It Started Out As A Nice Day…
It was a pleasant afternoon yesterday at the salt marsh so I decided to set up a time lapse to run while I was watching and photographing the various birds that were out enjoying their day. The black skimmer photos from my previous post were taken while the time lapse was running. Notice in the time lapse video how you can see the tide coming in and gradually covering over the oyster beds and filling in the marsh. In the beginning you can also see some wood storks and egrets fishing in the lower right corner.
The white fluffy clouds began to thicken and get darker and I knew a storm was moving in. You can see the darker clouds come in from the left side of the time lapse. The storm was coming from the southwest and the time lapse was pointed north toward the salt marsh. When I started to hear the thunder and saw some lightning I turned around and saw this shelf cloud rapidly move in and practically roll right over my head. At this point I stopped the time lapse and went to quickly grab a few shots of the shelf cloud before the sky opened up on me. The first photo was taken with a regular wide angle lens and the second one was taken with the 8mm fisheye.
The 42 second time lapse video was made using just over 1,000 photos, one taken every five seconds for a bit less then an hour and a half and processed at 24fps. I wish I could have let the time lapse go on longer but with the lightning and coming heavy rain I really had to get out of there!
Phil Lanoue Photography 
wow! seems so scary, Thanks and Love, nia
It was a bit scary Nia! I could not stay out there too long. 😯
Thank you, dear Phil,
for the amazing video!
Wish you a nice day,
moni
I’m glad you liked that time lapse video moni, thanks very much!
Fascinating pictures, Phil! A sense of foreboding, watching the cloud coming in. A great view of your salt marsh, as well!
Thanks very much Maggie I’m glad you liked the photos and TL! I thought that shelf cloud rolling in looked positively apocalyptic! 😯
That is one super ominous cloud formation, but I can’t seem to get the time lapse. ???
Never mind… gave it one more click on the blank space and it came up!!! Freaky watching that dark cloud roll in.
That little white arrow in the lower left corner should get it to play but I see you got it. I wish I could have let the TL run longer but I really did have to leave the area and quickly!
I thought that shelf cloud rolling in looked positively apocalyptic.
These are great pictures Phil, the video is awesome, “apocalypse now”. 🙂
Thanks Jan and yes indeed Apocalypse Now!
Love that fisheye lens view. Really makes that shelf cloud very imposing.
Thanks, I don’t whip out the fisheye too often but it can come in handy on occasion.
I’ve yet to try a time-lapse. Your nice job encourages me to give it a try. The fish eye shot is imposing. 🙂
You should give it a try Steve, TLs can be fun for sure. Glad you enjoyed that fisheye view. 🙂
Cool!
Thanks for checking these out Judy!
That looks pretty ominous and I would also fled!
However, the photos are very impressive! ▲
I tried to stay as long as possible but heavy rain and lightning drove me away. Glad you like the photos!
That’s quite something!
It was an impressive looking cloud and commands instant respect when you see it moving right toward you.
Great job, Phil. Most impressive, Phil. I really enjoyed watching those clouds from the comfort of my home. It must have been quite surreal being out there as it was happening.
Thanks very much Sylvia and yes it was an almost surreal experience especially when that huge shelf cloud started moving right toward and over us. As you might expect my wife and I were the only ones (nuts) still out there when this baby came rolling in! 😯 😀
Cool time lapse! Eery, ominous cloud photos. Did you get rained on?
Thanks much glad you liked these. I got rained on, thundered on, and lightninged on. Well luckily I did not actually get hit with lightning. There was a terrified little gator nearby that I felt sorry for and almost scooped him up and took him home. Jack would love that.
This was really a nice and unique feature in your post. I liked seeing the expanse of the salt marsh and all the birds disappearing as the clouds moved in. It is good you are getting the rain too.
I’m happy you enjoyed seeing these photos and TL video, it was an experience for sure.
Good to get rain, I could live with it not raining on me so much but then again I was the one that voluntarily stayed out there. 🙂
Thanks for the video. Love seeing the movements of the birds over time. Good stuff! Those clouds looked pretty ominous, too…you get some big thunderstorms once they rolled in?
Thanks very much for checking these out and glad you liked the photos and TL vid!
We do get some pretty good T storms and it’s especially amazing when a huge shelf cloud like this comes out from the west and rolls in over the ocean. This location is right at the beach and the offshore wind had been blowing the clouds west all day until it all changed when this moved in.
The time lapse is brilliant. I have bought an interval timer but haven’t used it yet as I’m not sure what software I need to create the video. The storks are like ants. These conditions can be scary but they frequently offer fantastic light for photography. Excellent work, Phil.
Thanks Andrew, glad you liked the photos and TL vid! If you look at the first photo, you can see some little white dots along the shoreline visible in the lower right corner, those were four wood storks.
I use an interval timer and do a batch adjust and resize in photoshop (but you don’t have to do tha) before processing the final video using Quick Time Pro.
Now that is a storm cloud, loved the time lapse shots.
Thanks Charlie nice to know you enjoyed the photos and TL vid!
Very, very cool! When I watched the video before reading your test, I assumed it covered a much longer span of time. That really shows how fast a front can move.
Yes one thing I have learned from doing TL videos is that even when the clouds appear to be mostly just hanging in one place they are actually moving and often faster then you might think.
Glad you liked these!
Those clouds certainly do look ominous!
It sure was an interesting experience having that huge shelf cloud move in and over us! 😯
I love these. Nice job Phil!
Thanks Adrian, glad you like ’em!
This is so beautiful! APPLAUSE, APPLAUSE!!
Thanks very much for your kind comments!
Wow, just stunning!
Hey glad you liked these!
It still blows me away how you know how to do this. And so beautifully done as well.
Well thanks very much Emily I truly appreciate your very kind comments!
Wow! Very dramatic,Phil!
It really was Lucy, as much as we wanted (and needed) to leave I had to hang in for long enough to get photos of this impressive cloud formation.
I absolutely love that first picture – I’m a stormy skies girl!
Thanks very much, they showed that photo on our TV News at 6pm. I love a good storm cloud too and this shelf cloud was impressive as it rolled over us.
Clearly they have good taste Phil!
One word ! Amazing !!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Good job Phil I love the Time lapse
I am very happy you liked the clouds photos and the time lapse video, thanks!
v impressive timelapse
I’m glad you enjoyed that Scott.
Wow, that time lapse is awesome! It’s amazing how those ominous and dramatic clouds seem to just roll in suddenly from nowhere.
Now, you’ve got me wanting to learn how to do time lapse video. I’ve never done one.
I’m glad you liked that TL video, as soon as I tried one I got hooked. I don’t do them often and sometimes you never know how it will look later once you start it but they sure are fun to make and look at!
I’m sure you would enjoy making one!
In movies they use all kinds of technical stuff to add special effects so the sky looks threatening and ominous. This is so much more impressive.
I thought this looked positively apocalyptic. I sometimes shoot weather for the TV news and they showed that first photo during the 6pm broadcast.