This Flower Opening Time-Lapse Breathes New Life Into a Stale Subject

There are a few subjects that lend themselves particularly well to time-lapse photography — think: sunsets, aurora borealis, the night sky, and the hustle and bustle of a city — and so, naturally, they are the most frequently used subjects.

Another of these is flowers opening. Not quite as common anymore, it’s nevertheless still familiar to anyone who has spent any time exploring the world of time-lapse photography… so why is it that this creation by photographer David de los Santos Gil is still so captivating?

There’s something about it, a quality we can’t put our collective PetaPixel finger on, that has earned this time-lapse over 12K views on Vimeo in just a few days with no real media coverage. Comments seem to be unanimously positive, and despite the tens of time-lapses I’m sent daily, this one still managed to keep my attention for three and a half minutes of what is, essentially, the same type of shot over and over.

And so we share this video with you for two reasons. First, because a time-lapse of flowers opening seems like the most appropriate way possible to begin a fresh week as photographers and photography lovers. And second, because we’d love to hear your feedback about why this time-lapse is so good.

Is it the music? The beautiful framing and expertly crafted motion shots? The wide variety of flowers (including lilies, hibiscus, carnations, orchids, dandelions, daisies, alstroemeria, peonies and nigella damask)? Or is it just a typical time-lapse and we’ve lost our minds? Let us know in the comments down below.

And if you’d like to see more of David de los Santos Gil’s work, be sure to pay him a visit on his website, Facebook, Flickr or 500px.