Time-lapse photography: sidewalk art in New York
Hani is a sidewalk artist who was commissioned to create this art piece of a Wyoming ski slope on a sidewalk along 5th Avenue in Manhattan. In turn, I was commissioned to create a timelapse of this pastel art piece being created over a two day period. I used multiple cameras to achieve a final timelapse video that is more dynamic than just a single camera viewpoint.
The photographs below show some of the logistics — multiple tripods and cameras. One of the tripods is really tall, so I could get a viewpoint somewhat from above. On the 2nd day, I attached a camera with a clamp to one of the pedestrian lights, to get an angle that is nearly from above. I had a battery pack attached to that camera so I didn’t have to scoot up and down the ladder every so often to change batteries. I made sure the tripods didn’t obstruct any pedestrian traffic, which would have been a sure way to get shut down.
The tripods are very sturdy because camera shake is a big no-no with timelapse videos. They need to be rock solid.
The post-production of this timelapse video took considerable work, keeping the exposures and color balance as consistent as possible between the various cameras, as the light and weather changed over the two days. I love the final result – a fast-paced time-lapse video that shows a true artist at work.
An intervalometer, and battery pack attached to this camera that hangs from this pedestrian traffic light. The lens is an ultra-wide lens to capture not only the entire width of the art, but also the width of the area the artist worked in.
As an aside here, this orange roller case is Hani’s and is how he transports all his various pastels that he uses.
Here is the final sidewalk art! It was fascinating to watch Hani work on this – an obvious veteran of creating this kind of work. His hands easily recreating the shapes and colors with his pastels, without using guidelines.
- For more info about Time-Lapse Photography in New York (and New Jersey)