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Chicago Skyline Time-lapse

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I did my first real test of the of the “holy grail” of time-lapse where you go from daylight to night-time (or the reverse). I used the Timelapse+ VIEW intervalometer and software plugin for Lightroom CC to handle the exposure changes. I did this from the Montrose Harbor area looking down to Chicago, an iconic view of this beautiful city. We started the exposures at 6:40pm and finished 2 hours and 44 minutes later at 9:24pm. This gave us just under a minute of video from the 1,408 images shot. For those interested it was shot with the Canon Mark 5d IV with the 24-105 lens set at F/11. The ISO started at 100 and ended at ISO 8000. The shutter speed started at 1/80 of a second and ended with an exposure of 4.0 seconds. A total of 14.5 stops! Timelapse+ VIEW was setup to change the shutter speed first and then the ISO. Timelapse+ VIEW Intervalometer will automate night to day time-lapse using a light sensor and advanced algorithms. This system worked really well and once you take it into Lightroom in post processing the plugin finds the keyframes which you can use to do the initial processing in Lightroom Development window to make any exposure / color corrections you require. The software then makes these corrections for the entire selection in subtle increments so you have a finished piece with smooth transitions for a beautiful time-lapse.

Now one thing I know I will try next time is starting with at least a 1 second exposure to make the water smoother throughout the time-lapse. I would also go longer into the nighttime view to give a little more room in editing to be able to use a longer nighttime scene.

This Timelapse+ VIEW intervalometer and what we will be able to do with it will be a great addition to The Sweetwater Seas – North America’s Great Lakes documentary! It will be in the equipment bags for every shoot from now on! Can’t wait to get outside along  the Great Lakes and do some day to night with the Milky Way winding its way across the screen, and maybe even back to daylight.

Enjoy,

Richard

#thesweetwaterseas #GreatLakes #timelapse #timelapse+ #Chicago #LakeMichigan #Canon #CanonMark5DIV #Chicagophotography #artofchi #earthpix #timelapseplus #travel #landscape #cityscape #astrophotography #illinois #illinoistourism #way2ill 

 

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South Haven Lighthouse Aerials

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Aerial views of the South Haven Lighthouse in South Haven, Michigan. Done for the documentary The Sweetwater Seas - North America's Great Lakes currently in production.

Over this past Labor Day weekend, I had the pleasure of joining a group of friends and family who have met each year at the wonderful Michi-Mona-Mac cabins in South Haven, Michigan. It was a wonderful time with this group of folks over the Labor Day weekend. I had the chance to use the DJI Mavic Pro drone to do some aerial video for our documentary The Sweetwater Seas – North America’s Great Lakes. On this morning it was slightly overcast at sunrise and with little wind.

Using manual settings, I shot at 1/50 of a second, as the frame rate in the end will be 24 frames a second. It is best to try and shoot with double the frame rate to give you a smooth image. Using ISO 100 and adjusting the aperture until I the exposure was accurate. I always use a polarizing filter as well – especially when shooting over water – but in all honesty whether shooting stills or 4K video it is always on my lenses.

I knew several of the shots I wanted to get before starting out, and while I did not do a storyboard before flight, I had mapped it out in my head what I wanted in the finished film. Setting up each shot while in flight before beginning the movement, so I could edit them together later. There are always happy surprises like the folks walking the pier or only one boat coming down the river into the open lake instead of many at a time. I used Adobe Premier Pro to edit the film instead of the DJI software. We shall see if we use any of this is the final film and I am guessing some shots will be used!

I hope you enjoy this small piece!

Cheers,

Richard Mack

Here is information on the lighthouse:

Tower Information
Tower Height: 35.00'
Focal Plane: 37'
Active Aid to Navigation: Yes
Latitude: 42.40100 N
Longitude: -86.28800 W

The South Haven South Pierhead Light is a lighthouse in Michigan, at the entrance to the Black River on Lake Michigan. The station was lit in 1872, and is still operational. The tower is a shortened version of the Muskegon South Pierhead Light, and replaced an 1872 wooden tower. The catwalk is original and still links the tower to shore: it is one of only four that survive in the State of Michigan. The keeper's house is on shore, 2-​1⁄2 stories tall, wood with a hipped-roof. It was also built in 1872, and is located at 91 Michigan Avenue onshore, was transferred to the city for preservation in 2000. The Michigan Maritime Museum has renovated the keeper's house as the Marialyce Canonie Great Lakes Research Library.

It’s Time – Shut Down Line 5

It’s Time – Shut Down Line 5

As part of our documentary, The Sweetwater Seas – North America’s Great Lakes, one part of the film covers the story of Line 5, a segment we aim to release this fall as a stand-alone 30-minute documentary. Our approach in telling the Line 5 story revolves around the rights of indigenous people in northern Michigan, who have both a moral and legal right to clean water in the Straits of Mackinac and elsewhere. Their rights to full use of the land and water, both inland and in the Great Lakes, was established in the 1836 treaty that created the state of Michigan. This is the backdrop of lawsuits that seek to shut down the aging pipeline—the treaty guarantees that the local environment will be preserved to use by indigenous people, but an oil spill in the Straits would destroy the resource for the five bands of Odawa and Chippewa people who live around the Straits and are directly impacted by Line 5.

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Ice Island

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Ice Island

Winter on the Great Lakes can be a fantastic opportunity to see the power and fascination of nature. Went back to Lighthouse Beach to shoot the Ice Island which had formed off the beach at sunrise to get the light shining through the ice sheets. Shot mostly video for The Sweetwater Seas documentary but took some time to shoot some still images as well.

Started at 6am in 9 degrees, at least there was no wind at all so it seemed warm with all the layers on! (Just had to watch where your breath went so it didn't get in front of lens!) Spent about 2.5 hours out there. Enjoy!

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The Sweetwater Seas Fine Art Prints & Posters

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The Sweetwater Seas has partnered with Quiet Light Publishing to offer these Fine Art Posters from our film on all five of the Great Lakes. We currently have 24 Fine Art Posters for sale on the Quiet Light Publishing storefront. They are available in two sizes - 24"x36" and 20"x24". Each is printed on Fine Art Archival paper to our exacting standards. You can see and purchase any of them using this link: The Sweetwater Seas Fine Art Posters. we will be producing more fine art prints and folio's in the near future. Start your Holiday shopping now!

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Ludington State Park

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Last September I rolled into Ludington State Park for a one-night stay on my way back from filming in Traverse City. I had never visited this park before, so I spent the evening walking the dunes and looking for images. To my surprise, while the campground was almost full, no one else was out wandering the dunes – much to my pleasure. Having the place to yourself gives you time to wander and take in the place and space you are in. It was interesting to find areas without any footprints in many places. It was a peaceful evening filled with images everywhere.

In the morning, while folks were still not out on the dunes yet, I flew a drone over the area before heading back home. Enjoy.

Cheers,
Richard

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Line 5 The Greatest Threat Under the Great Lakes

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For those who aren't familiar with the issue, Line 5 is an Enbridge-owned oil pipeline that runs beneath the Straits of Mackinac. It is actually two 20-inch pipelines that run along the bottom of the Straits, a five-mile span of pristine water separating Lakes Michigan and Huron.

Donate

Through the Sweetwater Seas Educational Films NFP, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, we fund films and educational materials on the Great Lakes. Your donation will help us fund The Sweetwater Seas - North America’s Great Lakes documentary. Please donate to help get the word out!