This time lapse video shows the huge cranes in action at Liverpool 2 Container Terminal on the banks of the river Mersey in England as clouds race by overhead, casting patches of sunlight and shadow across the scene.
My wife Liz and I had started our day's adventures with a trip to West Kirby on the Wirral Peninsula, for a walk around the Marine Lake (interesting at high tide with an onshore breeze!) and a coffee to finish while we dried off.
With still plenty of the day left to enjoy, we decided on an exploratory drive around the top of the Wirral, taking in Hoylake, Leasowe and Wallasey before ending up on the seafront at New Brighton, next to an unlikely structure called Fort Perch Rock.
But it wasn't so much the delights of New Brighton that caught my photographer's eye, rather the massive red cranes of the Liverpool 2 Container Terminal across the water on the far side of the tidal estuary of the famous River Mersey.
It was a wonderful day for photography, with broken clouds scudding across the sky casting moving patches of sunlight and shadow over the cranes and the beach at New Brighton, so of course I set up my camera to record a few hundred still images in order to create this time lapse video.
But what I hadn't spotted in 'real time' were the cranes busy unloading a berthed container ship, and it was only when I reviewed the final video did I notice the much speeded up action of the containers, dancing through the air as if by magic.
So now I want to come back again and shoot another time lapse, zoomed in much closer on the cranes as they unload another container ship.
What fun!
Filename - merseyside timelapse 01
Camera - Canon EOS 6DMK2 DSLR
Lens - 24-105mm zoom @ 60mm
Exposure - (start of sequence) - 1/320 sec @ f/4, ISO100
Exposure - (end of sequence) - 1/320 sec @ f/4, ISO100
Filters - Polarising filter used to reduce glare and enhance colours. 2 stop neutral density graduated filter used to balance the brightness levels between the sky and land.
Shooting interval - 2 seconds
Location - Liverpool container terminal, Liverpool, Merseyside, England
This clip - HD 720p, 30fps (4K and HD formats also available)
Clip duration - 14 seconds
All content copyright © Howard Litherland 2009-2021 unless otherwise stated.
