GBTImelapse Aperture Pull

A few nights ago we took brought out the equipment and took advantage of a great night sky. Using GBTimelapse and an eMotimo TB3 we shot an automatic aperture pull/ramp for a seamless day-to-night shot. In the video posted below you can see the eMotimo TB3 tied to the camera and the video produced, flicker-free from daylight hours into deep night.

The aperture is listed on screen to see the process in action. If you would like to read more about the technical details look back at these posts: Eliminate Flicker and GBTimelapse/eMotimo Aperture Ramping.

Stick around after the video to see an explanation of the aperture pull/ramp.

GBTimelapse Aperture Pull In Action from Granite Bay Software on Vimeo.

The figure above shows how the aperture was smoothly ramped from f/22 when the sun was 4° above the horizon to f/2.8 when the sun was 5° below the horizon during twilight. You can specify the start and stop points as well as the curve to follow, (linear, logarithmic, or cosine as shown here). I like to use the cosine curve because the gradual change at low f-numbers makes lens vignetting changes less noticeable.

ESO Ultra HD Expedition

The ESO Ultra HD Expedition (read: GBS Sponsors ESO Ultra) continues with great surprises around every corner. Leader Christoph Malin posted to Facebook Wednesday morning additional photos of the project underway. 

Above is one of the recent stills taken, pre edit, where Malin explains, "I am extremely happy with this frame out of a time-lapse... Lucky imaging ;) Big grin. These are the nice moments where the Universe says, "OK, you worked hard, so here's a fireball". As well as Mars and Spica are rising up the Horizon. Can't wait to process this TL, there are some in the backlog ;)"

Below is a photo of Malin setting up his rig before one sunset. (Credit ESO/UHD Team)

From Malin's blog: "Christoph set up his equipment in the meantime. His equipment ran independently throughout the night allowing his “TimeLapse Bots” do the work – an autonomous GBTimelapse Rig, using Intecro XTPower powerbanks for powering a Emotimo TB3 motion control and a Canon 6D. Using this easy-to-use and intuitive set-up of equipment really extends our creative possibilities. It has been the perfect addition to our equipment collection since it allows us to get slow slides, tilts and pans into our time-lapses as the stars move over ALMA. They are so versatile and take all the dust from the desert."

It looks like his rigs, that he refers to as his "bots" (read: Malin on Time Lapse Front) are working as designed.

Good luck to Malin as the expedition continues. We will keep bringing you fresh information as it comes in.

Read more about the ESO Ultra HD Expedition at their site https://www.eso.org/public/outreach/ultra­high­definition/

Sacramento Timelapse using GBDeflicker

Granite Bay Software is located on the outskirts of Sacramento and loves to see our city in the spotlight. Posted two days ago and already a Vimeo Staff Pick, Sacramento Timelapse by Justin Majeczky is a stunning example.



Justin only recently moved to the area and saw the beauty of what the region has to offer. His talents allowed him to show off the city and the surrounding farmlands.

Timing his shots to Colourmusic's "You For Leaving Me" was a nice touch and added a lot to the overall feel. He used eMotimo motion control (emotimo.com), Dynamic Perception (dynamicperception.com), and GBDeflicker for parts of the short and it's 20,000 shots.

We have been in contact with Justin about his project and told him, "I've lived here all my life, this is the best the city has ever looked."