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Air 2 Trucks and Trains along the Columbia River - 4k Hyperlapse

Bufface

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Joined
Jul 1, 2020
Messages
156
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270
Age
44
Location
USA

This is my personal favorite hyperlapse that I have done thus far, everything came together perfectly. The weather, and the trains. I had no idea of the train time tables, I got very lucky, they arrived beautifully in my intro sequence, and riding off into the sunset.

location:

Loves TruckStop Boardman, Oregon


Drone: Mavic Air 2

Camera Settings:
ISO 100
Shot interval : 3 seconds
Exposure time: 1.3 seconds

An ND2000 filter was used for all segments except when the sun was setting, then ND1000 or ND400 filters were used.

I trashed the video files straight from the drone

Imported DNG files into Lightroom, and adjusted color grading.

Videos were stabilized with DaVinchi Resolve, which has stabilization far better than Adobe's warp stabilizer.
 
Last edited:
One of my favorite videos...just so enjoyable and as you said; everything just comes together. WELL DONE.
 
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This is my personal favorite hyperlapse that I have done thus far, everything came together perfectly. The weather, and the trains. I had no idea of the train time tables, I got very lucky, they arrived beautifully in my intro sequence, and riding off into the sunset.

location:

Loves TruckStop Boardman, Oregon


Drone: Mavic Air 2

Camera Settings:
ISO 100
Shot interval : 3 seconds
Exposure time: 1.3 seconds

An ND2000 filter was used for all segments except when the sun was setting, then ND1000 or ND400 filters were used.

I trashed the video files straight from the drone

Imported DNG files into Lightroom, and adjusted color grading.

Videos were stabilized with DaVinchi Resolve, which has stabilization far better than Adobe's warp stabilizer.
That was great, and that train going by at 1:55 and you turning with it, perfect.
 
That was great! Thanks for sharing the settings. Also, the sync’ing of the music with the lights turning on at the end was brilliant.

One question: I didn’t understand how the exposure time could be 1.3 seconds - seems very long, even at ISO 100. Then I realized that you were using a 10 stop filter! I wouldn’t have thought of using such a dense filter. Seems the vehicles would have been blurry, or is that why the vehicle seem to move more smoothly? How much experimentation did you do to come up with this combination (which works beautifully)?
 

This is my personal favorite hyperlapse that I have done thus far, everything came together perfectly. The weather, and the trains. I had no idea of the train time tables, I got very lucky, they arrived beautifully in my intro sequence, and riding off into the sunset.

location:

Loves TruckStop Boardman, Oregon


Drone: Mavic Air 2

Camera Settings:
ISO 100
Shot interval : 3 seconds
Exposure time: 1.3 seconds

An ND2000 filter was used for all segments except when the sun was setting, then ND1000 or ND400 filters were used.

I trashed the video files straight from the drone

Imported DNG files into Lightroom, and adjusted color grading.

Videos were stabilized with DaVinchi Resolve, which has stabilization far better than Adobe's warp stabilizer.
Love watching this! Timelapse and hyperlapse photography is my passion. Personally, though, I would have liked to be able to actually see the cars and the train, maybe allowing a shorter exposure time than 1.3 seconds. The semi trailer trucks were fascinating, but I think they , too, would have been better seen at a slower shutter.
 
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What fun!! Excellent footage! I did not get bored once! I liked the music too. It was interesting watching the trunks as they pulled in and out of the truck stop. This is definitely a favorite of mine! Thanks for sharing. :) Oh yea, also gave you a like on YouTube. ;)
 
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Love watching this! Timelapse and hyperlapse photography is my passion. Personally, though, I would have liked to be able to actually see the cars and the train, maybe allowing a shorter exposure time than 1.3 seconds. The semi trailer trucks were fascinating, but I think they , too, would have been better seen at a slower shutter.

I guess that is a matter of personal preference. I like the flow of the motion blur and like how it indicates speed. The fast vehicles on the interstate are very blurred, and the slower vehicles close to the stop are not blurred so much.

I personally dislike fast shutter speeds in hyperlapse of fast moving objects like vehicles, as it makes it look like the object is teleporting around the frame.
 
What fun!! Excellent footage! I did not get bored once! I liked the music too. It was interesting watching the trunks as they pulled in and out of the truck stop. This is definitely a favorite of mine! Thanks for sharing. :) Oh yea, also gave you a like on YouTube. ;)

Thanks!, if you look closely you can also see a train on the opposite side of the river in the 2nd to last scene.
 
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That was great! Thanks for sharing the settings. Also, the sync’ing of the music with the lights turning on at the end was brilliant.

One question: I didn’t understand how the exposure time could be 1.3 seconds - seems very long, even at ISO 100. Then I realized that you were using a 10 stop filter! I wouldn’t have thought of using such a dense filter. Seems the vehicles would have been blurry, or is that why the vehicle seem to move more smoothly? How much experimentation did you do to come up with this combination (which works beautifully)?

the main reason I settled on that is 1.3 second exposure is the longest you can get without going to a 4 second interval. I don’t know why this is a restriction, but it is.

1.3 seconds also seems to have just the right blur for my taste, and anymore would probably be too much.

1.3 seconds also happens to be the best for balanced exposure on a bright sunny day, any more would overexpose even on a ND2000.
 
Awesome ! I'd run this through Topaz Sharpen or such like and you'll be able to make a great wall print from that
 
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@Bufface - That is a great pic! The way the sky is lit by the lightning, both directly and the backlighted part above the clouds is just beautiful!
 
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@Bufface - That is a great pic! The way the sky is lit by the lightning, both directly and the backlighted part above the clouds is just beautiful!
Thanks man,

I finally got a decent lightning shot, my previous attempts were not so good. I think this was because the lightning was far off enough in the distance, but It was clear near me. In my previous attempts, I was more inside the storm, and it caused the photos to take on a hazy appearance.
 
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