Unlike a conventional snapshot, time-lapse photography capture a series of movements instead of just a frozen split-second photo. On this week’s Marksmen Series, Fahrul Azmi used these techniques to create striking images that capture energy and action to tell a story in his photographs .
Tell us more about yourself and how did you get into photography?
“I am a workaholic programmer and I work almost every day and night. Almost 2 years ago I realised that I need a break from the screen and codes. I needed to do something that excites me, fun, does not take too much time, and Most importantly able to take my mind off work. I am always mesmerised by photos of the stars and milky way. So I bought a camera. Since then I have been experimenting and trying new things non-stop. Sometimes i go the extra miles, drive far, and wake up super early just to set up my camera for time-lapse.”
What are your primary photography tools?
“I am using Sony a7s, DJI Mavic Pro, and iPhone 7 plus. As for softwares I use Lightroom and Final Cut Pro X.”
What drone gears do you currently use?
“DJI Mavic Pro. But incase people are wondering which drone should they get, my answer is DJI Spark. It’s super small and produce decent quality photos. Good enough for sharing on Instagram.”
How do you go about planning a time-lapse? Is there a type of technique you use?
“When doing time-lapse of the sky or landscape, planning is key! The first thing I do is to look for spots. Usually Instagram, FB Groups, and ShutterStock are my primary source. Then I check the weather and sky conditions. I use an app called PhotoPills to check the sky condition and stars position for a specific place at specific time. Some people go to the location just to plan the framing and surrounding. I don’t do that because my locations are usually not easy to reach and unpredictable weather.”
What the biggest challenge for you personally in creating your time-lapse videos?
“The biggest challenge would be the weather. Even if you planned everything out carefully, you can’t rely on the forecast from any weather app especially since we are in tropical area. The weather can change from spot to spot and time to time. There’s one time when i was planning to shoot in KL, it was super hot in Seri Kembangan but heavy rain in KL. Did not expect that.”
Tips and tricks for beginners learning the technique of creating time-lapse videos.
“Learn a lot from youtube! Start small and simple. Spend a lot of time learning, experimenting, and developing good color for the time-lapse. Follow a lot of great people on Intsagram.”
You are into various types of photography, aerial and time-lapse, is there another type you are looking into venture soon?
“I’ve been doing time-lapse for quite some time. One technique that I have been experimenting and have not succeeded is day-to-night time-lapse. Learning from youtube does not seem to help me improve. So I am looking for a few clicks to join me and do more experiments. Aerial is quite new to me. I have a long wish list of places i would like to go and capture from above. While some photographers really focus on one category (landscape, street, portrait), well I am not really a pro photographer. I just love taking photos, discovering, experimenting, and share them with people around me.”
Discover more of his work on Instagram: @fahrulazmi
