Too cool for words: an interactive, panoramic timelapse video of a massive art installation in Amsterdam. Give it a minute or two to start loading; it’ll be worth your wait!
The interface is clever and compact: you see the entire panorama at the bottom, and an expanded view through a sort of window at the top. (The only part I don’t like is the position-based pan control, which makes me feel like I’m balanced precariously on a giant rubber ball in a swimming pool full of molasses. Give me things I can grab and drag, please! Hint hint: here’s a perfectly good rectangle just below! ;-)
What you see through the window is just as cool: the week-long construction process of a roomful of art, time-stretched and -compressed as necessary to highlight the most interesting moments. There’s so much going on that you’ll want to rewind and watch it multiple times. I particularly liked the big green-and-red letters spelling “POINT”, which start out whole and are gradually cut down from the bottom, so they appear to be sinking into the floor. It almost seems like that artist was performing in slow-motion for the camera. If so, they deserve a standing ovation. Bravo!
Eric and Nikki hosted their first Science Salon at Stamen Design. The guests were astrophysicists Jonathan Arons & Claire Max, who told us fascinating stories about black holes, the shape of space, and the life of stars. Great food and great people rounded out the evening. Here’s an instant replay for those who missed it. (The timelapse didn’t come out quite as exciting as I’d hoped… next time I’ll bring a taller tripod, and, I dunno, some lasers or something to spice it up a bit! ;-)
The only thing better than brunch on a rainy Sunday is brunch with dear friends, hundred-year-old comics, the Puzzle, and a camera shooting timelapse. Taken at the Rodenbecks’ stylish and newly de-bachelorized pad. (This one is a half-second exposure every ten seconds. I may have to spring for a neutral-density filter so I can get longer exposures by daylight!)
Had a little fun with the remote timer at a friend’s birthday dinner last night… we ate at Foreign Cinema, a very nice restaurant where they project movies in the courtyard. The movie this evening was Koyaanisqatsi, so a little timelapse photography just seemed like the natural thing to do. I’m trying out YouTube for the first time to see how well it works. You can click the Play button above to see the movie, or link directly to the video here.
Okay, here’s something that hits all the right buttons: a timelapse map of the world made using webcams from everywhere on the planet. I could do without the elevator music in the background, but the video itself is just fascinating! Eureka moment: seeing the wave of daylight spread from east to west across the whole globe.
