The Life of Flowers Captured with Incredible Macro Timelapse Photography

Macro Photography  •  Photography Tips  •  Time-lapse Photography

Landscapes are often the subject of timelapse videos, but Daniel Csobot has taken a different approach. Instead of looking at the skies and mountain ranges, he has decided to stop and look down at the ground, and very close at that. In this timelapse, Csobot captures the growing and blooming of flowers. The video condenses time so that the flowers appear to bloom in seconds rather than weeks or months:

Macro photography is not something you can learn overnight, and neither is timelapse photography. Both take skill, experience, certain equipment, and most of all, lots and lots of patience. If you want to try to create your own macro timelapse, here are some things you will need to plan ahead for:

• Framing – Over the course of time, your subject will most likely move or change. You’ll need to think ahead about how and where your subject will change over the period of time you’re shooting it. At the beginning of Csobot’s timelapse, the top 3/4 of the frame is empty because he knows that the flower will start to grow and fill the frame as it does.

• Timing – Using a little math, you’ll need to figure out how many shots you need to take per minute/hour/day to get the final video at the speed you want it. Keep in mind that 30 fps is standard, so that means that 30 photos will equal one second in your video.

• Location – If you plan on recording something over a long period of time, think about your location. Will your camera be safe from people, environmental conditions, and animals? Is it someplace where it can stay completely still?

• Movement – Most of the time you will not want your camera to move at all. This may become an issue when you want to record over a long period of time. Can you change the camera’s battery without moving it?

Equipment used in this timelapse: Canon 7D, Canon EF 100mm Macro, Canon 15-85mm, and a Kessler CineSlider for motion control.

Flower appearing to bloom at superspeed