Mighty Morphin’ Rotterdam – Amazing Netherlands Hyperlapse

There are some things that you just have to sit back and watch – and this is one of them.  The immediate question I have watching Rotterdam: Shifting Shapes of the Future, a hyperlapse of the Dutch city by award-winning filmmaker Kirill Neiezhmakov is how does he do this?  The answer to this question is most likely I don’t care as he long as he keeps doing these amazing videos.

As you will see from the video, the AI morphing transitions really make this stand out from other time-lapses or hyperlapses.  Neiezhmakov describes Rotterdam as “the perfect playground for this” and the transitions are seamless and quite astonishing.  Plus he confides that the secret to a great hyperlapse is “pure manual precision”, so perhaps we have finally found something that combines AI and human creativity to hugely impressive effect.  Take a look at the video below and see if you agree.

Frankfurt Hyperlapse

Frankfurt in Germany has been around for at least 1200 years, so it has amassed a certain amount of history in those years. Much of it was destroyed during the Second World War and reconstructed later but today the city hosts a myriad of gleaming new tower blocks in the banking district, too.  Kirill Neiezhmakov has been making timelapse and hyperlapse films for years and I am not sure whether this is the first time he has captured Frankfurt on film, but the results are compelling to say the least.   In this hyperlapse, he experiments with seamless AI morphing transitions to go from one place in the city to another and I must say that they work a treat.

Kirill approached the shoot knowing time and conditions were against him. Heavy rain, dark skies and the loss of his folding bike limited his mobility, reducing a planned three-day shoot to barely a day and a half. Despite this, he captured 20 hyperlapse sequences, selecting 17 for the final film. The dramatic weather became an asset, with dense, rolling clouds contrasting sharply against Frankfurt’s steel-and-glass skyline. Kirill also continued his AI morphing experiments, seamlessly transforming old and new architecture. Each hyperlapse was created manually, moving the tripod frame by frame to achieve a natural, organic flow.

Amsterdam Timelapse/Hyperlapse

Filmed over two and half days in August 2024, this remarkable film shows off Amsterdam at its best (although apparently there were a few hours of rain during its creation).  Altogether, filmmaker Kirill Neiezhmakov captured 60 sequences and 40 of them made his final cut which you can see below.  The film is a mixture of hyperlapse, hyperzooms and experimental AI morphing transitions.  As far as I can make out, that is a deliberately stylised, non-traditional transition where AI is used to morph one frame or scene into another, rather than cutting or dissolving in a conventional way, within a hyperlapse sequence. However this was done (and frankly, it’s beyond me!) it all comes together to give us a unique look at the historical city of Amsterdam.   I think if you are planning on visiting Amsterdam, you will be pausing this video quite a lot but my advice is watch it once in full before you do that!

Dramatic Iceland

Iceland is home to one of nature’s more spectacular phenomena – the aurora borealis.  Claus and Anna Possberg recently stayed on the most appropriately named island in the world and captured the wonderful natural sights at the Jokülsarlon glacial lake. Iceland in the winter is a remarkable place – and, oh, the lights!

The music accompanying this amazing footage is Alpha Command by Justin R Durban.

Little Lithuania – A Time-lapse Tilt-shift Journey

 
Lithuania, if you don’t already know, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is also beautiful.  Filmmaker Jorg Daiber combines drone footage, tilt shift photography and timelapes expertise to show the country off in a very different way.  Some of the older Lithuanian architecture already looks a little “toy town” (not an insult, it’s very visually striking) so the techniques employed here make it look almost unreal in its beauty.  This is part of Daiber’s Little Big World series – if you enjoy these, check out his others on YouTube.

This particular video travels from the amazing Trakai Island Castle (known as the watercastle) to the famous hill of crosses (featuredpreviously on Kuriositas).  You also get the opportunity to check out the gorgeous beaches and sand dunes of the Curonian Spit, then stroll though cities like Klaipėda, Kaunas and the busy capital Vilnius (where we also get a glimpse of modern architecture, too!). All of this in only 4 breathtaking minutes – simply wonderful.

Fukuoka City (福岡市) Hyperlapse - Visit Japan's Youngest Major City for Five Minutes

Fukuoka City is Japan's youngest major city and has Japan's fastest growing population.  Even so, it has a history that goes back at least 1500 years – it just took its time getting big.  It is also the closest Japanese port city to mainland Asia and its local culture and population reflects that.  This amazing hyperlapse of the city shows it off perfectly – a fascinating five minute snapshot from a place that many outside of Japan haven’t really heard of.  The video also contains a glimpse of two of the intriguing Yamakasa  festival (pictured above) that is held every year in July.

In case you wonder, as I did, why a hyperlapse about a city called Fukuoka has so many signs that seem to indicate that we are in a place called Hakata, there is a good reason for this. Hakata was once a city in its own right, but has been subsumed into Fukuoka as the latter became larger.  The two cities became one in 1878 but it is still thought of, in many ways, as a city within a city.

Watch the amazing hyperlapse video below.

Dolomites Timelapse

During a brief yet immersive road trip through the breathtaking Dolomites, filmmaker Christopher Dormoy captured a series of mesmerizing timelapses, showcasing the natural rhythms of this majestic mountain range. His primary focus was on the fluid, dynamic motion of clouds as they danced across the rugged terrain, highlighting the interplay between the sky and the dramatic landscape below.

The Dolomites, known for their stunning geological formations and ever-changing weather, offered Dormoy a canvas of surprises and visual splendor. Through his lens, the movements of air and clouds appear almost alive - organic, fluid, and harmoniously intertwined with the contours of the mountains. These shifting patterns of nature, both rapid and intense, reveal a timeless relationship between the elements and the environment.

Dormoy’s work doesn’t just document a location; it captures an essence. By isolating these fleeting moments in motion, he transforms the Dolomites into a dynamic spectacle, a vivid reminder of the beauty and power of the natural world. His timelapses are more than a visual treat—they are a celebration of the mountains' ever-changing character, offering viewers a glimpse into the breathtaking synergy of earth and sky. It’s hard not to agree that Dormoy has immortalized a vision of extraordinary beauty, making the Dolomites feel both untamed and profoundly serene.

Dance Dance – An Extraordinary Flower Timelapse

You might imagine that once you’ve seen one timelapse of a bunch of flowers then you have pretty much seen them all. Imagine again.  Dance Dance, by Thomas Blanchard, represents flowers throughout the four seasons.  The fire for the fall, ice for the winter, fast hatching (timelapses) for the spring and color inks for the summer.  The four come together to make something quite extraordinary.

Welcome to London - A Short Hyperlapse Film

Take a trip around London without getting out of your chair.  This wonderful hyperlapse by Mattia Bicchi features a number of the English capital’s well-known architectural features including a stunning shot of Tower Bridge.

Hyperlapse really is a labor of love so many thanks to Mattia for this superb example of a fairly new form.

Dublin Time Lapse

Take a look at the Fair City in a different way. This time lapse by Richard Twomey (his first, believe it or not) captures the capital of Ireland beautifully.

The feeling of depth in many of the shots such as via clouds and stationary objects in the city shots paired with the camera movement is wonderful.

Although this will entrance you if you live in Ireland perhaps it is only fitting that we dedicate this to the Irish diaspora.

Wherever you are in the world I think this may fill you with homesickness.

Made in Ladakh

This stunning video features timelapse sequences from 12 different locations in the northern part of the Himalayan region of Ladakh.  Here we get to see Pangong Tso lake,Tsomoriri lake,Kargil, Leh,Khardungla Pass, Nubra Valley, Diksit Valley, Likir Monastery, Chang La Pass and Moonland.

It was shot and edited by Panidhar Revanur using the Canon 5D Mark II and Canon 500D with Magic Lantern firmware.

Watch an Amazing Botanical Mural as it Takes Shape

I always find art time-lapses fascinating not least because if you gave me a hundred years I would not be able to do anything close to the end product.  Here Lucila Dominuez creates a fantastic botanical mural over the space of five days in Buenos Ares.  It’s amazing to watch the process from start to finish and really makes me want to dash out and but some paint and brushes.  However, knowing what my end result would be like, I will defer that: I’m not in the mood to repent at leisure.

Snowtime

I am not even going to wonder how this is done, just bask in the beauty of it all.  If you are one of our regular readers then you will know that we like timelapses at Kuriositas.  However, this one is different – very different.  Vyacheslav Ivanov has captured the formation of snow crystals.

Again, I have no clue how it was done but thank you for doing it, Mr Ivanov.

Asia Hyperlapse

No time to get on a plane and spend time traveling through Asia? Me neither. So, take it all in over the course of three minutes instead courtesy of this hyperlapse video by Swiss designer Sylvain Botter who was lucky enough to travel through nine Asian countries with his girlfriend over a six month period.  The countries featured in the video are China, Laos, Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Burma.  I think I would need another holiday to get over it all!

Time is Nothing: Around The World Time Lapse

Ten years ago Kien Lam (left) from San Francisco quit his job, packed his bag and grabbed his camera and then jumped on a plane to London with a one way ticket.  Over the next 343 days he would visit 17 countries and take 6237 photographs.  On his return to his home and family he put together this remarkable souvenir of his travels.

You will see many places here that we have featured on Kuriositas – and we are so very jealous of Kien that he saw them all one after the other. Anyway – sit back and enjoy – and if you want to see more of Kien’s amazing journey then visit his website where he elaborates in a more stately fashion about his global sojourn. The music is provided by William Lam (who is a very talented composer and who just happens to be Kien’s younger brother).

Haunted Walls: The Abandoned Zagórz Monsastery, Poland

A little way outside the Polish town of Zagórz lie the ruins of a Carmelite monastery which is located on a picturesque hill surrounded on three sides by the river Oslawa.  The monastery was built in around 1739 from local sandstone but only thirty three years later it was burned to the ground.  It was rebuilt but it never regained anything like its former glory.  Another fire in 1822 destroyed the roof and the Carmelites finally gave up, baulking at the expense of rebuilding yet again.

So, the monastery went to ruin – but how magnificent it still looks in this timelapse, which was created during a workshop mentored by Patryk Kizny with support from Robert Paluch of Timelapse Academy.  If you live in Poland and would, after seeing this amazing piece, like to learn more about time-lapse photography then why not visit their website.

Hollywood Nights Time-Lapse

Welcome to Hollywood - from the Hollywood Boulevard, the Sunset Strip and the Hollywood Hills not to mention the Hollywood Tower, this time-lapse by iVideoMaking has the lot.  You may think that this was all filmed in one hectic evening but even these masters of time-lapse couldn’t quite manage that – all told this took approximately 60 nights to capture.  The result is, however, amazing.

If You Have Never Wanted to Visit Barcelona, You Will After You Watch This

Bareclona is one of my favorite cities and it is easy to see why after watching this fantastic hyperlapse by Kirill Neiezhmakov.  If you are new to the cosmopolitan capital of Spain’s Catalonia region this will probably make you want to visit Barcelona in the very near future.  This video shows off two things – first the beauty and diversity of Barcelona and its architecture: secondly, Neiezhmakov’s consummate skills when it comes to the art of the hyperlapse.

Among the Ancients - A California Timelapse

The Eastern Sierra Mountain Range is home to some of the world’s most ancient trees as well as spectacular terrain and stunning views of the night sky. Photographer Michael Shainblum captures the majesty of this part of the world beautifully in this timelapse.  Born and raised in California he feels a special affinity to this particular mountain range – this was obviously made with great love for the place.

Earth Song

If you have ever been to Yorkshire Dales and Lake District national parks in northern England then you will have been, no doubt, struck by their incredible natural beauty.  They have never looked so magnificent in this short time-lapse film about the ever changing light and beauty in nature made by Alex William Helin. The stirring music is Epic Journey by David Tobin, Jeff Meegan and Malcolm Edmonstone.