Time-lapse photography can be a great way to capture changes that happen over an extended period of time, such as the movement of clouds in the sky, the growth of a tree, or the opening of a flower bud.
The technique involves capturing images at regular intervals from the same position, and this generally means leaving a camera in place, typically mounted on a fixed structure such as a tripod.
This can be inconvenient and potentially risky if you were capturing images in a public place or leaving the camera somewhere that wasn’t very secure.
Now, a new app allows people to take time-lapse photography and turn it into video footage using a smartphone – and without having to leave it on site.
The iOS app, known as ReCapture, was developed by researchers from Cornell University in New York.
It is now freely available in the Apple Store, and the developers believe that it is the first smartphone app to enable time-lapse video on a handheld device.
It works by guiding the user to the correct place to capture an image of the changing scene from the same position as a previous one that has been taken.
Different modes use different analysis techniques to find the right position
The system has three modes for different situations: one that is best for landscapes, another for close-ups, and a third that captures a range of images and uses them to recreate the scene offline in 3D.
The different modes use different information to help the user get their smartphone into the right position.
The simplest landscape mode uses an overlay of previous shots to help them line up their device.
Close-up scenes tend to be trickier to capture, and the app attempts to work out where the smartphone is in 3D space, guiding the user to where it needs to be using arrows to show them where to move and tilt their phone.
Lead developer Ruyu Yan said that the project grew out of her interest in geocaching, which is a recreational activity where people use GPS to locate stashes of hidden ‘treasure’ concealed by other enthusiasts.
Fellow researcher Abe Davis had been considering a system that would help field researchers find and repeatedly photograph precise locations to track any changes in their sites.
They combined the two ideas for ‘geocaching with pictures’, a concept that would eventually become ReCapture.
Today’s news was brought to you by TD SYNNEX – the UK’s number one solutions distributor.
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