Fast Forward Friday: How a Photographer Uses Instagram’s Hyperlapse

Have you ever wished you could put Congress on fast forward? You can now, with the help of the Hyperlapse app from Instagram that's now available for iPhone. (Sorry droids, you are going to have to wait.)

Over the past couple of weeks, I've put this nifty little app to the test, and I love it. It shoots video at normal speed, then gives you the option to save or publish the video at normal speed to 12 times the speed.

Just imagine how much Congress could get done at 12 times the speed.

My first experiment was with the 53 Miss America contestants' visit to the Capitol during the last week of summer recess. Although my primary role was to shoot still photos of the event, I figured I would try out Hyperlapse as the beauty queens got off their bus, hoping I didn't miss capturing an epic still frame of a wardrobe malfunction. After a quick preview of that first test, I was hooked.

Next up was the beauty queens group photo op on the Senate steps. After a couple really quick boring safety still photos of the group , I decided to record the rest with Hyperlapse. Success! It was even better than the bus video.

Now I was ready for Congress to come back to train my Hyperlapse lens on the members. Hyper-motion videos of politicians have to be more entertaining than they are at regular speed.

My first target was the Senate subway as members arrived for a vote. The trick was to figure out where to place my iPhone to record on its own while I shot still photos with my real cameras for the paper. Propping the phone up on the floor against a wooden stand did the trick. Of course some overly helpful reporter decided to inform me that leaving my phone on the floor wasn’t a good idea. Yeah, thanks. I got it under control. Despite the interruption, here’s how it turned out. (Can you spot Roll Call’s very own Niels Lesniewski ?)

And if you're wondering what it looks like to ride that Senate subway, here's an inside glimpse:

My next test was to see what a news conference would look like at hyper speed. Democratic Rep. Rick Nolan’s news conference at the House Triangle on his campaign finance overhaul bill seemed perfect. What was a fairly uneventful, yawn-inducing news conference ends up being quite amusing sped up 12 times.

What happens on the outside of the Capitol (when the weather is nice) is almost as interesting as what happens on the inside. Here's what the typical afternoon of the East Plaza of the Capitol looks like:

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Fast Forward Friday: How a Photographer Uses Instagram’s Hyperlapse

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