Timelapse
April 16, 2011 9:46 AM   Subscribe

El Tiede: The Mountain. A timelapse of shots taken from the El Tiede mountain, known for being an excellent site for astrological observations. Includes a timelapse of the Milky Way, as seen through a sandstorm coming off from the Sahara Desert. (SLYT)
posted by flibbertigibbet (15 comments total) 11 users marked this as a favorite
 
Surely that should be astronomical observations. Also, it's El Teide.

But it's a really beautiful movie. Starting at :44 it's like watching ocean surf made of cloud.
posted by jedicus at 9:55 AM on April 16, 2011 [2 favorites]


Pico del Teide on Wikipedia. It's a volcano in the Canary Islands.
posted by Nelson at 10:26 AM on April 16, 2011


This is brilliant!

Now, a question for the camera-wielding denizens of MeFi. Is it due to the light-capturing properties of cameras that the galactic plane looks so much more fluffy/milky than when seen by the naked eye? I've been to the Badlands National Park in the U.S. (amazing skygazing) and while I saw the galactic plan, it wasn't quite so... dense? rich? Don't know how to put it.
posted by ntartifex at 11:05 AM on April 16, 2011


Long exposures, ntartiflex. Keep the camera shutter open for seconds or minutes, and the effects of the light build up on the film. Your eye doesn't let the effects of light build up on the retina, as that really messes up any ability to see shapes or motion, so it will never looks as bright.

(In fact, the opposite happens; in the short term, bright light reduces the ability of the eye to register more light, which is why you get after-images)
posted by Devonian at 11:38 AM on April 16, 2011 [1 favorite]


Looks as bright? Huh.

A question. Looking at that gorgeous (but a bit too tasteful) video puts me in mind of Powers of Ten. Given that the time scale of events depends very strongly on their scale - small things happen very quickly, big things more slowly - has anyone done a version that depicts dynamic things, from sub-atomic to cosmic?
posted by Devonian at 11:43 AM on April 16, 2011


Gorgeous!

On a side note, I've been noticing a lot of time-lapse panning shots in videos like these lately. Any photographers out there know how this is accomplished?
posted by treepour at 11:44 AM on April 16, 2011


I've been there. It's absolutely fantastic, galactic observations aside. You can see the entire island of La Gomera from the peak, and the scenery is unspeakably alien and beautiful. If you go to Tenerife, don't just immediately pass out on the beach. Drive up to El Teide.
posted by 1adam12 at 12:33 PM on April 16, 2011


amazing, thanks
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 1:20 PM on April 16, 2011


treepor: people are building (or buying) motion controlled timelapse dollies. I haven't built one, but I've been reading up on them lately. There are some forums around where people show off systems they've created, and people have some pretty creative solutions.
posted by monkeystronghold at 1:35 PM on April 16, 2011 [1 favorite]


If you go to Tenerife, don't just immediately pass out on the beach. Drive up to El Teide.

Indeed just drive up El Teide instead of passing out on the beach! We were there a few weeks ago, at this time of year the flora on the drive through the Corona Forestal is beautiful.

The cable car up to near the summit is expensive but worth it in my opinion, just beware the UV levels, even with several feet of snow and freezing temperature it will cook you very quickly.

The video also has one of my favourite places in the world on it, Masca. If you venture there I suggest sedation before driving that road!
posted by hardcode at 1:35 PM on April 16, 2011


hardcore I don't think sedation before driving the Masca road would be a good idea. Sedation, or at least a stiff drink, may be quite welcome afterwards, though.
I must also add that if you go to Tenerife, you may well give the beaches a miss, and stay at the luxury Parador at the foot of the Teide within the national park.
posted by Skeptic at 2:46 PM on April 16, 2011


That's hardcode if you please.
posted by hardcode at 3:33 PM on April 16, 2011


One of the most beautiful things I've ever seen, thank you for posting.

If you focus on the stars, you actually feel the Earth's rotation in this completely new perspective.
posted by infinitefloatingbrains at 6:56 PM on April 16, 2011


Absolute gorgeous photography. What a place, so beautiful.
posted by rmmcclay at 8:32 PM on April 16, 2011


We sit together,
the mountain and I,
until only the mountain remains

posted by JDHarper at 7:28 PM on April 18, 2011


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