse systems are also being used now for security, as these high definition images can provide obvious advantages for closely monitoring a construction site. The high resolution images enable close ups of areas of the image without losing much clarity, making faces and features on the frame much clearer than ever seen before. This gives them a huge advantage over more convention CCTV camera systems, which only generally produce lower grade images. The time lapse cameras not only provide the high grade images – but produce the moving time lapse sequence at the end!
The set up and operation of such systems is not easy, and few companies manage it successfully. Time Lapse Photography Companies such this are few and far between and are usually innovators as well as people merely able to harness new technologies.
Hideaway Media provide Time Lapse Video solutions for the leisure, construction and security industries.
Specialist companies had to be bought in to set up and maintain such time lapse projects, as the equipment used often had to function continuously for months and even years in the case of certain construction projects. Also, the equipment had to operate in extremes of weather, from the heat of summer to the sub-zero temperatures of the winter months.
In order to monitor that their time lapse systems were operating as they should do around the clock, and in order to back-up images being taken to a remote server, these specialist companies needed to network their equipment via broadband or 3G technologies. As they were doing this monitoring themselves, one or two specialists began to offer this service to clients. They reasoned that particularly clients in construction would find this service very useful - because at the same time as producing a time lapse, individual ‘live’ images being captured could be viewed or shared with architects, surveyors, stake holders and so on, who could sit virtually anywhere in the world and see the detail of a site.
Indeed, a site could be viewed in unprecedented detail and clarity, as the cameras used were professional DSLRs and the images they captured were higher than HD (High Definition). This meant that the images could be zoomed into as a means to check on detail, and it also meant that activities such as deliveries, and work flows could be monitored as the images were time-stamped.
Such high specification and high performance time lapse systems are also being used now for security, as these high definition images can provide obvious advantages for closely monitoring a construction site. The high resolution images enable close ups of areas of the image without losing much clarity, making faces and features on the frame much clearer than ever seen before. This gives them a huge advantage over more convention CCTV camera systems, which only generally produce lower grade images. The time lapse cameras not only provide the high grade images – but produce the moving time lapse sequence at the end!
The set up and operation of such systems is not easy, and few companies manage it successfully. Time Lapse Photography Companies such this are few and far between and are usually innovators as well as people merely able to harness new technologies.
Hideaway Media provide Time Lapse Video solutions for the leisure, construction and security industries.
Sunday, 14 March 2010
An Introduction to Time Lapse...
Hello, and welcome to our new blog where we aim to keep you updated on our Time Lapse Video projects.
As a bit of an introduction, let me tell you a little bit more about Time Lapse.
Time-lapse is a series of photographs taken over a period of time. The period of time is usually defined by an event, such as a sunrise, the construction of a building or product or an event or concert.
These photo's are the edited and compiled to create a short video, usually a few minutes long, compressing days, months or even years into a short sequence. The effects are stunning (see the link below)
Time Lapse Videos
If you are interested in Time Lapse video we specialise in the creation and production of Time Lapse Video sequences for most budgets. No job is too large, no job is too small. Simply visit our web site and get in touch.
http://www.time-lapse-systems.co.uk
As a bit of an introduction, let me tell you a little bit more about Time Lapse.
Time-lapse is a series of photographs taken over a period of time. The period of time is usually defined by an event, such as a sunrise, the construction of a building or product or an event or concert.
These photo's are the edited and compiled to create a short video, usually a few minutes long, compressing days, months or even years into a short sequence. The effects are stunning (see the link below)
Time Lapse Videos
If you are interested in Time Lapse video we specialise in the creation and production of Time Lapse Video sequences for most budgets. No job is too large, no job is too small. Simply visit our web site and get in touch.
http://www.time-lapse-systems.co.uk
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