Why is Time-lapse Photography Cool?

Time-lapse photography is a particular way to capture an event that is unlike any other photographic method.  With time-lapse, you get to see things that you would never see with your own eye unless you were the Buddha himself.  For example, you do not have the attention span to sit and watch a piece of ice melt into water.  You wouldn't be able to stare up at the stars long enough to see that they move around a fixed point in the sky or sit long enough to watch a seed grow into a plant.  The human brain is too easily distracted to watch this stuff happen, but it does happen and it's beautiful.

Here's a rainbow.

 

One thing that I like about time lapse photography that makes it different from other forms of photography is the ability of the photographer to actually enjoy the scenery he is shooting.  When I do my time lapse shots, I set up the camera and then walk away.  I take the time to look at whatever it is I am shooting, like the ocean, or stars, and just enjoy it for what it is.  With regular photography, this is difficult to do because you have to constantly carry around your camera and make sure you get just the right angle and when you sit to relax with normal photography you're stressed because you don't feel like you're getting anything done!  With time lapse you can sit and relax and know that you're getting some sick shots while enjoying the very thing you are shooting.  It's a win, win, win.

Here's an ocean.

Another thing I like about time lapse photography is that a good time lapse video always has good music.  I am a half-assed musician, but I like listening and playing music.  Time lapse allows me to not only make videos of cool shit like the stars and clouds but also make music to go with it.

If you keep following me, you'll find my future videos will include original music.  I can't promise that it will be any good.  I can, however, promise that it will be made with love.

Here's a bunch of stuff. 

keep it real

Hypoxia-Ischemia: What the heck is it? What's it got to do with me?

I just realized that I work in a Neuroscience lab which means I have a whole ton of material to write about. 

First thing's first, what am I studying?

I (the lab) am studying the effects of an inter-alpha-inhibitor-protein in a neonatal rodent model of hypoxia-ischemia to see if working memory is improved by the treatment. 

That's a whole lot of bla, bla, bla.  Here's what's going on in simple terms:

The medical field is getting better and better at keeping babies alive.  They have the ability to, for example, give life to a 3 pound baby that would have died a hundred years ago.  This is a good thing.  KEEPING BABIES ALIVE IS A GOOD THING!  But, unfortunately, these babies are at a high risk of brain injury.  Hypoxia-ischemia is simply a fancy term for 'brain injury caused by lack of blood to the brain,' and it's often found in very low birth weight babies. 

This injury is not only very dangerous immediately after it happens, but it can also have long term negative effects.  Cerebral palsy, ADHD, mental retardation, language learning defects, and a slew of other bad stuff can happen to those affected by it. 

What are the effective treatments for Hypoxia-Ischemia? 

Right now, the only effective treatment is to essentially 'freeze' the baby (i.e. induce hypothermia) to prevent any further damage after the initial injury.  Parents really don't want to hear their doctor say, "Well Mr. and Mrs. Smith, your baby just received a brain injury and to make sure that it doesn't get any worse, we're going to put it in the freezer."

So my lab is testing a protein that will help reduce damage that is caused by the initial injury, and because it may be a bit unethical to take a bunch of human babies into the lab and subject them to tests, we are using rodents who are very similar anatomically to humans. 

Stay tuned!!!