Rhode Island to NYC in 3 minutes
November 10, 2008 4:58 AM Subscribe
Tech Columnist Andy Ihnatko takes us along for the ride. For a recent trip from Kingston, RI to the East Village, Ihnatko set up a Nikon Coolpix 6000 to take a picture every 30 seconds - out the train window, then around his neck. The result is a great time lapse journey.
Here's a full minute explaining what everyone already understands. And then here's 2.5 minutes of blurry trees.
posted by DU at 5:09 AM on November 10, 2008 [3 favorites]
posted by DU at 5:09 AM on November 10, 2008 [3 favorites]
Hey Andy! Remember IADL, when the internet was small and cozy?
Also this is very cool. I've wanted to do something like this for a while, but I'm a steaming pile of dashed hopes and aborted dreams.
posted by The Whelk at 5:24 AM on November 10, 2008
Also this is very cool. I've wanted to do something like this for a while, but I'm a steaming pile of dashed hopes and aborted dreams.
posted by The Whelk at 5:24 AM on November 10, 2008
Yeah, I found it amusing. Maybe I've made a similar trip too often.
posted by pupdog at 5:24 AM on November 10, 2008
posted by pupdog at 5:24 AM on November 10, 2008
Also, 3 hours from Road Island to Penn Station? That seems ...fast.
In a good way!
posted by The Whelk at 5:26 AM on November 10, 2008
In a good way!
posted by The Whelk at 5:26 AM on November 10, 2008
i like slow motion better. can you do one where it takes like 48 hours?
posted by billybobtoo at 5:51 AM on November 10, 2008
posted by billybobtoo at 5:51 AM on November 10, 2008
Yeah, blurry generic train track/countryside photos + grating musical accompaniment + HaveYouTriedTheNikonCoolpix6000™ + 5:45am = Meh.
Sorry pupdog, I'm sure your heart was in the right place, and I'm glad you enjoyed the link.
posted by Riki tiki at 5:55 AM on November 10, 2008
Sorry pupdog, I'm sure your heart was in the right place, and I'm glad you enjoyed the link.
posted by Riki tiki at 5:55 AM on November 10, 2008
i like slow motion better. can you do one where it takes like 48 hours?
Better yet do it in "real" time where it takes a week and you can not look away.
posted by From Bklyn at 6:15 AM on November 10, 2008
Better yet do it in "real" time where it takes a week and you can not look away.
posted by From Bklyn at 6:15 AM on November 10, 2008
Kinda feels like a commercial. Lots of cameras do time-lapse.
That's a pretty cool little suction-cup camera mount, though.
posted by echo target at 6:26 AM on November 10, 2008 [1 favorite]
That's a pretty cool little suction-cup camera mount, though.
posted by echo target at 6:26 AM on November 10, 2008 [1 favorite]
Rhode Island to NYC takes about 3.5 hours on Amtrak (potentially less if you drive). One great thing about Providence (where I grew up) is that it's close enough to both Boston and NYC to do day trips. You get 3 cities for the price of 1.
And BTW, he has lunch at S'Mac (http://www.smacnyc.com/), which is a restaurant in the East Village specializing in Mac & Cheese using a variety of different ingredients. The Cajun one is particularly killer in my opinion.
posted by aletheia at 6:36 AM on November 10, 2008
And BTW, he has lunch at S'Mac (http://www.smacnyc.com/), which is a restaurant in the East Village specializing in Mac & Cheese using a variety of different ingredients. The Cajun one is particularly killer in my opinion.
posted by aletheia at 6:36 AM on November 10, 2008
The long 30-second frame interval removes all sense of motion or continuity. As noted above, the result is seemingly random images of blurry trees.
posted by rocket88 at 6:43 AM on November 10, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by rocket88 at 6:43 AM on November 10, 2008 [1 favorite]
Blair Witch rip off. Pretty much all hype with a crappy ending.
posted by Gungho at 6:51 AM on November 10, 2008
posted by Gungho at 6:51 AM on November 10, 2008
He should have sat on the left side of the train. It would have been much more scenic -- especially with waterfront scenes of New London, Mystic, Long Island Sound, etc.
posted by ericb at 7:07 AM on November 10, 2008
posted by ericb at 7:07 AM on November 10, 2008
Yea, I was going to say what ericb already pointed out - as a semi-grizzled veteran of the Boston to New Haven run, everybody knows you sit on the LEFT side of the train, if scenery is what you're looking for.
posted by jalexei at 7:44 AM on November 10, 2008
posted by jalexei at 7:44 AM on November 10, 2008
Ok, so what is that music that everyone hates? Shazam didn't know.
I kind of like it. Maybe it is the caffeine talking.
posted by procrastination at 7:57 AM on November 10, 2008
I kind of like it. Maybe it is the caffeine talking.
posted by procrastination at 7:57 AM on November 10, 2008
Rhode Island to NYC takes about 3.5 hours on Amtrak (potentially less if you drive). One great thing about Providence (where I grew up) is that it's close enough to both Boston and NYC to do day trips. You get 3 cities for the price of 1.
I keep forgetting how far north Boston from NYC is and that it's got two whole other states in the way cause in my mental map of the world Boston is just past Yonkers.
posted by The Whelk at 7:58 AM on November 10, 2008
I keep forgetting how far north Boston from NYC is and that it's got two whole other states in the way cause in my mental map of the world Boston is just past Yonkers.
posted by The Whelk at 7:58 AM on November 10, 2008
I'm not really sure that making it into a time-lapse movie is really the best use of the technology.
It'd frankly be more interesting (to me anyway) if it was a series of geocoded still images, superimposed on a Google Earth map or something. That way you could trace the path the train took and see what you'd see out the window at that point. Sort of a Street View but via train.
I'm tempted to try and do something like that on my next ride up the NE Corridor, but I don't think my ancient GPS is good enough to work from inside the train car.
posted by Kadin2048 at 8:10 AM on November 10, 2008 [1 favorite]
It'd frankly be more interesting (to me anyway) if it was a series of geocoded still images, superimposed on a Google Earth map or something. That way you could trace the path the train took and see what you'd see out the window at that point. Sort of a Street View but via train.
I'm tempted to try and do something like that on my next ride up the NE Corridor, but I don't think my ancient GPS is good enough to work from inside the train car.
posted by Kadin2048 at 8:10 AM on November 10, 2008 [1 favorite]
Oh sweet, I had seen this on flickr the other day and was wondering what the output looked like.
I've played with interval shooting and time lapse before but I'm now more about getting rid of the jumps using longer 1-sec exposures shot continuously so the time lapse looks fluid.
posted by mathowie at 8:12 AM on November 10, 2008
I've played with interval shooting and time lapse before but I'm now more about getting rid of the jumps using longer 1-sec exposures shot continuously so the time lapse looks fluid.
posted by mathowie at 8:12 AM on November 10, 2008
The result is a great time lapse journey.
The result is surprisingly dull.
Sorry, I wanted to like this. I really did.
posted by rhymer at 8:33 AM on November 10, 2008
The result is surprisingly dull.
Sorry, I wanted to like this. I really did.
posted by rhymer at 8:33 AM on November 10, 2008
This would have been a lot cooler if he didn't go and make a 2 and a half minute long video out of it. He probably could have had a pretty decent, way more fluid time-lapse video, but with only about 360 frames (probably more but I'm only thinking about the train ride here) the video would end up being about 12 seconds long.
posted by Venadium at 9:01 AM on November 10, 2008
posted by Venadium at 9:01 AM on November 10, 2008
Ok, so what is that music that everyone hates? Shazam didn't know.
I kind of like it. Maybe it is the caffeine talking.
It's the Asylum Street Spankers - Tight Like That
posted by pupdog at 10:08 AM on November 10, 2008
I kind of like it. Maybe it is the caffeine talking.
It's the Asylum Street Spankers - Tight Like That
posted by pupdog at 10:08 AM on November 10, 2008
One great thing about Providence (where I grew up) is that it's close enough to both Boston and NYC to do day trips. You get 3 cities for the price of 1.
Yes, but the price is Providence.
(Someone had to say it)
posted by rusty at 10:25 AM on November 10, 2008 [2 favorites]
Yes, but the price is Providence.
(Someone had to say it)
posted by rusty at 10:25 AM on November 10, 2008 [2 favorites]
I like this video of a journey from London to Brighton much more.
posted by so_necessary at 3:23 PM on November 10, 2008
posted by so_necessary at 3:23 PM on November 10, 2008
Press play and your stomach will go on a roller coaster ride.
posted by rageagainsttherobots at 6:32 PM on November 10, 2008
posted by rageagainsttherobots at 6:32 PM on November 10, 2008
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posted by pupdog at 5:01 AM on November 10, 2008