Photographing the Passage of Time

Saturday 15 February 2025, 22:11 by Nando Harmsen | 2,587 views | 0 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

A photo is a snapshot. It allows you to immortalise a moment. A photo can also tell a story. But the world does not stand still. Time passes. Wouldn't it be beautiful to capture that too? You can with a time-lapse.

I love photography, as no one will have missed. Capturing a moment in a single image is a challenge. It allows me to tell something with the photo, to turn it into a story. Precisely because it is a snapshot, it can differ from reality. Even without photo manipulation.

This frozen moment in a photo is only part of a much larger whole. The passage of time cannot be seen. Nothing stays the same, and as you know, one moment follows another. Each of those moments is unique and has its own character.

Four hours enjoying the incoming tide. In complete peace, away from all the hustle and obligations. A moment to slow down. I can recommend it to everyone
You can use film to show that dynamic. But after a minute of film showing a slowly changing succession of moments, it will quickly lose its appeal. We can watch a sunset for an hour, but not on video.

With a time-lapse, you can show that hour in a shorter amount of time. That keeps people interested. I see it as an extra dimension to my photography. I can not only capture that moment in a beautiful photo, but also record the dynamic of that moment.

I realise that this article is a shameless way of showing my time-lapse. I am being completely honest about that. But I also hope it can inspire you to look beyond taking a single photo for once. Do not see them as two different things, but as an extension of your photography.

There is another benefit to making a time-lapse. The waiting is a moment of relaxation and slowing down. It gives you the opportunity to take the time, alongside taking photos, to enjoy nature and the landscape.

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About the author

Nando Harmsen has been photographing for more than 40 years. He specialises in wedding photography and landscape photography. Nando also gives talks, workshops, masterclasses and photo trips, and regularly reviews new and interesting equipment.

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