Time-lapse photography NYC
I’m a New Jersey / New York based photographer specializing in time-lapse photography.
Time-lapse photography is a very effective way to compress the time-line of an event or process that you want to show in a shorter, more appreciable time-frame. It is a superb tool for showing how events or processes unfold.
Have a look at the various projects shown below to get a scope of all the ways time-lapse photography might help you. There are various options – static viewpoint time-lapse, or rotational time-lapse, or time-lapse with a cinematic motion of the camera. Time-lapse clips can be fluidly integrated with other video clips in a promotional piece.
About this photo – with time-lapse photography, I received an Emmy as part of the team that won a Sports Emmy for an advert for MLB.
Please contact me for more details & pricing, and to discuss your project and see how I may be able to help you.
Neil van Niekerk
[email protected]
862-485-7276
And you may well wonder, WHY time-lapse? What it the appeal and the use of time-lapse photography?
I worked with Jaguar’s social media team to create behind-the-scened time-lapse video sequences of a photographer shooting promotional images of a new range of hybrid Jaguar cars. This was in the early hours of the morning to avoid the crowds in Times Square. I compiled the footage from the two motion dollies that I brought along. This fast-paced video helps show the frenetic mood of New York.
- For a behind-the-scenes look: Time-lapse photography – Jaguar
This video shows the magic of time-lapse photography – an event that took 3 days to complete, was compressed into a much shorter visual time-line. This time-lapse video was created for an event planner for a wedding at Cipriani in Wall St, New York.
This is one of the largest time-lapse projects that I have worked on, since I had 4 cameras set up to capture footage at various angles as the activity took place in various sections. The one camera with the aerial view was mounted statically, and the other 3 were moved around to different areas over the course of the 3 days that it took to set up the decor for this wedding reception.
- For a behind-the-scenes look: Time-Lapse project – Cipriani, Wall St, New York
On October 29th, 2015, the Google Photos Pumpkin Patch was constructed in Times Square, New York. This time-lapse video is a compilation of the total of 20 time-lapse sequences we photographed. The pumpkin patch was constructed through the night (in a pouring rainstorm) to be ready in the morning when New Yorkers would start to visit Times Square, or just move through on their way to work. Of the 20 time-lapse sequences, two were finally used as the intro to Google Photos’ promotional video.
- For a behind-the-scenes look: Time-Lapse project – Times Square pumpkin patch
The smooth transition from day to night (or night to day), is one of the more challenging elements of time-lapse photography. So much so, that it is is referred to as the “holy grail” of time-lapse photography. My client here was a signage company that wanted time-lapse footage of their signs at the Jaguar / Land Rover head office, showing how they light up at dusk. Using 4 cameras here, various angles were captured, blending it all together in a way to show their product at this venue.
- For a behind-the-scenes look: Time-Lapse project – Day-to-night time-lapse transitions
Another time-lapse video to showcase an event space being prepared over the course of 4 days. This video was created for the event planner to showcase her work and what goes into building up a set for a reception at this prestigious New York venue. From the start of getting things ready, until the final party with the guests.
I mounted four high-resolution cameras mounted in different places in the venue to give different angles for a video that shows the frenetic pace of building the entire set over the course of several days.
- For a behind-the-scenes look: Time-Lapse project – Cipriani, South St, New York
A time-lapse video to shows the final step in the rebranding transformation at NJPAC – two cranes removing the old logo, and then hoisting the new logo up, letter by letter. This project took 3 days, and the camera had to be in a weather-proof housing, since the camera would be mounted outdoors.
- For a behind-the-scenes look: Time-Lapse project – NJPAC rebranding
The surprising thing about photographing a time-lapse project, is that often I only have an idea of the actual scope of the event afterwards when I create and edit the final video. That was partially the case here with this time-lapse photography project where a wedding reception tent was built in a client’s front yard. My brief originally was to to create a timelapse of a tent being erected in the garden for a wedding. I had no indication of the scale initially. When I changed the camera half-way through the 3-week long event, did I realize there is something larger happening here than just erecting a marquee tent!
- For a behind-the-scenes look: Time-Lapse project – Building a wedding reception venue
A time-lapse video for a property management company, Emerge212, to show how one of their clients set up his office space here in New York. This was an interesting and challenging time-lapse project in that the area I had to shoot in, was relatively small. The behind-the-scenes page on this project will show how the cameras had to be mounted on the windows with suction cups to get a proper view of the event unfolding. The time-lapse video also includes interview audio with the designer, Robert Verdi.
- For a behind-the-scenes look: Time-Lapse project – Emerge212 New York
To highlight a New York property adjacent to Bryant Park, we zoomed in towards the building during this video. This time-lapse video for a client shows the surroundings of the building – some of the bustle of New York and the beautiful park right opposite it. This kind of zoom technique is done in post-production, and working with a very high resolution, no detail is lost during the zoom effect!
- For a behind-the-scenes look: Time-Lapse project – NYC property, 40th St
More examples of time-lapse projects: