My first nature time lapse on an iPhone

Using my trusted binder clip screwed to a tripod technique, I tried my hand at time lapsing something other than the sky out my bedroom window.



The tree was moving around more than I would have liked, and the sun went behind some clouds, but otherwise I was pleased with the neat angle and HD quality of the video.

This is what the setup looked like...

DIY iPhone tripod mount for $1

Following the directions in this YouTube video, I was able to make a super simple and super cheap tripod mount for my iPhone. It's not very sturdy, it seems like even a breeze would make the camera shake, but it's better than trying to lean it up against something or setting it on the rear window of your strategically parked car!

The nut is 1/4", the rest of the pictures are self-explanatory...

How to photograph the moon on an iPhone: One possible solution

Photographing the moon with an iPhone usually results in a picture like these (first two pictures below). The moon is a solid white circle that is too bright to show any detail. Furthermore, it is difficult to get the moon in focus because there are no references in the black sky around it. After being frustrated by this for months, I believe I've stumbled upon a better way to photograph the moon on the iPhone.

Update 1/21/2013: Check out the second part to this post "How to Photograph the Moon on an iPhone using Exposure Lock"

Typical moon photo #1

Typical moon photo #2

I believe the biggest problems when photographing the moon are the inability to focus and the lack of exposure control for the bright moon. The workaround that I stumbled across was when I was filming a time lapse video going from day to night. For the video, I used the TimeLapse iPhone app  and locked the focus and exposure to the tree in the foreground before it was pitch black out. Since the focus was locked, the camera didn't try to refocus on the bright moon, and the exposure used settings for a brighter sky which compensated for the bright moon. I was able to pull this image from a screenshot of the video. 

This is the version I sent to Instagram straight from my phone

Notice how you can see more detail on the moon's face, rather than just a white dot. Since the key appears to be the ability to lock focus and exposure, I'm going to try to find a camera app that allows for manual settings. (Update: Holding your finger on the screen during standard iPhone camera function can lock the focus and exposure, but won't manually change the exposure settings). Although taking a screenshot of a time lapse video is a long way around to get an acceptable iPhone moon photo, it is one possible solution. Another method is to trick your camera into the right exposure settings using a stand-in for the moon.

This is a screen shot taken on the computer and sharpened in Photoshop

Don't lose sleep over botched time lapse, let the timer do the work

I programmed my TimeLapse app () to film the sunrise this morning. Sunrise was set to happen at 6:26am exactly, so I planned to film a 3 hour time lapse from 5:26am - 8:26am. My plan was ruined by a thick blanket of stratus clouds that went from completely dark to bright white when backlit from the rising sun.

At least I didn't lose any sleep over this botched video, because the app timer started perfectly on time, allowing me to sleep in.

Screenshot before sunrise, not much to see

Screenshot after sunrise, still not much to see

Time lapse day to night: Clouds and moonrise shot with iPhone

I'm amazed what this little phone can do! I took this time lapse video over a 2 hour period through my bedroom window. I tried to change the angle so I wouldn't just be filming the exact same scene as all my other time lapse videos - which resulted in a dark spot on the side from the windowsill.



In the bottom left, you'll notice a jet stream streak by almost like a bottle rocket right when the music pauses. (P.S. this music is hilarious and was free to add using YouTube's enhancement feature). When the music stops, the moon slowly rises above the tree.

This was filmed on Thursday, May 3, 2012 between 6:30pm-8:30pm. Tonight (May 5) there is going to be a "supermoon" but it's cloudy and rainy here in Bowling Green. I'm still pleased that you can see any detail on the moon at all considering on my other camera it just looks like a glowing white circle.